“A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)

“I could play the background

I could play the background

Cause I know sometimes I get in the way

So won’t you take the lead, lead, lead?

So won’t you take the lead, lead, lead?

And I could play the background, background

And you can take the lead”

There goes the chorus of award winning Christian Rapper, Lecrae’s song Background. The song talks about letting God take the leading role in your life and allowing Him to guide you in your daily walk.

I understand that most of us have very busy schedules. And for many the only time to think about God is when something goes wrong. You wake up, go for your morning jog, come back and start attending to some emails, take a shower, read the newspaper over breakfast and go to your car. The car refuses to start and the first thing you say is “Oh, God” followed by a little prayer, “Lord, help me!” If only you had asked God to direct your day when you woke up.

For many God is the spare wheel in their lives. They only call upon Him when they are facing challenges. If all is well, He is of no need to them. How sad. God should be the steering wheel of your life. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” The more you acknowledge Him, the more he directs your life.

Instead of calling upon God during crisis management, why not let Him take control of your entire life. You can start by creating a personal relationship with Him. Some even think twice when they want to pray, they are not even sure if God is willing to listen to them because they have been scarce for a while. Job 22:21 admonishes us to acquaint ourselves with God. If we do that good things will follow us.

The Living Bible translation of Isaiah 1:19 tells us that God wants to help you to get rich. So go ahead. Let Go and let God!

Stay blessed

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. (Romans 8:28)

In the last blog post “Keep at it” we talked about stick-ability and endurance. No matter how the going gets tough you need to endure. Why? As long as you are acting in line with God’s word, everything will work together for your good.

Many times we give up at the first site of a roadblock during our quest for success. The bank refuses your start-up loan application and all of a sudden you feel maybe it wasn’t that good a business idea anyway then you give up. You toss that business plan in the nearest bin and someone passing by picks it up and sees an opportunity, approaches a few people and implements your business idea. A few years down the line the business has grown and this person is receiving awards for it. Had you not given up you would have been the genius here.

Some of these challenges we face in our daily walk are just to test our patience. Remember successful people are the ones who make a decision to pursue a certain course and see it through. Romans 5:3-5 explains it well: “…knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed…” When you put your trust in God as you patiently endure hardship, He will surely come through for you. Be like David when he said, “Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.” (Psalms 27:3) He knew who His God was.

The Loan application refusal might sound like a trivial matter to most. You might be thinking, “I have a bigger problem, I am the bread winner but I just lost my job,” or maybe “I do not have enough money for my final year of university” or “my marriage is on the rocks”. Well I have news for you. The bible in 2 Corinthians 4:17 assures you that these challenges are for a moment. They are actually getting you ready for a greater glory that lies ahead.

In conclusion, though we often suffer, we are never crushed. Even when we do not know what to do, we never give up. In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again. Ref 2Corinthains 4:8. Do not give up.

Stay blessed

“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” (Ecc 9:10)

I read something interesting the other day. It was about how the most successful people have something in common. They made up their mind about pursuing a certain course in life and stuck with that decision. That is Stick ability, a term my Life Skills teacher always emphasised in High school.

Life’s daily toils constantly threaten our enthusiasm. Normally, at the start of a project , you are passionate about it, at times even “overzealous”. But a few road blocks along the way and you have lost the fire. The drive is gone and you are ready to give up.

Galatians 6:9 provides the answer: “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Keep at it for the Lord says, “Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.” (Lev 26:4) Even when things don’t seem to be working out, do not give up, for you harvest will be available at the right time.

Another scenario. The first few months working in that organisation were the best of your life. You loved every moment and you surpassed all your targets. Then with time, it has become a boring routine and you have lost the excitement. You no longer perform well. But The New Living Translation of Romans 12:11 admonishes us to “never lag in zeal, but to be aglow and on fire!” Also do all things as unto the Lord, not unto men, for the ultimate reward comes from Him.( ref Col3:23)

In conclusion, you reap what you sow (ref Galatians6:7) therefore if you continue to sow seeds of hard work, you will surely reap a bumper harvest of success. Keep at it.

Stay Blessed

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”(1John 4:11)

 

Last week’s post No one pokes at a fruitless tree got me thinking: So what does one do if (s) he has haters? For most people the immediate response is confrontation, then revenge. Others prefer to just let the person be but hate that person for life. When people poke at us we normally get angry, and the Bible says it is ok to be angry but do not let the sun go down on your anger (Ref Ephesians 4:26) because the more you bottle up that anger it turns into bitterness and bitterness short circuits the power of God in your life.

