THE POWER OF DETERMINATION

Once upon a time there was an old train, who wanted to engage herself in a hill climbing competition with much younger trains. The goal was to reach the top of a hill. Most of her friends and critics scorned her and tried to discourage her however she maintain her stand. On the day of the competition big crowd had gathered around the hill to see the race and scorn the old train. The race began. Honestly: No one in the crowd really gave the old train a chance of reaching the middle of the hill. 

You heard statements such as: "oh, you are too old for this crazy ambition of yours!“

“You will NEVER make it to the top. “Or statements like:

"Not a chance that you will succeed. The hill is too high and your strength can NEVER carry you through!" The old train began to Say to herself, “I KNOW I CAN”, “I KNOW I CAN”, “I KNOW I CAN”.... The crowd continue to yelling, "It is too difficult lazy ass!!! No one of your age can make it check your history book! “But she purposed in her heart not to give up....  Suddenly her strength gradually begins to fail.... She felt like fainting and giving up! Her song began to slow down. 

       “I KNOW ..........  I ............CAN” , “I KNOW ..........  I ............CAN”, “I KNOW ..........  I ............CAN” She told herself just give it a little push, Alas ... She got to the tip of the hill and the crowd was astonished at her effort. At the point of descending the hill her song changed to “I KNEW I COULD”, “I KNEW I COULD”, “I KNEW I COULD”. THEN Crowd naturally wanted to know how this old train managed to do it? One of the Spectators asked the old Train how she had found the strength to succeed and reach her set goal. She said “with courage and determination success is unavoidable”

LESSON ONE: 

Never listen to negative criticism or pessimistic opinion about your dreams, vision or potential!

LESSON TWO: 

Feeling like fainting is expected but stopping is strictly forbidden

LESSON THREE: 

Above all, when people tells you of their perceived your inabilities in fulfilling destiny! Always tell yourself… I know I can!!!:

8 things you should know about determination

·       Determination is the inner strength that assists you in confronting the forces without.

·       It is an emotion that helps you secure your destination in the RACE of LIFE. 

·       It is the fuel for the flight of life.

·       It is a driving force in the race of life.

·       It is dogged commitment to a cause.

·       It is understanding that Tough time never lasts but tough people do.

·       It is looking beyond your now to your destination.

·       It is staying connected to God.

MY CASE IS DIFFERENT

Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

I read a story about a Little Zimbabwean primary five boy called Tendai, who was so much hated by his class teacher Mr. Gandanzara and does everything within his power to disfavor Tendai whenever opportunity presents itself. One day, foreign missionaries visited the school with lots of educational material and the need to share foreign text books to the pupils arise, the head teacher instructed that all class teacher must organise their pupils in a single line when receiving the missionaries in their classes.

Mr Gandanzara ensured he made sure Tendai was the last pupil on the queue in his class as he thought to himself "who knows, the gift might not be enough to go round, so Tendai won't get to receive any gift. When it was time for Mr. Gandanzara’s class, the missionary "Miss Jacob entered the class, she moved to the front but found out the pupils were so close to the blackboard, in order not to stain herself she seek for a space to stand and discovered there were more space for her to stand at the back, after arranging materials to be shared she said; “class, about turn', at this point Tendai automatically became the first pupil on the line and the first to receive from that class.
MORAL LESSON: Whatever God has ordained for you as your inheritance shall be delivered to you despite the scheming of your adversaries all you need to do is to hold on to the one and only King of kings. Your case is different from others.

       When the battle of your life is great it simply shows you have a greater and glorious future, no two party goes to war without a gain in view, no two country war against one another on no issue. Before you get to your promise land you will have to face your giants and also go through schools of affliction.

Prayer: Thank you Lord delivering my total package to me first (Amen)

NO CHARGE PART II

John 15:13

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Remember the lyrics of Shirley Caesar’s No Charge from the album her very best. My sister's little boy came in the kitchen one evening, while she was fixing supper  and he handed her a piece paper he had been writing on and after wiping her hands on an apron. She took it in her hands and read it and this is what it said:
For mowing the yard $5. And for making up my own bed this week $1 For going to the store $.50 And playing with little brother while you went shopping $.25 Taking out the trash $1 And for getting a good report card $5  And for raking the yard $2 Total owed $14.75

Well she looked at him standing there and expecting And a thousand memories flashed through her mind So she picked up pen and turned the paper over and this is what she wrote: For the 9 months I carried you holding you inside me $ NO CHARGE For the nights I sat up with you doctored you and prayed for you $ NO CHARGE For the time and tears and the costs through the years There is NO CHARGE When you add it all up the full cost of my love is $ NO CHARGE

