RIGHTEOUSNESS (Part One)

For as many as are curiously asking themselves before God 'how can I live to please you in this age and time?'; given all that you see around you everyday.

It may interest you to know that God answered that question before you even thought about it. The answer lies in Micah 6:8 (The Message Translation) and it is rendered thus:

"But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously."
God is awesome, He has it all CAREFULLY thought out. I pray that God's unstoppable GRACE will greatly abound with you as you positively influence your relationships for Him!

TO HATE OR TO LOVE?

When you perceive others are better than you are; how do you respond to their capabilities, productivity level, skills, achievements, personality etc?

The scriptures rendered below makes it clear that even in the bible days people naturally reacted in the same way (misjudged other peoples intentions) thus;

“But the citizens there hated him. So they sent a commission with a signed petition to oppose his rule: ‘We don’t want this man to rule us’.” Luke 19:14

In The above passage, we see that they hated, wrote petitions, formed parties, and voiced their demands. All these are not bad in themselves but the motive for their usage defines them.

When we wrongly perceive other people, the first instinct would be to ‘Hate’. This is to develop an intense or passionate dislike for a person or something especially when you feel insecure. If this situation continues unabated, it grooms one into:

Be A Worshipper

“If you are righteous, what do you give God,
Or what does He receive from your hand?
Your wickedness affects only a man such as you,
And your righteousness affects only a son of man [but it cannot affect God, who is sovereign].”
Job 35:7 - 8

Two Things That Will Make Your Marriage Relationship Fail! (Part One)

Two things that will make your marriage relationship fail are desperation and jealousy.  In this first

Desperation: This comes from the root word 'despair' which could mean any of the following:

part of the write up, I will discuss the first relationship killer - desperation.

• the complete loss or absence of HOPE
• suffering without a meaning
• a state of rash and extreme behaviour

Any person getting into a marriage because of desperation is a failure going somewhere to happen. This reason is obvious - in nature 'desperation always births pain'. When the sea is desperate it give birth to waves that drawn men; when the earth is desperate, we have earthquakes; when men are desperate it make them to open their cleavages, attempt to buy true love, see relationships as a instrument for improving their profit & loss account, kill, etc

What then is the remedy for desperation in relationships? The remedy Jesus Christ gave in Mark 2:23 - 27 applies here. Marriage is made for man; and not man for marriage! 

Enjoy your life because marriage does not necessarily add to who you are but who you are beautifies marriage.

WiSdOm In Not FiGhTiNg

According to Rabbi Levi Brackman:

“Fighting battles takes energy that is often better spent being productive. Remember that fighting is a backwards motion. Concentrate on going forward instead.”

5 REASONS WHY A STONE WILL TAKE YOUR PLACE!

“And he answered and said to them, I tell you, that if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” (Luke 19:40).  With a pebble (small stone) in my hand, I suddenly remembered this scripture - Luke 19:40. And while I reflected on it, the following thoughts came to me:

5 REASONS WHY A STONE WILL TAKE MY PLACE!

1. WHEN ONE BOWS TO PRESSURE (THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU): Considering the economic crunch sweeping through the world today, one is naturally drawn to pay allegiance to any person, persons, organizations etc whose influence will shield & alleviate your difficulties. The warning however is that this gravitated allegiance MUST not and SHOULD not override our Love and Trust in God. Meaning that it should not dull your sensitivity to the God's Communication with you. Standing Still to see what God can do is the best path to walk in these trying days; but how many people can STAND STILL & not bow to this financial pressure.

So STAND FOR GOD, STAND WITH GOD and do not become an instrument for fulfilling others people's whims & caprices. Don't be like them for you can only change them when you live your life guided by God.

Success In Relationship

Don't You Ever Give Up On Your Dreams

I must appreciate the fact that I have been away for a while now but before I continue, I would like to welcome you all out there back to this platform and secondly beg you from the dept of my heart never to give up on the dreams God gave you at the beginning of this year irrespective of what you are seeing today. Rather, be resolute that you will have a very productive year piloted by God Himself.

With that done, now I will want us to reflect on some of the issues that have kept me away for this long. These are issues that bother on how far anyone out there can go this year: the issues are what I call the wheel of success - discipline, diligence and sacrifice.

