Who are you? What is in a Name?
Hi y'all, I had a long break there, Had loads of stuff to do and catch up on, but i guess I'm back now, so enjoy today's message and feel free to leave your comments, i really do appreciate the phone calls and emails, It's an encouragement for me to keep up the "good" (as some of you have called it) work.
Today's question.... Who are you? usually gets a response that goes something like .... "My name is ........." This implies that a person is identified first by name, which brings me to the second question, what's in a name? What does your name mean? How does it affect/determine your life? Do you know that who you are is linked directly to what your name is?
In the bible we find that names meant a lot. A few examples will illustrate this;
Jacob became Israel, Abram > Abraham, Sarai > Sarah, Saul > Paul etc......
How important were these name changes? Do you think it had any effect on thier lives? The stories in the bible tell us that infact the name changes had a "turn-around" effect in thier lives, the childless bore children (Natural and faith children), the anti-Jesus man became the most effective disciple of Jesus! Amazing transformations if you ask me. How many of us would love to have life-changing events? Ask yourself, what is your name? what does it mean? I know of men who have changed thier names in this great nation of ours and have seen positive things take place in thier lives, now i'm not advocating that everyone go about changing thier names every 2 days or something like that, but I'm definitely saying that if your name means something that is not progressive/sad/evil/negative, I suggest you change it ... and quickly too!
The origin of names you ask? Well let's go back to the beginning, Adam was the first man, and he named everything on the earth, Trees, animals even his wife Eve, that must mean there's a lot of meaning to a name since it was the very first task that God gave Adam. For the perfect illustration, when Jesus was to come to earth, the angel Gabriel (Even angels have names!! isnt' that something to meditate on?) told Mary to name her child "Jesus" (Luke 1:31 and Realization in Luke 2: 21)) ...... Now that name is a Name that is above every name (Phillipians 2:10), Wonderful things happen at the mention of that name "Jesus" , Healings, answered prayers, Salvation, name it ... (sounds funny ...... "name it" :-), t'was not planned sha)
So you tell me, what's in a name? and who are you? I'd love to know your take on this interesting topic......
Looking for a job?
When a man wants a job, he usually goes out and gets it. How he goes about it is usually in the follwing manner, he prepares his CV, files an application, and then follows through with all the necessary interviews. If he is succesful, he gets the job otherwise he starts the process all over again. Now lets apply that method to other things, and you'll find out a pattern, a question comes to mind, how many of us search for a job in God? How do you prepare your CV, how do you fill out an application, what interviews are necessary, how can you become succesful in your search? ......... meditate on that for a while and let it sink in.
Let's start from the preparation part. Your CV, which is a history of your past and current position (wherever that may be). God says come as you are, just as you are now, you dont have to backdate your age (or is it forward-date?), you dont have to lie about where you did your IT, you don't need all that, just come as you are, don't worry about not being qualified, for HE has already qualified you.
How do you attend the interviews? what do you need to rehearse, what do you find out about the company .... Look around you, the sun, the moon, the trees, animals .... (seeing anything yet?) The creator of the universe made all these things, and HIS character (beauty, order, etc) can be seen from the things around you.
What are your strengths and weaknesses? No need to answer that, HE already knows, actually, HE knows all about you, so it's not really an interview per se, it's more like "
do you accept to work for me? These are the benefits and these are the challenges you will face, what say ye?"This is the first part of this message ......... I'll keep you posted
Living For Today!
Anyone familiar with the thoughts "When I get married I'll be ok/happy/relaxed", "When I get a job I'll be content/happy/comfortable", "When I get the promotion ...........", "When I buy the car ....." "When I ......." The list goes on and on and on. Truth of the matter is that we have all been given the same currency by God, and that currency is time, and the time you and I both have is NOW, not yesterday, not tomorrow, not 5 hours from now, not even a few minutes from now.
A lot can happen in the next second, Jesus Christ may return, the stock market may collapse, the price of fuel may go up, you might win the lottery..... so many unpredictable events can occur in just a few seconds from now. The question really is "What are you doing with NOW? Are you happy with NOW? Are you full of joy this very moment, or are you waiting for something to happen before you become happy/content/etc?" Practice carrying the presence of GOD, for it is written, in HIS presence, there is fullness of joy! (Psalm 16:11 ....) God lives in you if you believe in HIS son Jesus, if you don't, you can experience this joy by simply accepting that Jesus paid the price for the world's sins so that you and me can come into the presence of GOD and experience fullness of joy. And you need to do this now, for that's the only time you have at your disposal, the next "second/minute/hour" belongs to God, and until it is given to you, enjoy the "second" you currently have!!