For the nights filled with grey And the worries ahead $ NO CHARGE For the advice and the knowledge And the costs of your college $ NO CHARGE For the toys, school, and clothes And for wiping your nose There's NO CHARGE son When you add it all the full cost of my love is NO CHARGE. Well you know when I think about that I think about the day that Jesus went out to Calvary and gave his life as a ransom for me When I think on the words "If Any Man be in Christ He's A New Creature" I like to think about the very minute that he shedded his blood My debt was paid in full And I want you to know today when you add it all up The full cost of Real Love is NO CHARGE. God's love is still not attracting any charge

PRAYER:  Thank you Lord for your free and unending love (AMEN).

WORK PLAN

                                                                                 Habakkuk 2:2

Yahweh answered me, “Write the vision, and make it plain upon tablets, that he who runs may read it.

Work plan sometimes called project plan, is a document that, at a minimum, describes the program, defines the program objectives, and goals by outlining our goals through objectives. I have worked in the Not-for-profit sector for about eleven years and can unequivocally say that, the most important key to the success of any Not-for-profit organization is “Work Plan”

Having aspirations, yearning and hopes for 2013 is never enough you must write them down and you “MUST” work it out with your devised SMART strategies and remember to have a second opinion along with a back up strategy, Of course, with only 358 days left, a few things are important: 1) Define your goals and objectives: What goals will you have achieved before the year ends. Make sure they are SMART! 2) Maintain your focus: You will need to prioritise and give 80% of your time & resources to the top 20% of your goals. Avoid distractions.  3) Get Knowledge: You can't do things the same way and expect a different result. Ask questions, get information. 4) Go for it! This simple step separates the 'wishers' from achievers. 5) Demonstrate the spirit of love Isaiah 58:5-7: Give to the poor, your parents (biological and or spiritual), the aged, widows and the fatherless also visit and pray for the sick.

PRAYER:  Dear Lord, help me to package the right work plan for this year (AMEN).

NO CHARGE

John 15:13

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

I received a broadcast on my BlackBerry of a man who reached 70 years and was affected by a disease which made him unable to urinate. The doctors told him he will need a surgery to correct the disorder. He agreed to do the surgery as the disorder had given him severe pain for days. After the surgery he was given his a bill which covered all the costs. After looking through his medical bill, tears were rolling down his checks. Upon seeing this, the doctor said "If the cost is too high then we could make some other arrangements for you." The old man replied, "I am not crying because of the money but I am crying because God let me urinate for 70 years and He never sent me a bill!"

John 3:16 records for God so love the world that he gave his only begotten son….. God is still in the business of dishing out free services to mankind while mankind is not appreciating his services since it is free.

PRAYER:  Thank you Lord for your free and unending love (AMEN).

KNOWING THE GOD OF THE HOUSE PART 2

Act 17:23

For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD”. Whom wherefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

When I was growing up one of my favourite time was the family devotion time where it was like a church service and my Dad will break the word down to everyone’s comprehension. I especially love it when it was my turn to share the word; I will search the bible and network scriptures to make sure I try my little best then to impress my Dad and everyone at the meeting. Though the primary motive then was to “Impress” little did I know that I was building my spiritual muscles for the battles ahead and that was the beginning of my knowing God. From wanting to impress man during family devotion, I ended up knowing the living God during my search for scriptures. My search led me through wonderful discoveries and inspirations that helped me later in life: a) a relationship with God: the scriptures led me to finally give my life to Christ John 3:3&16 b) more search: I kept studying the word and that made me fell in love with the book of revelation. Most of the notes I took when I was searching is put together in my daily deliberation Dan 9:2, 2 Tim 2:15, 2 Tim 3:15 c) I always love to be with believers: I noticed I enjoy myself when I am with the saints of God and the inspiration flows greatly Matth. 18:20, Heb. 10:25 d) more mind blowing insight and revelation: the more I study the word and other Christian literatures the more understanding I get and the inspiration flows. John 14:26 e) divine empowerment: the deeper I reach into the scripture the more I become empowered. I noticed in every organization I work I get any of these the nickname Pastor, Bishop, Young Bishop or spiritual head of the family, as a result of God’s power Act 10:38.

