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“David and his men burst out in loud wails—wept and wept until they were exhausted with weeping. David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken prisoner along with the rest. And suddenly David was in even worse trouble. There was talk among the men, bitter over the loss of their families, of stoning him” ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭30:4-6‬ ‭

Hello and glad to come your way again. By now, nobody needs convincing that life is hard. There is nothing as painful as an unpredictable blow. Life can be a drag… at times.

This Bible verse is a picture of discouragement. Have you seen people (especially men in this context) weep till they are exhausted by their own weeping? Picture this in your mind’s eye.

There was a king called David. He and his men of war had come home to a ransacked place; their city in Ziklag was burned and their families were taken captive. The sorrow got so bad that the men who were with David wanted to kill him. They saw him as the blame for their misfortune. It can be very painful when you are in pain and people are plotting to kill you on top.

I take a lot of solace in this story, because you see one man’s decision that turned a discouraging and helpless situation to one of victory and hope. Please make time and read the whole chapter of I Samuel 30. I believe there lies a lesson for each reader today as we look at David’s resolve and what he did.

“…But David felt strengthened and encouraged in the LORD his God.” ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭30:6‬ ‭

1. His faith- David knew where to go when he was at the lowest of the low- his faith in God. I have two questions for you today: what is your faith in & where is your faith? We have all faced times which mirrored that of David’s or even worse, and what will keep us going is our faith life. For a long time, religion has been relegated to the doldrums of obscurity until last year when a pandemic hit, which hasn’t really gone away at the time of writing. A recent study shows that 67.8% of adult Americans are “Bible curious” meaning they want to learn more about scripture. The good thing about God is, He is merciful and ever loving to accommodate us if we will come to Him.

“David said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring me the holy vest.” Then David asked the LORD, “Should I chase the people who took our families? Will I catch them?” The LORD answered, “Chase them. You will catch them, and you will succeed in saving your families.”” 1 Samuel‬ ‭30:7-8‬ ‭

2. His prayer life– there is a popular book of the Bible known as Psalms which was authored by David. He wrote them mostly from his prayer times. Apart from been an intelligent leader, he also knew how to pray. That was what made him one of the most successful kings in the history of this world. Many see prayer as complicated, or you need to be some sort of guru to do that. The verse above was David’s prayer. It is that easy to pray. If you want to deal with discouragement, prayer must be in your armory. Let me leave you with this scripture to encourage you in Jeremiah 33:2-3, “This is GOD ’s Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as GOD: ‘Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.’”
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“So David and his 600 men set out, and they came to the brook Besor.” ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭30:9‬ ‭

3. Goodwill- I am talking about his friendly disposition here. Honestly, I get confused when I read this story, because I asked, “weren’t these the “attempted murderers?”” The same people that wanted to kill him are now lockstep with him on a mission. This teaches me a lot on emotional intelligence. A mistake we should avoid when going “through it” is to antagonize relationships. The angels we are praying for are already our relationships we have today. If you read further, David and his men showed kindness to an Egyptian boy lying in a field by feeding him, who led them to the place of the captors. May God bless us with good relationships and may we have the wisdom to sustain the relationships for keeps!

I hope as you read today, whatever phase you are in, can be dealt with depending on the decisions you make. May one man’s decision making inspire us to come out of any discouraging situation.

Thank you for reading and supporting the blog. You are indeed the lifeline of this!

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Till I come your way again…

Peace & Love

Hello and glad to come your way once again. I am grateful to be alive in the second week of the second quarter of the year. How about you?

In an attempt to define boldness the last time, we had to look at what it isn’t first. Instead of giving a definition to the word, I want to use three words to paint a picture on that word.

The word bold is synonymous with trust, to be secure, and confidence. A bold person trusts, is secure and confident. Let us look into these three aspects.

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”” Daniel‬ ‭3:16-18‬ ‭

1. Trust– the story in context is about the king of Babylon in Nebuchadnezzar issuing a decree to his subjects to worship his god made of gold. Nebuchadnezzar at that time, was one of the most feared kings. You better not stand up to him. Most kings of his day didn’t practice democracy, where other viewpoints are welcome. Look at the boldness of three Jewish slaves in captivity; Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, who decided not to bow down to the gold image, because they trusted their conviction and trusted that God will deliver them. They were also willing to die, if help never came because they trusted the cause they stood for. In this world of political correctness where cancel culture is so rampant, it becomes intimidating trusting your conviction, especially when it is not in sync with the masses and causes you to stand out. A bold person lives out his convictions because of trust.

