My thoughts on change

 It is obvious that people resist change. More than that, they try to sabotage change strategies and humiliate change agents. People dislike change because they have ingrained behavioral habits that have been developed overtime. The fear of failure and ridicule, the effort at acquiring new skills and the uncertainty that comes with change make it feared and resisted.

The place of change is the place of sacrifice. It is a prize that must be paid to move ahead in life. We all want to be part of a success story; we want to be celebrated for one achievement or the other. We desire the pleasures of the benefit of change but we shy away from going through the process. We are stuck in our comfort zones – we are afraid to take risk. Ironically, failure to take risk is a greater risk.

Late American diva and actress, Pearl Bailey said “we must all change to survive”. I say we must all change to grow and unlock our potential. Life is about change; change in our thinking, change in our actions, change in our orientations, change in our strategies. Think about what change you need to make to improve yourself. We cannot become what we need by remaining what we are.

My answer to a young man who abhors being asked questions.

Questions make the world tick, without them there won't be answers to life's many puzzles. They are the keys to great discoveries and inventions. Questions put the imagination to work; questions unravel mysteries and proffer solutions; questions create opportunities for possibilities.

At every level you attain in life there are questions to answer.   Those who we call the Knowledgeable or genius- are so not because they were born so, they are ordinary men like you and I- the difference- they know how to ask questions, and seek out to answer the ones they are posed with.

The value of the information you require to succeed in life depends largely on the kind of questions you are asking and answering! Learn to ask questions; love to answer them!

Our Inheritance

IT is so lamentable that Kingdom folks are so short of understanding. They bear on themselves the marks of the misery borne out of ignorance. They revel with the gospel of mediocrity and poverty. Poverty does not reflect godliness. It is God who empowers His people to produce wealth. His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. It is true that our confidence is not in the flesh, for it is in Him we live, and move and have our being. But we understand that He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them we can partake of His divine nature and shun the corruption of this world caused by evil desires. That is why He makes all grace to abound to us so that in all things and at all times, having all we need, we will abound in every good work.

When we talk of our inheritance, we do not mean the same thing as filthy lucre, which is an offshoot of harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. It is not in the passion for money, which is the root of all kinds of evil. We do not refer to that for which men have sold their souls and women their virtues. For all that is in the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life will pass away. Abundant life belongs to those who do the will of God – and this is the inheritance, which we talk about.

The Paradox of Postmodernism

We live in an age where there is growing disrespect for the principles and values that once formed the foundation for our coexistence and well-being as a society. The rate of change is increasing and unpredictable and so is the fickleness in affections, intentions, loyalties and choices. We take pride in the claim that we now live in a global village- a thinking that suggests that the world has now been condensed into a community, hence the enhancement of human connectivity. However, it appears this assumption is nothing but a virtual reality of impersonal relationships. Speed, which is a direct consequence of the technologies that connect us has created a hurry-up culture and depleted the quality of human relationships. We value ambitions and achievement more than we value people. Rather than being a community, as we would love to believe we have become an individualistic world. It is a rat-race where only the fittest survive without recourse to ethics or moral standards. So what do we have? Growing distrust, chaos and uncertainty. The common axiom is, “no permanent friends, no permanent foes.” People discard friendship, like used toilet tissue. Relationship is nothing but a use and dump routine.

Talking Principles

A principle is a fundamental law that defines or determines the outcome of a course. Principles are key. Unfortunately in this part of the world, we do not respect principles. We break all the rules, cut all the corners, with the assumption that we are being smart. Too bad- this has been our undoing. This is why our systems are in a mess. This is why we are far from utopia. This is why we are plagued with incongruities right and left. Without principles life becomes an experiment in futility - this is because:

Life runs on principles
Principles are sacred
Principles are inviolable
Principles are immutable
Principles are no respecter of persons
They are independent of culture, context, or color.

The making or breaking of destinies is a function of the understanding or ignorance of principles.
The understanding of and obedience to principles guarantee success and fulfillment in life!

The power of a smile

A smile has the power to soothe, praise and delight.

Smiling is contagious, making strangers, friends and breaking down barriers where words cannot.

Sometimes we get so tired of life’s burdens that we forget how good smiling feels.

But it's really good to smile, sometimes that's the lift our spirits need to get us going and get reconnected to our dreams.

Often it's the motivation that unfurls our passion to be, do and become.

And you never know what possibilities your passion can bring to bare- beyond your imagination.

Take a shot at the skies and find your bearing among the stars.

There’s a galaxy of possibilities waiting for you to show up!

The Preacher's Mandate

The pulpit ministry was established for the perfecting and full equipping of the saints, to prepare them for the work of service, that the body of Christ may grow strong, in unity, faith and in the understanding of Christ, attaining maturity in His fullness (Eph. 4:12-13).

However laudable the pulpit-pew reform might be, if it is short of this purpose, it is of no relevance. The purpose would only be achieved, when ministers desist from the overemphasis on the showmanship they’ve made of the pulpit, and begin to declare without fear or favor but with love the truth to God’s people. They should not allow themselves to get entrapped by the web of flatterers and praise singers, who have grown itching ears, rebuffing sound and wholesome doctrine, seeking for what will suit and satisfy their indulgence in greed and falsehood (II Tim.4: 3-4).

Against all odds, whether it is favorable or unfavorable, convenient or inconvenient, acceptable or unacceptable, popular or unpopular; the preacher of the word has the mandate to declare God’s word with a sense of urgency. The King’s business requires haste. The minister of the word, must be ever ready to correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction; disregarding the revolt of itching ears, who will always be there to fulfill their roles in these last days. Apostle Paul puts it more plainly. “And show yourself in all respects to be a pattern and a model of good deeds and works, teaching what is unadulterated, showing gravity, having the strictest regard for truth and purity in motive, with dignity and seriousness”. (Titus 2:7)

The preacher has no business polishing and fine-tuning his message to suit the untamed modernity of his audience. That would be playing to the gallery at the expense of his divine mandate. He is supposed to be a model of truth, dignity and purity, without recourse to the approval of men. Those who must preach the word must denounce their lust for the ovation of the crowd and do the work of the ministry as it is meant to be done. What makes a good minister is not in the amount of crowd he is able to gather around himself, but in his unflagging resolve to speak the truth in love anytime anywhere.