So what is the best way to deal with these so called haters? As I studied the Bible, I came across two wonderful scriptures that answered my question:

“Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.” (Lev 19:17-18) and  “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”(Mat 5:43-44)

So someone steals from me or spreads lies about me that cost me my job, yet I am not supposed to revenge or even hold a grudge against him/her. In fact, I am actually supposed to love them, bless them, do good to them and pray for them! It seems rather impossible doesn’t it? Well, remember God loved a sinner like you and me. Think about the worst thing you have ever done, God forgave you for it, because He loves you. Love, therefore conquers all.

In conclusion make up your mind to walk in love. Love does not keep a record of wrongs that others do, is hopeful and never fails. (Ref 1Corinthians13:4-8 CEV) .

Stay Blessed

“And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.”(Act 6:13-14)

The book of Acts in Chapter 6 narrates how there were murmurings over how the widows were neglected and not being given assistance by the disciples. The disciples ordained seven chosen men to the deaconship. Among the seven men was Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost who did great wonders and miracles among the people. Some men began to argue with him but were no match for his wisdom and for that reason hired some locals to tell lies about him to the council.

It is interesting to note that the reason why Stephen was arrested was because he outshined the Libertines, the Cyrenians, the Alexandrians and those men who came from Cilicia and Asia. I assume they had expected to outnumber him and bombard him with questions and attack his work in the ministry so as to completely silence him. But one man’s wisdom outshined theirs and they were irked to the point that they conspired with the locals to take him down, for good.Think about this, had Stephen been a normal person, doing mediocre things in his society, would these men even have noticed him? I believe not. No one pokes at a fruitless tree because the fruit is what they want.

I happened to stumble upon a talk show the other day and they were talking about a new term (but not new phenomenon):- HATE CRUSH , that is, when you hate someone so bad that you practically stalk them because you want to know their every move.(Confused???? No need to be, just digest it the way I have put it, that’s all!) From one guest to the other , they all explained to us how they hate this person or the other for this or another reason and have gotten to a point that they spend most of their day “obsessing” about that person. I however noticed something common about all the guests. They all hated people who had something that they wanted and were stalking them to (subconsciously) to learn how they can also get the same thing.

Maybe that’s the same thing you are facing at the office, at school, in your social circles or wherever you spend your time. Maybe when you pass by in your nice suit they whisper to each other who does he think he is, Mr Louis Vuitton? Or maybe your team leader disregards your ideas and then puts them forward as his/her own. Or maybe some people are always starting rumours about you to ruin your reputation. Someone once told me, “If you are behind no one will see you, but they talk because they can see you ahead of them.” Always remember, Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. (Mat 5:14)

Stay Blessed

"And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples,which are not written in this book." John 20: 30

The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are filled with various extra-ordinary things Jesus did during his walk on earth. The Bible makes it clear that these are not the only miracles Jesus performed,for, "...if they should be written everyone, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." John 21:25

However,these miracles were written so that by believing,we may have life through Jesus. Ref John 20:31. Also remember, Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 11:8) therefore miracles can still take place today.

Do you need a miracle? Get to God's Word, as you read about what Jesus did, your faith is stirred making it a conducive environment for your miracle to take place. Always remember the Words of the Master to the woman with the issue of blood (Matthew 9:22) or the blind beggar( Luke 18:42) or one of the ten lepers (Luke17:19) : THY FAITH HATH MADE THEE WHOLE!

Stay blessed

“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:13

Have you ever found yourself asking, “But I have had faith for this, prayed, even fasted and nothing seems to be coming out of it. Is God there? Can He not see that I’m suffering? Can He not hear my prayers? Why me? ” Or maybe something “tragic” happened in your life and there you are trying to think of what sin you could have committed that could have infuriated God to punish you like that.

The story in Mark 8:14-21 opened my eyes pertaining to reasoning with God’s Word and the situations we face. The Disciples had forgotten to bring bread on their journey and when Jesus made a statement about bread they tried to reason things out and assumed that maybe Jesus spoke about bread because they had forgotten to bring some. Jesus knew what they were thinking, so He asked, “ Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? Perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? And having ears, hear ye not? And do ye not remember? When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up?” Mark 8:17-19

That is the same thing with you today. Maybe you are going through some challenging situations, and you are trying to reason things out. Do you not remember how God delivered you out of similar challenges in the past? You might be thinking, but Fungai you don’t understand what I’m going through, this is too much. I am saying to you today, NO, how is it that YOU don’t understand. (Ref Mark 8:21)

The opening scripture (Ephesians 6:13) lets us know that we ought to remain standing in the evil day. Part of the armour is the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Read the Bible to acquaint yourself with who God is and what He can do. That way, when trouble comes, you know that you will not be consumed.