“We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you.” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭10:12-13‬ ‭

2. Secure– the offshoot of boldness is security. From this text, we see some traits of security; refuse to play the comparison game, doesn’t overextend him or herself, stay within their strength. It takes boldness not to compare yourself with anybody. You can learn from them and take some cues, but not be competitive. People who play the comparison game tend to mask the inferiority complex they are dealing with. You won’t also overextend yourself by doing things you know, you aren’t good at. It takes a bold person to say, “I am not good at this, someone else is better suited for this…” When you are secure, you are okay with your limitations and focus on what is your core strength which is maximized to the best of your abilities to serve. It will help to know somethings: you are better than somebody, someone is also better than you, you have some uniques skills others don’t have and others have some unique skills you don’t have. This is the reality of life. If you don’t come to a place of security in your life, you will be in a rat race.

““Your Majesty,” David said, “I take care of my father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear carries off a lamb, I go after it, attack it, and rescue the lamb. And if the lion or bear turns on me, I grab it by the throat and beat it to death. I have killed lions and bears, and I will do the same to this heathen Philistine, who has defied the army of the living God.” ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭17:34-36‬ ‭

3. Confidence– confidence has to do with believing in yourself and your abilities to get the job done. Now, the quote above is the sound of confidence. Bold people are confident, no two ways about it. They are also very realistic people who tend not to overestimate their strengths or abilities. Doing that makes you overconfident, which is a liability. There was an opponent of Israel named Goliath who was a champion and had a great track record of battles. With his tall achievements came with a gigantic frame in appearance. He tormented a whole nation every morning and evening for forty days, challenging anyone to a hand-to-hand combat. Everybody was scared and had the right to be, except David. If you read the story’s ending, he killed Goliath. People who are confident in their skill set deliver results.

This is my personal take on the subject of boldness. What is yours? I will like to know if you are able to do so in the comments section.

I want to wish you all a blessed week.

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Till I come your way again.

Peace & Love

Hello, good people! Trust the weekend went well? Happy to come your way again. Today’s post should cause us to think on the true meaning of the word we will talk on- boldness!

What is it? Before we go into it, firstly let us look at what boldness is NOT.

1. Boldness is NOT rudeness- I don’t think you can put them in the same bracket. What do you think? There are some who don’t exercise discretion when talking about an issue to another in the name of boldness. Not exercising discretion can be termed unruly. Some too believe whatever comes to their minds have to be said in the name of “I am not afraid of anyone”. Anyone who uses that phrase is afraid in the first place. It is just a defense mechanism and a mask to cover what one truly fears.

2. Boldness is NOT foolhardily taking risks- boldness doesn’t mean you suspend reason and critical thinking before taking a risk. In life, we all have to embrace the chance of a risk take. Some people will just avoid taking a risk to go on the path of convenience and familiarity, which is also not good. However, don’t take a risk with reckless abandon in the name of, “I am bold”. What is your game plan? Do you have a strategy? Take a risk thoughtfully and also calculating “the risk of being in a risk”.

3. Boldness is NOT the refusal to acknowledge your fear- fear is natural and part of life. To deal with fear effectively as an emotion before it becomes a spirit controlling you, you have to acknowledge that thing that causes you fear, and decide to deal with it head on. It is just like, you see a nervous person getting ready to speak in front of an audience, and you ask, “are you nervous?”. To which he replies, “No!”. You see him sweating, panting uncontrollably, hands are shaking, knees trembling, sipping water by the minute and visiting the bathroom ever so often- it’s a telling sign. It is okay to admit, you are nervous then you can now look at ways to relax yourself. Honestly admitting your fear or inadequacy is a sign of great strength and integrity. I challenge you reading TODAY to face your fear(s) head on. Admit it, and then deal with it, rather than feigning strength (which is not there).