Live for today - Please don't get me wrong, it doesnt mean we don't plan for tomorrow, but live as if you don't have tomorrow, live life to the full, express joy, love and peace to the full this moment....... be excited about life, enjoy HIS mercy and goodness and thank HIM for this moment, and even if you don't get to see the next second, you would have lived a full life! God's grace and mercy be to unto you this very moment!
Wisdom
In all your getting get wisdom ............ Wisdom is the principal thing....... heard that before?
Recently I realised that I needed to make certain decisions concerning my life (career, life partner, where to live .....etc) so many decisions, but how can you be sure that the decisions you make are the right one? How sure are you that you are following God's will for that moment?
Tough questions if you ask me, and tough decisions too, but the WORD of God is true and is filled with a lot of statements that makes us realise that all the answers are there, which emphasises the importance of reading the WORD daily.
Let me share with you what I found out to be the key thing to search for in order to make you decisions less mentally challenging :-)
Proverbs 9:10 "
The fear of the LORD is the begining of wisdom"
Proverbs 2:6 "
The LORD grants wisdom, from HIS mouth come knowledge and understanding" (NLT)
James 1:5 "
If you need wisdom - if you want to know what God wants you to do - ask him and HE will gladly tell you. HE will not resent your asking (NLT)
Benefits of Wisdom (all scripture is from NLT)-
It will fill you with Joy (prov 2:10)
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It will save you from evil people (Prov 2:12)
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It will save you from adultery and fornication (Prov 2:16)
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You will know how to find the right course of action everytime (Prov 2:9)
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You will gain knowledge of God (Prov 2:5)
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It will multiply your days and add years to your life (Prov 9:11)
So much more, but i'll let you digest this for now, for you to get wisdom, simply ask GOD and HE will gladly give it to you! So I suggest that you read the book of proverbs daily, it contains 31 chapters, one chapter for each day of the month, at the end of one month you'll definitely be wiser, and be able to make decisions easier and knw for sure that you made a "wise" descision.
Till I come your way again, hold on to wisdom, never let "her" out of your sight!
Another Sunrise!
What a lovely day it is, what can I say? It's a day that the LORD has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. Take out time today to give GOD thanks for seeing another day, there's a reason for you being here today, find purpose in your life, and you'll be filled with joy.
Enjoy God's gift to you, a statement of purpose saying
"
My son, here's another day for you to reach out to the rest of humanity, another day to show forth my glory, another day to reflect my character so that men may see and give praise to me" My gift to you -The sunrise!
This time the photo was taken by me (not wanting to be outdone by Ben :-), maybe I'll put in this entry for photo of the month! what do you guys think?
If Jesus Came Back Today...
I received this wonderful peom and it rang so true, So brothers and sistas, what would you do?
Culled from Laugh and Lift (
www.laughandlift.com)
Author (Unknown)
If Jesus Came Back Today...
Would you have to change your clothes Before you let Him in?
Or hide some magazines, and put The Bible where they'd been?
Would you hide your worldly music And put some hymn books out?
Could you let Jesus walk right in, Or would you rush about?
And I wonder...if the Savior Spent a day or two with you,
Would you go right on doing The things you always do?
Would you go right on saying The things you always say?
Or would life for you continue As it does from day to day?
Would you take Jesus with you Everywhere you go?
Or would you maybe change your Plans for just a day or so?
Would you be glad to have Him Meet your closest friends?
Or would you hope they stay away Until His visit ends?
Would you be glad to have Him Stay forever on and on?
Or would you sigh with great relief When he at last was gone?
It might be interesting to know, The things that you would do,
If Jesus came in person, To spend some time with you.
Nature's Gift
Nature,
a perfect reflection of the almighty one,
GOD the most high, Elohim, El ELyon,
His character can be seen in the things that were created,
you cannot help but give HIM praise and worship,
for HE deserves all the glory and honour and power.
Take out time today to give thanks for the little things
and for the big things too.
God loves you, may HIS peace be with you all through this day.
This photo was taken by Benedict Akinyamoju at Ibewa, a little town in the Niger-Delta in Rivers State (On the rig site where we earn a living) I think this photo deserves an award, Hey Ben, National Geographic needs you son :-)