Knowing God of the house requires diligence, consistence, commitment, and persistence, it is not a one off exercise, and this should be as natural to us as breathing. Knowing God is like blind men told to describe an elephant by touching some part of an elephant, after first man touch touched the tusk he said an elephant is a short hard curved metal, another said an elephant has four short hard stump after touching the Legs, the next said an elephant is like a house because he felt the stomach and the legs. These men cannot really describe the real elephant until they go “regularly” to touch the elephant and have someone explain what they have touched, this will give them better understanding. 1 Corinthians 13:9

Prayer: Lord, give me more appetite for your word in my daily life. (Amen)

HELP MATE OR HELL MATE

Genesis 2:18-25

And the LORD GOD said it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him. (Verse 18)

At creation God created a helpmate (woman) for Adam to be his companion, friend and a shoulder to lean on. When the man saw her he said “this is the bone of my bones and the flesh of my flesh”. Looking at the female, from the concept of creation, they are meant to be help mates to the male, to encourage, motivate, assist, support and be strong where her partner is weak, to correct him when he is wrong. As time went on, the helpmate turned hell mate when she was deceived (tricked) by the devil. It is sad to see couples these days fighting, getting divorced, misunderstanding and hating each other, deviating from God’s original plan for marriage.

I have had opportunities of interacting with couples and taken time to study their relationship and interactions, a lot of couple are public actors and family martial artists (they know all the rules of attack and self defense). All these fight, divorce, misunderstanding and hate in the home are traceable to; a) Faulty communication: a lot of relationships fail due to faulty communication flow b) Misunderstanding: There is need for lovers to have in-depth comprehension of one another from spoken word, body language, mood change, and gestures Amos 3:3 c) Doubt: a good relationship must move through the process of compliance, internalization and identification by believing in each other (having the same passion for your family vision and living it together) d) Inappropriate Love: love is being responsible, commitment, and being faithful to your partner.

Prayer: Lord, give me the grace to be more loving and responsible to my spouse (Amen)

MY SEASON OF REST

1 Kings 5:4

But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.

Biblically rest does not is not limited to relaxation, refreshing, or inactivity it also means freedom from challenging situations, and or peaceful establishment of God’s promises. It is a natural phenomenon for man to go through harsh situations and affliction in his quest through life’s journey while it is God’s nature to intervene and make a way out (solution) to any situation not in his plan for his blood bought children John 16:33. God ordained rest is characterized by; a) a relationship with Christ: to benefit from a family inheritance there must be a member of such family and that is applicable to the kingdom of God, you must be born again and that is your passport to enjoying rest 1 john 5:4. b) Services with joyful heart Psalm 100:1-2: A joyful heart come from a grateful mind which grants access to divine rewards c) A teachable heart Isaiah 1:19: success always comes the way of people who pay particular attention to instructions but those who despise instructions suffer the pain of disobedience.

Rest is not a time for us to hang our diligence by mentally, physically, creatively and spiritually lazing around, it is a time to keep doing something out of the ordinary such as setting and breaking records in kingdom stewardship. David had few rest and he used the little he had to organize a mobile concert of choral group that set Guinness world record till date as recorded in 1 chronicles 15:16-28.  Solomon had rest and he built a magnificent temple for the Lord and also sacrificed four thousand offerings to the Lord 1 Kings 3:4, 1 Chronicles 29:21.

Implication: When records are set and or broken in kingdom stewardship, it moves God and when he is moved he showers you with his blessings and favour to show that whatever is done for God is not lost.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me convert my rest to a worthwhile time to serve you faithfully (Amen).

TREASURES IN THE WORD OF GOD PART II

Joshua 1:8

Study this book of the law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed.

God’s word is ever fresh, potent and powerful. It is the only word that has been consistently current, correct and powerful for over two thousand years.

The treasures embedded in the word can NEVER be fully harnessed in a one off flip through.

Treasures are hidden in sure and least expected places and it takes searching and researching to find them, pirates make use of information and maps to find old hidden treasures, in their quest to finding the treasures pirates are highly sensitive and take to consideration anything on the way very seriously as they could be a lead. To access the treasures in the Word of God we have to be highly sensitive to the rhema and the Logos in our search quest as God mostly commune with us through these mediums, and we have to always a) Empowerment mark 6:7, 12&13 b) Supernatural Victory Eph 6:17 CEV c) Sanctification Eph 5:26 d) Re-enforcement of Faith Rom 10:26. e) By doing this we find Wisdom Psalm 119:99, Divine Direction Pro 3:6 (CEV) Authority Gen 1:28, Matt 18:18, Revelation Daniel 10:1 and Prosperity Joshua 1:8

      PRAYER:  Thank you Lord for the Treasures you have in stock for me (AMEN).