4. NOT all extroverts are bold- being an outgoing or an overly expressive person is not the same as exhibiting boldness. On the other hand, not all introverts too are timid. You can’t define boldness by looking at someone’s temperament, which can at times be misleading. Some of the most fearful people I have personally encountered are extroverts. Just look a bit further beyond the physical make up of a person.

We will continue this subject and attempt to define boldness. Until then, I just left you with this thought provoking piece, which will bring a different insight on boldness in your quiet time.

Till I come your way again…

Peace & Love

“Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” Hebrews‬ ‭12:15‬ ‭

Hello, glad to come your way again. I hope you are marching forward in the month of March?

Today, I want us to look at the subject on bitterness. From this passage of scripture, I want to draw our minds to some truths.

1. Bitterness starts as a root.

2. Bitterness affects (troubles) you.

3. Bitterness is a contagion- defiles many.

4. Bitterness grows!

5. Bitterness affects you receiving the grace of God. Grace has a very broad meaning. In this context, it means kindness.

I believe one of the things that can hold us back from progressing in this month, is bitterness. So, what is it? It is extreme wickedness. The origin of the name is from the contents of our gall bladder or bile which is known to be very bitter.

How does one become bitter? It comes from unresolved hurt. Any hurt we refuse to deal with gradually disintegrates into bitterness. Let me give you a typical example of such a case in the Bible.

“Esau, hearing his father’s words, sobbed violently and most bitterly, and cried to his father, “My father! Can’t you also bless me?”

Esau seethed in anger against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him; he brooded, “The time for mourning my father’s death is close. And then I’ll kill my brother Jacob.”” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭27:34, 41‬ ‭

Esau became hurt at his brother’s trickery in taking his birthright, which was his father’s blessing. In the Jewish context, first born sons had a privilege called the birthright which was a blessing spoken over by the father. It was believed such words of empowerment could cause one to prosper and affect one’s destiny.

Bitterness shows in one’s speaking. It is not rocket science to detect it. Sometimes, you point out to people, they are bitter and they will say, “oh no! Me?!” The funny thing is, speech is very indicative of your emotional state. A refusal to acknowledge you are hurt and also deal with it will plant a seed of bitterness in your heart which will grow and have deadly consequences. In Esau’s case, he thought of murdering his brother, Jacob.

How do we deal with bitterness? Understanding God’s love towards us and His forgiveness upon us will enable us to walk free from “this virus”.

“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians‬ ‭4:31-32‬ ‭

You can only be kind when you understand God’s love toward you. It will result in being tender hearted and easily forgiving. I pray may we understand God’s love this month. It will help us progress in our human relations free of ill will and contempt towards one another.

May every root of bitterness be plucked out as we read this, because we will make a conscious decision to deal with our pain out of unresolved hurt, no matter how unpleasant it is. At least, it is the first step to recovery here.

God bless you all!

Hope you were encouraged by this? Let me know in your comments. Please like and share today’s post.

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Till I come your way again…

Peace & Love

“Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”” Matthew‬ ‭13:31-32‬ ‭

Glad to come your way again… I have read this Bible passage umpteen times, but for some reason, it hit different this time when I read it less than a week ago. It really got me thinking on a lot.

Today, I want to encourage anyone who is involved in starting an enterprise of any sorts. Bank your hope on this scripture!

This is Jesus preaching to the multitudes in parables about the kingdom of God. What is a parable? It is a story (fiction or non-fiction) for an illustration to bring home a spiritual truth. So parables can serve more as a coded message. What is the kingdom of God then? In the book of Mathew particularly, the kingdom of God could refer to God’s sovereign rule, God’s place, God’s presence or God’s system of governance. So depending on the context of Mathew, these are different shades of meaning.

So in this story, the kingdom of God here refers to God’s system of governance or how things are done. Jesus used this story to explain a concept about how things may start small and in-seemingly insignificant, but it grows to become something mighty.

In between the planting (starting) and the growth of an enterprise is the most important period or space. What you do in that time truly matters. The middle can at times be uncomfortable, but a great place of learning and stretching. Let us look at some few things we can do.