Remember these challenges are for the trying of your faith as explained in 1Peter 1: 7 : That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. When trouble comes, meditate on the scripture above. Do not give up. Hold on to that dream.

Stay Blessed

“…It is finished..”John19: 30

The Easter Holiday is coming up. Yes the much awaited holiday. Plans have been made to drive to the rural areas, fly to a lovely holiday resort, host your traditional BBQ or just spend the weekend indoors, resting. All that is not bad but have you taken some time to just think about the true meaning of Easter.

Jesus came, as a representation of the sacrificial lamb to take away the sins of the world. He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. (Ref Isaiah53:5) The sin of the world was upon Him, yet He was without sin and blameless. He was the final sacrifice. We no longer have to sacrifice animals to make atonement for our sins like they used to do in the Old Testament days. Jesus has done this once and for all.

The Bible says in John 3:16, “God loved the world, that He gave His only Son that whoever believes should not perish…” You value something based on its price. Hence in this case Jesus (God’s one and only Son) was the price paid for my redemption, that must mean God places a great value on me. So, no longer do I walk about as a good-for-nothing-nobody because I am important to God.

In conclusion, 1John 4:10 says that, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Notice something, I did not have to do anything to deserve this Kind of love from the Father, after all, I was a sinner, yet God still paid the price for me. That’s the reason I celebrate.

Stay Blessed

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” Proverbs 23: 7

I have often heard people say, “A thought is an action waiting for an opportunity.” And others say, “The imaginative power is the creative ability.” How true!

Do you know that we set the direction of our lives with our thoughts? Yes, we draw to our lives what we constantly think about. If you believe you will never amount to anything in life, you are right! It will happen just as you have prophesied. I have noticed something about a lot of successful people. They always imagined doing big things, they used to always say “One day….” And hence they are where they are now. I am yet to come across someone who just happened to stumble upon success. It starts with your mind set.

The devil, however, tries to bombard us with negative thoughts so that we do not progress. But the Bible also tells our how to deal with these negative thoughts. We should cast down every wrong imagination and take captivity every wrong thought. Ref 2Corinthians10:5. So instead of dwelling on these negative thoughts, reject them, and think on something positive.

In conclusion, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Philipians 4:8

Stay Blessed

“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Joshua1:9

 

I love the story of David and Goliath in 1Samuel17. Saul and all Israel became afraid when challenged by the giant Goliath. Notice, Goliath had not even done anything to anyone as yet, but they were threatened by his stature and the words that came out of his mouth. That was the strategy of the Philistines, and it seemed to work.

The devil uses tricks and strategies like fear to consume us. He can place these huge giant-like challenges in front of us hoping that we will be become afraid and give in to him.After all that is all he can do, for Jesus stripped him off all his power according to Colossians 2:15.

The phrase “Fear Not” is apparently used 365 times in the Bible, one reminder for each day, showing us how important it is. So How do you “Fear Not”? How come David was not afraid of Goliath? Yes, Goliath was a challenge, a big one, actually too big for him to miss!I love what he said in 1Samuel 17: 45, “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.” Always stand on God’s word when you face a challenge, it will never fail.

In addition, David recognised that there was someone bigger than Goliath on his side.Hebrews 13:5-6 says “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” God is with you always! There is no need to fear. After all FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real.

Lastly, also keep this in mind, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2Timothy 1: 7

Stay Blessed

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” James 1:22

The story of the Woman with the issue of blood in Luke 8: 43-48 is a remarkable one. Jesus said to her, “…thy faith hath made thee whole…”. Notice something, What is faith? According to Hebrews11: 1 , “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” This woman wanted to be healed of her condition. She could have simply believed in her home that God can heal her, but it was not enough. She had to act, she had to do something.In addition, she had to act on a Word. I am sure she had heard about how Jesus was healing people everywhere he went and her faith was stirred up when she heard Jesus was coming to her town.

Faith without works is dead(Ref James 2:17). What miracle do you need in your life. Just act on God’s Word, launch out and expect your miracle.

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:22-25

Remember, Faith is not passive it is active, an active leap on God’s Word.

Stay Blessed

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

Product design is a process concerned with efficient and effective generation and development of ideas through a process that leads to new products. Every new product is made according to certain specifications and its use is designed to achieve certain objectives. In other words, a product is made with its purpose in mind e.g. A Cell phone for mobile communication, Mascara for extending eyelashes, YouTube for uploading short videos etc. In addition, a product is made with its capacity to perform ( e.g. the Mascara should be able to extend the length of one’s eyelashes ) and may have to operate within certain limiting factors(e.g. YouTube’s maximum video length is only 15minutes).

