Be alert and of a sober mind…(1 Peter 5:8)

Yes, he is seeking whom to devour. I got up this morning with a great motivation to spend a day fasting, praying and seeking God for direction in my life.

Then the ancient serpent showed up. As soon as I opened my door, my neighbor fell on me with insults.

It almost robbed me of my date with God. But as pondered on the issue trying to figure out just where I went wrong, my Daddy just reminded me that the devil is mad because I’m going on a date with Him.

The devil like a roaring lion is always roaming around looking for whom to devour. May you never be his victim. Remember, We are not ignorant of his devices (2 Corinthians 2:11).

 

 

The four deadly enemies of a Christian leader

As a Christian leader, your deadliest enemy is not the man next door who stares weirdly when you drive past to church; your worst enemy is right within.

Money: Yes, uncontrolled love and craving for money. Do you find yourself lying, cheating, swindling and even stealing in order to satisfy that insatiable urge to have more money? That enemy is out to ruin you. Face him squarely or he’ll destroy you.

Sex: What are you presently comprising just to satisfy that urge, that burning desire to be in their arms? Be sure you are not a victim of the spirit of lust or seduction, or both. That enemy will disgrace you when you least expect it.

Pride: You hate to be in a position of weakness; you always want to be at the top and in charge. You will intentionally hide the truth and engage in a lot of hypocrisy just to keep your pride. You hate to apologize even when you are sure you blew it. It’s hard for you to acknowledge you were at fault. Check your heart. That enemy will limit the extent to which God can use you.

Power: You can sacrifice everything and anything just to be “the one in charge here”. You hate to be the follower, even when you have much to learn from others. You want to teach everybody even when you’ve got nothing worth teaching. That enemy will keep you ignorant and empty, with the illusion that you know it all and can do it all. He will keep you from growing to greater heights.

We’ve got to always check our motives, re-examine our hearts each step of the journey. Our sincerity with God will earn us His timely intervention and save us  lots of future embarrassments.

I wish you the best on this journey.

 

The anatomy of self-doubt

Do you find it hard to trust yourself? Are you scared of taking decisions because you’re afraid to make mistakes and bear the consequences?

Self-doubt is a thief who will steal your joy, your sense of self-worth and self-confidence; it will keep you in a stupor too fearful to try things out and discover their outcome.

Self–doubt immobilizes you with fear. You dread taking risks because you do not want to fail.

But the truth is, in life we can’t achieve much without stepping out to try things out and then see what we get at the end of the road. We only have to trust God at such moments to lead and guide us in the right direction, and to bring us back on track when we go astray.

What are some of the things that provoke self-doubt?

• You’ve messed up too many times in life and you’re afraid to mess up another time. You prefer to play it safe this time.
• You’ve been disappointed so often; you’d rather be careful.
• You’ve been hurt too much; you won’t let it happen to you again; your guards are always up.
• You’ve often been told you’re no good; you now belief it’s true. You don’t want to confirm that ugly report.
• The devil is plaguing you with the spirit of fear and dread. You are under captivity and you need deliverance.
• You just hate trying out new things; you’re the comfort zone kind of person.

Self-doubt in itself is not bad, especially the kind that pushes you to ask questions, try out new recipes and do research to find answers. This can actually lead to self-improvement which we all need.

What I’m talking about here is the kind of negative, tormenting self-doubt that makes you to devalue yourself and to doubt your own capability at achieving anything great.

When we understand that God has promised never to leave us or abandon us, that He will not be very angry with us for messing us, that He will readily take us back and continue to love us even when we’ve made mistakes, we will be more willing to take bold steps and to leap forward, counting on Him to see us through.

So what is the cure for self-doubt?

Trust that God knows your doubt and that He’s ready to give you answers when you ask him questions. Trust that He will faithfully guide and lead you along the way. Trust that Christ in you is wisdom, power and a sound mind.

Good luck to you all as you take bold steps and great leaps forward to achieve great things in this year 2016.

I am, I can, I will…wait a minute; really?

I’m anointed, I’m talented, I can do this thing… I’ll do it.

Yes you can, but does it all depend on your gifting and anointing? Aren’t you leaving out something or maybe SOMEONE?

I’ll like to talk about gifting, talent, anointing and the place of God in this.

I’m gifted, talented and anointed, so why can’t I just call the shots when, where and how I want? Do I really need God’s opinion seeing He’s already given me all I need for this project? If He didn’t want me to do it, would He give me all these tools? Do I really need His opinion here?

But check this out:

• Our gifting and anointing does not place us above God’s sovereignty.
• No matter how anointed or gifted we are we can’t force God to do what He won’t.
• Our gifting and anointing is nothing else but God working through us, so we must submit to Him to get the best results.
• God’s will is greater and more important than our anointing and gifting.
• Sometimes we can be tempted to use our gifts and anointing for the wrong purposes, so we still need Him to guide us along.
• When we focus only on our gifts and anointing leaving God out of the game we could become proud and too self-confident to give Him the glory.
• In everything God must be the overall leader; we can’t drag Him along. He shows us the way. He must be GOD for the universe to function normally.
• No matter how heavy the branch is with fruit, it still needs the roots and the stem to sustain itself. A declaration of independence here will be fatal.

So, no matter how gifted, talented and anointed we are we still need God; we need to work in collaboration and synchronization with, and submission to Him if we desire the best results with no embarrassments along the way.

The attitude with which we use our gifts and anointing will either ensure a continuous flow and an increase, or a steady reduction till the tap runs dry.

 

Share with someone this season

They may not deserve it but they need it.

Merry Christmas to you all.

 

Tell me where you are coming from and I’ll relate to your message

I have an issue with preachers who behave like they were created in heaven and dropped off on earth for a special assignment after which they will be whirled to heaven in a chariot of fire.

• Why not talk to me about the challenges you’ve faced in life?
• Why not tell me about the night you cried yourself to sleep?
• Why not share how you almost committed suicide?
• I want to know how you got off those addictions.
• I’ll like to hear how you went hungry for days because you had no job and no money.

Such confessions won’t make you a weak person; they tell me that you’ve come a long way with God; that you are where you are today because you’ve been able to overcome some hard stuff. It is prove that you’ve learned your lessons and are now qualified to teach me.

I do not agree with the philosophy that Jesus bore all the pain so we can’t suffer any longer. I don’t think it’s true that God can’t use suffering to teach us some stuff.

• I believe God still uses pain to train
• How can you show compassion to others if you were never ever in need of compassion yourself?
• How can you help me in my healing journey if you never got hurt yourself?
• How can you teach financial management if you never had to survive on limited resources before?

I don’t think we should unnecessarily accept suffering; but I also think that there are lessons we can learn only in the furnace. If that gold must shine, then let it go through the furnace.

If God picked you from the dust bin, washed you and gave you a message, preach it. There’s no point acting like you were born and bred in the palace. Don’t be ashamed of your source. God has turned your mess into a message, be humble enough to admit it.

Someone is waiting to get blessed by it. Be real.

The spot on the beautiful skin

I’ ve come a long way

Don’t judge me by my appearance

You don’t know how far I’ve come.

What about a little bit of anesthesia?

We have this treasure in earthen vessels. 2 Corinthians 4:7

We all carry gold within.

We all are full of great treasure inside

But it is all covered in dross, in rust and dust

And when we finally discover what we carry within

We will not rest until we bring it out

We will willingly bear the refiner’s fire

For we know what beauty will show and glow

Once the refiner’s job is done.