1. Focus- starting anything will test your level and intensity of focus. Beware of three things when starting an enterprise: a similar type that failed, a similar type that started around the same time and a similar type that has succeeded. All these three can serve as distraction if not taken care. The first one discourages you that it can’t be done. The second one puts you in competition and you will always be comparing notes at who is better, the third can make you feel inferior, thinking if this is here, why start a similar model of this kind? You have to focus on your vision and mission statement of your thing, and make it happen. At best, use those models as a learning aid, and keep on moving. Today is my hundredth blog post. There are many blogs out there with millions of readers that could distract me, but I am bent on focusing on this blog to make it the best it can be.

2. Consistency– you have to master the art of doing the same thing over and over again. In between planting and harvesting, one of the daily things the farmer has to master is the art of watering. The middle times really test your conviction. It is out of conviction that consistency is born. My consistency has been challenged since April 2018 (first time I blogged). I have always had to go back to question my conviction. Answering that question honestly will keep your motor on. In my opinion, this is the biggest hurdle to get over and the most difficult. If you are convicted, the word difficult will spur you on. If not, you will just resign that it is not for you.

3. Belief- it is important to believe in the positive outcome of your enterprise and see better prospects ahead. If not, you will close it down. When you have that belief, it affects your work ethic, your investments etc. Sometimes, we make the mistake of seeking external belief through our friends and the like. It is good if they believe in your project, but most times, belief has to be internal. You believing it is more than enough. You have to come to a place of full convincing if your project will grow. For me, it causes me no harm and no sweat at all to believe. If I don’t, I will be the first person to shut it down. Belief focuses on the process and not the time period per se. If you believe it, then it is worth your time and life.

May your enterprises see the day of light! May it grow to full fruition! May all your desires concerning that thing materialize that your joy may be full!

I hope you have been blessed reading? Let me know in your comments. Please like and share this post as well.

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Till, I come your way again…

Peace & Love

““Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Matthew‬ ‭10:16‬ ‭

Hello, glad to come your way again. Last week, we ended on the brute nature of man by looking at a Bible story in Cain and Abel. Man’s heart can be cruel indeed, and we should never underestimate it.

Today, we want to focus on these words from Jesus to his disciples. He was giving them an assignment and projected the wickedness of people his disciples were sent to. He called them, “wolves”. It was a Greek metaphor describing the cruel and destructive nature of man.

You see, with that in mind, Jesus still sent them to go to these people. There are some issues in life which are unavoidable. He just told them how to behave in the midst of savages: be wise as a serpent, harmless as a dove.

We will now look at wisdom in a snake. In my lifetime, a snake has been denoted to be evil because of its poisonous venom. It also symbolizes evil, treachery, double tongued and the like. In my conversation with a friend sometime back, he retorted to me, “I don’t like him!”, to which I questioned, “why?”. He then later told me, “he is a snake!”. After that, I got the gist of his conversation. So in reality, we don’t see anything good in a snake, but in an unlikely place like this, lies a certain wisdom to help live among people who don’t seek our wellbeing and our good.

Let us look at some few features of a snake.

1. The ability to work unnoticed– snakes don’t court attention. It knows its relationship with man is predatory; it is either kill or be killed. This facet talks about their creativity ie to be industrious without attracting undue attention. If we are to survive among wicked people, we should filter our conversations and the information we share with them as much as possible. Some people easily become the bait of an enemy by their mouths. Certain people don’t need to know ALL your business moves, especially if they have a desire to harm you. It is sometimes a good thing to bake your bread in silence.

2. Snakes listen to their internal organs– the snake’s only external organ is the eye. They rely on their internal organs for everything else asides sight. To me, this talks to me about instinctive thinking. It is said, when the tour guide takes tourists on a game park in South Africa, he normally has a Zulu with him. I am told, whilst the guide wows the tourists with information on the animals, the Zulu quietly relies on instinct to spot the animals. Without the Zulu on board, can you imagine the outcome of the excursion? Learn to move with your gut feeling every now and then, especially when you are unsure of people’s motives and agenda. Sometimes, information can be a ‘false prophet’.

3. Some snakes can also swim and fly- this speaks to me of versatility and unpredictability. If you are surrounded by people with ulterior motives, don’t let them figure you out too easily. Easily being predictable is a tool a wicked person can use against you. Don’t give people the reaction they are accustomed to anytime they aggravate you. For once, shock their world with a different set of response. Versatility also talks to me about flexibility. Stiffness can be a liability. Reinvent yourself and evolve, so that you are easily not dispensable at work or life, in general.