Discipline: This is the ability to motivate oneself in spite of a negative emotional state. It is the systematic instruction given to train oneself on morals, a craft or trade; or following a particular code of conduct or "order" in achieving an assignment. Discipline enforces order – that is, ensures instructions are carried out. The qualities associated with self-discipline include willpower, hard work, and persistence. 

Please Somebody Help!

September 11 Icing

I thank God for another day in His presence and the opportunity to learn at His feet #Inspirationalicing. Permit me to say that God is really dealing with every member of the Scripture Union family in a special way as it relates to our Quiet time.

From today's reading in Acts 20:1-16, I learnt the following lessons:
a. Be ready and willing to share Jesus Christ with the world around you especially in these days of perversion.
b. Do not let your ministry suffer unduly because of your lack of understanding of God’s timing and purposes (Proverbs 22:3). Paul left the indigenes he had prepared to continue with the work at any point his life became threatened. Unfortunately today so many people want to enjoy the ‘praise’, ‘glory’ etc of an office so they don’t prepare others for succession. That is why the church of suffering so much loss – ‘know when to leave’ (Acts 20:1, 3).
c. To balance item (b) above, Paul also knew when not to allow the devil to steal away people joy of salvation. In Acts 20:9 - 12, Paul led by the spirit of God ensured the young man who fell from a three storey building while listening to the sermon was brought back to life. Imagine the discredit the death of this young man could have brought to his ministry in Turkey!
d. Paul was a good plan and never left anything about his ministry to chance. He had plan A, plan B etc. No wonder he was a great success.
e. The reality of Luke 9:26, Matthew 10:32 etc is right before our eyes now more than ever before.

At #Inspirationalicing, I have asked myself several questions concerning the incident in Acts 20:7 – 12:
- Should I blame Paul for preaching a rather lengthy sermon?
- Should blame the people for quietly listening without complaining?
- Can I blame Eutychus for sitting by the window?
- Am I justified to blame Eutychus for sleeping off in course of the sermon?
- Blah blah blah

The truth is that we cannot over look the reality in Romans 8:28. Let God guide you and you will live to be happy ever after. Leaving a legacy in the ministry is what we have been called to; however discipline is the hallmark of accomplishing it.

Paul is a living witness to this fact (Hebrews 12:1)!

September 9 Icing

Reading Acts 19:11-20 this morning, left me with an #Inspirationalicing and a very strong warning too. The warning is: "Ensure Your Curriculum Vitae Is Updated And Your Experiences Are Relevant"

The experience of the 7 sons of Sceva (in the passage above) got me thinking: 'Imagine a young school leaver challenging a bank manager to a contest of being a better manager of man and money to ensure effectiveness and efficiency?'

You can only wonder what will become of this school leaver is he/she is given the responsibility of managing a department of a bank. These sons of Sceva did not pay attention to the simple rule of the thumb in Human Resource management:

-  Your CV must be tailored to suit any job opening you are applying for and,
-   Your experiences muse be relevant to the job advertised for

Before you can apply for any job.

In this case, being born again is the basic requirement for the job in question (Acts 19:15) while a faith in Christ's finished work on the Cross is all the relevant experience these 7 young men needed.
Unfortunately they lacked these requirements yet they wanted the glory PAUL enjoyed.

Beloved members of Sandy's Relationship Forum, please make sure that your CV is always updated and your experiences relevant to God's purpose and plan at every time least you embrace the shame of defeat.

You don't want to ask the sons of Sceva their experience (Acts 19:14 - 16)! 

Inspirational Icing

Knowing that Relationship has always been a great WORK and that some folks have successfully built great relationships under God should inspire us. What then is God's recipe for success in relationships?

First and foremost, make God the foundation and the only inspiration of your relationships; thereafter make His guideline (scriptures) your point of reference.

And finally make it a habit to depend on God to see you through the troubled waters using the principle below:

1. Ask (According to His will concerning whatever that need is)

2. Believe (Have no doubt if God can do what you asked)

3. Receive (What you receive depends on your faith)

Inspirational Icing