“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

“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!