I think this will be it for now. May the Lord bless and keep us all as we go about our daily grind.

What did you get out of this? Do you know anything fascinating about a snake that you will like to share in your comments? I like reading comments!

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Till, I come your way again…

Peace & Love

“Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain…” Jude‬ ‭1:11‬ ‭

Hello, glad to come your way again. I had a good weekend, particularly watching last night’s Super Bowl. How was yours?

I read a disturbing article over the weekend, which forms the basis of this writeup. There are wicked people among our existence that we all need to know. Not everyone is as kind and gentle.

People normally become shocked at such revelation, but such is life, and we will have to learn how to deal with such people who will come our way.

This passage highlights a group of people who have gone in “the way of Cain”. What is that and what does it mean? Will refer to you another Bible passage for understanding.

“…Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”” Genesis‬ ‭4:2-9‬ ‭

These were two brothers; Abel and Cain. The former was a shepherd, the latter, a farmer. According to their Hebraic culture, they had to bring an offering to the Lord.

Abel brought his sacrifice which was sheep and Cain, his produce. Abel’s offering was accepted, Cain’s wasn’t. He became wroth at his brother which showed in his countenance. I wonder, did Abel not see that?

The first lesson here is, learn to observe people carefully and watch their countenance. People’s moods and manners have a loud telling. Perhaps had Abel paid particular attention to that, he wouldn’t have been murdered. Too many people fall into the hands of wicked people, because they don’t discern and watch people.

From this story, you can see the Lord talking with Cain advising him to do right, and his offering will be accepted. The second lesson here, is evil people will always like to blame people for their predicament. It is never their fault, but the next person. Instead of Cain owning up and taking responsibility for his failure, he directed his anger at his brother, Abel. Some people get angry at their colleague’s promotion and favor with his superiors at work, why misdirect that energy, instead of focusing on your work ethic and attitude on the job.

The third lesson I learn from the Lord’s discourse with Cain, is sin abounds everywhere looking for the perfect opportunity. The Lord advised Cain that sin is lurking at his door, but he should master his desire over that. A study shows that man has 6,200 thoughts per day. Not all thoughts are good, you can’t help those thoughts racing through your mind, but you can control your response on capitulating to that. Cain bit into the bait and surrendered to his evil desires which led to him murdering his brother.

Now when the Lord asked of Abel from Cain, he responded, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”. This response shows that, not everyone will seek for your well-being or look out for your interests. Man without the love of God in his heart is worse than a brute beast.

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” Jeremiah‬ ‭17:9‬ ‭

I pray for you dear reader, that as you go about your day today and the weeks ahead, may God deliver you from every evil, wicked and unreasonable person. Be wise and circumspect in your dealings with people.

I hope you caught something today? What are your thoughts on this? Let me know. Will love to read your comments.

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Till I come your way again…

Peace & Love

“Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, he saddled a donkey, and arose and went home to his house, to his city. Then he put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died; and he was buried in his father’s tomb.” II Samuel‬ ‭17:23‬ ‭

I hope the weekend was a good one? Read this scripture over this past weekend which got me thinking. I saw how one man’s (poor) response to rejection led him to commit suicide.

Based on this, let us look at this subject closely. Rejection is part of life. We will all or have been dealt with the hand of rejection. Knowing how to respond well is crucial. The action taken by Ahithophel mirrors many’s response.

Before that, who was Ahithopel? He was a counselor to the king at the time, who was David and had defected. He had a reputation of being a wise counselor. He was the real deal! Look at the description in the passage below

“The counsel that Ahithophel gave in those days was treated as if God himself had spoken. That was the reputation of Ahithophel’s counsel to David…” ‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭16:23‬

If your counsel is like God himself has spoken, you must be something else! They couldn’t even compare him to any human, but a divine being. This was the reputation that preceded him. He gave counsel to the king’s son in Absalom who had committed treason against his father, David. Ahithophel had become a conspirator to Absalom’s evil plot in staging a coup against his father, David. When his counsel wasn’t taken, Ahithopel ended his life.

Ahithopel’s ending speaks to me a lot which I will like to share on dealing with rejection.