The best person to tell you about a product is its creator, (S)he knows more about its capabilities, limiting factors and purpose more than anyone. Even more, they are the best to solve any malfunction of the product. And to make it even easier, they develop manuals which show how the product should be used as well as what to do in the event troubleshooting occurs.

Ok so what am I getting at? Is this a free tutorial of product engineering? No, not at all! The above is actually an illustration of our life situation. Really!!?? Yes, really! WE are the product, God is the creator and The Bible is the Manual!

So in essence we have been created for a purpose, with certain capabilities, though no limiting factors exist as I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.( ref Philippians 4:13) . Have you ever asked yourself why you are here today? Why did God create you and put you in this place? What can you do? What are your limiting factors? Turn to the Creator and the Manual for answers. Are you troubleshooting (sick, broke, depressed etc.) also refer to the Manual and find ways to rectify the problems.

I cannot emphasise it enough, learn to study God’s  Word and continually ponder on it as it ensures a high product success rate as stated in Joshua 1:8 , “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

Stay Blessed

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11

A certain Preacher gave the members of his congregation a mandate to go and read John 23:1-14 in preparation for the next service. At the beginning of the next service he asked how many had performed the mandate. Almost everyone raised their hands and those that didn’t shyly confessed that they didn’t get the opportunity to read it because of other pressing commitments. The Preacher went on to ask everyone to close their Bible and listen to his sermon based on John 23. He read from His “Bible” about the story of how “Zedekiah was put in a lion’s den and how Jesus came to save Him.” During the teaching everyone was jumping up and down, shouting Hallelujah!!! Yes the Preacher was preaching good that day! As he was concluding his sermon, the Preacher asked everyone to open their Bibles and read with him John23:14 and to their amazement the book of John ends on chapter 21! I can imagine the looks on their faces!

The Bible is our Life Manual. It contains solutions for any problem or challenge we can face in our daily walk on earth. That’s why it is important for us to read it constantly. Find out what it says about your health, your prosperity and your entire life. After all, it is our true reflection, our mirror as eluded to in the Amplified Version of 2Corithians 3:18, “And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of God, are constantly being transfigured into His {very own} image in ever increasing splendour {and} from one degree of glory to another…” The more you read the Word of God, the more you become what it says! For faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God! (Ref Romans10:17)

Make up your mind to read the Bible more often, not just speed reading like a novel but study to understand. Maybe you find it difficult to read the Bible by yourself; you don’t even know where to begin! http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/all has many Bible reading plans to choose from. Lastly, always remember, “Those who discover these words live, really live; body and soul, they’re bursting with health” Proverbs 4:22 (MSG)

Stay Blessed

“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.” Mark 11:22

Do you feel like there are many limiting factors to your success? Maybe you feel you were not born in the right family, didn’t attend the right school/college, you are not socially connected to the right people or it’s because of the Global Economic Crisis?

Remember the story of Abraham (Ref Genesis 15:1-5; 17; 21), how he “staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith…”Romans4:20. There were many limiting factors standing in the way of him having a child, after all he was old and his wife Sarah had already reached menopause, but Abraham was “fully persuaded that what God had promised, He was also able to perform” Rom4:21

It is God’s will for you to prosper and be healthy as alluded to by John in 3John2. So, the next time you feel like something is impossible, ask yourself WTF meaning WHERE’S THE FAITH! Because with God all things are possible!

Stay Blessed

I heard a story about a certain man who spent his life savings on a Boat Cruise Ticket. During meal times the man would go in a corner and eat cheese and crackers while everyone else went to the restaurant. On the last day, a fellow passenger asked him why they never saw him during meal times and the man admitted (a bit embarrassed) that he could not afford the meals as he had spent his life savings on the ticket alone and did not have much money left over. The fellow passenger was shocked but the man was shocked even more to find out that the meals were part of the cruise package! So all along this man was starving himself while his meals had already been paid for!

The Bible says “Ye are bought with a price…” 1Corinthians7:23. The price for us has been paid in full! John3:16 says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” By virtue of our believing, everlasting life has been credited to our “account”! The word life in the Greek is zoe {dzo-ay'} which means the absolute fullness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God(see http://www.thewordsofeternallife.com/eternal_life.html for more about everlasting life). This means we are supposed to have fullness of life!
Are you struggling in one area or the other in your life! Always remember everlasting life, fullness of life- health, wealth, peace –the total package is yours! Embrace it!
Stay Blessed!