1. Don’t believe your hype– don’t drink the cool-aid of your own advertisement, it’s a poisonous drink. Be grounded in who you are and be confident in your skills and talents you bring to the table, but don’t overestimate your importance.

“…I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly…” Romans‬ ‭12:3‬ ‭

If you don’t think modestly, all sorts of emotion will be triggered in you when you face rejection. Some don’t take kindly when their suggestion is not taken in favor of a better suggestion at the board meeting. They will have an attitude and will let you know they are not happy about it. They can’t celebrate others and look at things in a big picture: the company wins. It always has to be about them. Friend, we can’t continue living like that. When we are this way, it shows how small of a person we truly are. People who have airs and graces about themselves have no sense of humor. They will lash out at their spouse for cracking a joke about them.

2. Don’t let it be personal- most times, rejection has nothing to do with your person. It might be your business proposal, but not you. It might be your advice, but not you. It might be your fashion sense, but not you. It might even be a marriage proposal, but not you. Very few instances of rejection has to do with attacking your very person. I believe people like that are toxic and evil. Truthfully, I will not associate with anyone that rejects my very person. So please, know the difference between the two. If it is not against your person, then see it as an opportunity to work on yourself, or give some room in time. There are certain counsels that are time sensitive meaning, it will be applicable next month or two, but not this month. Don’t jump hastily into conclusions and start accusing people for their dislike of you.

3. Don’t let it define you– let us be honest; being rejected can be very humbling or humiliating. It is a very painful one when experienced. Don’t let that episode define you. There is no success without failure. At times, no acceptance without rejection first. Ahithophel killed himself because he let that episode of his advice not taken defined him. He probably felt like a fool, or thought he was not the real deal anymore! Killing yourself should NEVER be an option.

Finally, I want to end on this note by quoting an except of one of my favorite songs in Above All by Michael Smith.

Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

Jesus can relate to rejection. He suffered the highest form of rejection which had to do with against his very person. He understands rejection better than any of us. If you have any feelings of rejection or still reeling from the effects of rejections, THIS IS YOUR BEST BET: come to Jesus, He will not forsake you.

Thank you all for reading. I hope my weekend thoughts in writing was a blessing to you?

Happy new month y’all!

Please like and share today’s post. It will mean a lot to me. Like always, I look forward to reading your comments too. Please do comment and let me know your thoughts. Thank you

Till I come your way again…

Peace & Love

“Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.”” Daniel‬ ‭5:12‬ ‭

Hello, and glad to come your way again. Thought good and hard for a minute on what to write on, and settled on this which was suggested over a year ago by my brother in law.

This is a Bible story on Daniel who was a slave under Babylonian captivity. The preceding chapters documents his ascent. He became a ruler over Babylon, chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon and “sat in the gate of the king”. The gate of the king in the East was a post of chief honor and dignity as a counselor of the king. Many factors play in Daniel’s success, but among one was an excellent spirit.

What is it? This text was written in Hebrew Aramaic and the word excellent is an adjective denoting preeminent, surpassing, extreme, extraordinary. So excellence in this passage means you go an extra step above the ordinary which makes you extraordinary. So from this meaning alone, I could say, Daniel had a great work ethic. No lazy person can be excellent.

What made him excellent? We can glean from his story which can be applicable to our lives.

1. He brought solution to a problem- if you read the first eleven verses of chapter 5, you will get a better context of the text quoted. The king, his lords, wives and concubines were feasting and drinking. In the middle of that, the king saw a hand write on the wall of his palace (which calls for alarm). The king became worried and wanted an interpretation of the writing. His astrologers, magicians and soothsayers couldn’t interpret the writing. This was where Daniel came in, hence the description of him. He interpreted the writing which spelt the future of the king. An excellent spirit brings solutions where there are puzzles. May this quality reflect among our work colleagues, friends, family and the like.

“Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.” ‭‭Daniel‬ ‭6:3‬ ‭

2. He was eminent at his work– the success at what he does was clear on one factor: an excellent spirit. You go above average and give out your very best. There are too many average employees at work who are just interested in having a paycheck. They will also complain about lack of opportunities and why they are overlooked when it comes to promotion. An excellent employee will not get to work at the start of his shift at 7am. No, he will be there ten minutes earlier. You have a fifteen minute break and you still need your supervisor to tell you break is over. The sad thing is, he has been telling you this for the past five years. That is not being excellent. Excellence also means you need little or no supervision to do the things that are required of you. You can’t be extraordinary when you are so used to ordinary things. It comes at a price of overextending yourself to break every ceiling and lift every lid over your life. What we see from this verse too is, excellence will get you noticed and promoted. It is IMPOSSIBLE to live in obscurity when you are excellent.

“So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him.” ‭‭Daniel‬ ‭6:4‬ ‭

3. Excellent people are faithful- they are not perfect; they are just responsible. Living a life of excellence brings a lot of hate and envy at times. You might have just few friends. I have realized with time that excellent people will value doing the right thing over the good thing. Sometimes, right and good things are mutually exclusive, think about it. Excellence breeds faithfulness. Faithfulness means you carry your assigned tasks to the letter. It will be difficult to lay a charge on you. People easily make themselves dispensable at work through their attitude and average results on their tasks. These things make the higher-ups easily find a fault. I pray as I write that may we truly be excellent, especially at our work.

May we move from average, and may we not settle at good. May we pay every price necessary to attain excellence.

Thank you for reading.

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Till I come your way again…

Peace & Love

“After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.” Joshua‬ ‭1:1-2‬ ‭

Hello, and glad to come your way again. Hardly does a year go by without us experiencing some sort of scar. Such is life! Every year is unique because of its peculiar challenges.

A scar oftentimes serves as a reminder- it either empowers you to move forward after learning from your mistakes, or cripple you in fear to bring you to a standstill. I don’t know how each of us processed this past year, but I hope after reading this today, may we be inspired to make a move.

This scripture starts off with the death of Moses, who lead the Israelites through the wilderness for forty years. At the threshold of entering the Promised Land in Canaan, the unexpected happens: Moses is dead. Now the Israelites are at a crossroads wondering, who will lead them. A leadership gap caused them to standstill and also cower in fear. This mirrors some of us as we have entered into the New Year. The grim and harsh memories of the past year have caused many to standstill and not even dream again because of the fear of the unknown- possibly evil.

From this scripture, we can deduce some things which will help us as we navigate the uncharted path of this year.

1. Be assured of God’s presence

“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.” Joshua‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭

This scripture is very personal to me, because I took solace in that upon hearing on the unexpected passing of my father. Some never feel God’s presence, but He is as real as the person next to you. God is not a mystery! He has ALWAYS desired fellowship with man. The relationship starts by receiving Jesus into your life as Savior and Lord. The next is reading the Bible to get an accurate picture of who God is. As a result of continually building this relationship, you will sense Him. Things that are unseen are as real as the seen. Never seen airwaves before, but I know it exists because of wireless and many related things.

2. Be bold!

“Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.” Joshua‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭

The result of strength and courage is boldness. Don’t let the sting of the past rob you of living boldly. It is much work living in fear and cowardice. One of the sources of strength is prayer. Commit to prayer and see the aftereffects of boldness rub off on you. Boldness is not the absence of fear, but rather moving in the face of fear. There is nothing like a perfect time to rid yourself of all fears before you move. You will wait forever! Take a bold step this year to TRY IT AGAIN. What ever that IT is, don’t give up just yet. I pray for every reader to be strengthened with God’s power today that results in living boldly.

“strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power…” Colossians‬ ‭1:11‬ ‭

3. Meditation

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” ‭‭Joshua‬ ‭1:8‬ ‭

I am aware of different kinds of meditation, but I am looking at this from a Christian context. Meditation is when you fill your mind with the Word of God and ponder on it till it sinks in your heart. The ability to memorize a Bible verse by the heart is meditation. Meditation means now you operate the Bible from your heart which is the seat of your conviction, than just giving mental assent. Anything you believe, you will do! Walking by the Bible too makes one’s way prosperous and experience success.

Basically, today’s three points centers on building a relationship with God and getting to know Him through prayer and the Bible. That will be your safest bet on staying afloat in this year and the years to come.

Hope this spoke to you? Let me know. Will love to read your comments.

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Till I come your way again…

Peace & Love