YOUR DUTY TO YOUR NATION

I know there are many different Nationalities on my list but the truth is our Nations are having their different issues ranging from Corruption to Infrastructural challenges and we're all hoping our governments will change the situation and bring about the things we desire to see in our society.

I'm sorry to bust your bubbles this morning. That aint gonna happen. No government on the earth can change the state of the Nation they govern. It behoves on the Nationals of that country to step up and take their place in their various capacities. If you happen to be employed at PHCN today, will anything change about that company? If you get into seat of public office today, will you do anything different? We must be the change we want to see. We must be the right government in our own sphere of influence before we can have the kind of country we desire.

Great nations have learnt that transformation and change does not start in public offices but in the private offices of our homes. How many of us govern correctly in our homes? Our governments is a fair reflection of our homes. We are quick to point fingers at corrupt leaders but don't we do worse in our own homes?

Examine yourself today and make a decision to do right at your own level and encourage others to do same. The difference between a developed country and a developing or third-world country is ORDER! And order is another word for doing things RIGHT! Don't jump queues, don't take a job you're not willing to contribute your all to, don't get undue advantage over others, don't drive one-way, don't steal meat from the pot:p,etc

God bless you and have a productive and reflective day:D

AWE OLALEYE

TURN YOUR LIFE AROUND

Ever seen people turn around a seemingly impossible situation? Or start with a huge disadvantage and still made life count?

Remember the hairy man Esau (from the Bible)? I'm sure we all remember him. Not only because we have hairy people around us to remind us of him but because he sold his BIRTHRIGHT for a plate of porridge. He also got swindled by his kid brother Jacob (who had yahoo yahoo tendencies). Jacob not
only got Esau's birthright but also his BLESSINGS.

Can life get any worse than that? Let's see how Esau turned things around:


1) He asked for just one blessing but was told his brother has gotten all the blessing. He persisted and got an exit clause "But when you can't take it any
more you'll break loose and run free. - Gen 27 vs 40".

God always gives us a way out. An exit clause. You must get TIRED of that situation and become RESTLESS (action-oriented) enough to break loose! It
must be deliberate. Remember Newton's first law? Nothing changes until you ACT!


2) 20 years down the line, Jacob came to bribe his brother for all he took from him so he won't be killed by his brother. Hear what Esau had to say "Oh, brother. I have plenty of everything—keep what is yours for yourself. - Gen 33 vs 9". He had broken loose!. Don't wait to get moving. A Chinese proverb says the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago and the next best time is NOW!!! Your past means nothing if yóu'll take responsibility & start
NOW! Your beginning has no bearing on your end. Esau started with a curse but ended up a blessed man!


3) The Bible told us they both prospered "The brothers had too many possessions to live together in the same place; the land couldn't support their combined herds of livestock. - Gen 36 vs 6-8".

It matters nothing where & how you started. Make up your mind to multiply your SEED (gifts & talents God has put inside you). You will prosper & your end will be far better than your past!

OLALEYE AWE

ONE STEP TO A HEALTHY TEMPLE

As I lay on my bed dreaming of a flat tummy, again I hissed as I wondered why I had to punish myself with my money in the gym! But I realized that no matter how many times I hissed or looked at my tummy in the mirror Marggies helping hands (the name of my gym) was getting richer and I was getting fatter!

So I got up and I put on my NIKE everything (a girl’s got to feel serious!) and off I went to the place of punishment! So I get there and thank God there were only a few people there, I jumped on my favorite thread mill and started a static jog. Thirty minutes later and I was almost fainting but according to the thread mill indicator I had burnt 400 calories therefore it was time to deal with the trouble spots!

I go to this intimidating monstrous equipment called total gym and I do all my squats, arm pushes, sit ups, stomach crunches and leg raises and as I was doing it I kept yelling Mandela! Mandela! Mandela!!! My trainer looked at me and asked “Miss Jay what is going on? And as I finished I said to him in between gasps, Mandela did not get to have all that recognition without some pain! He smiled I am sure thinking to himself kolomental! And to that thought I said to myself “na him sabi”

That is how I passed another day at the gym and thanked God for the ability to care for the temple he has given me.

1^st Corinthians 3: 16-17 do you know that your body is the temple of God and that the spirit of God dwells in you? For anyone who destroys Gods temple God will destroy, Gods temple is holy and you are that temple.

This verse of the bible I used to think was talking to the drug addicts, the fornicators, people with crazy piercings and tattoos, alcoholics until I realized one day that being unfit and unhealthy due to choices I was making daily was just as bad. Eating too much, eating too little, not sleeping enough, not exercising e.t.c,  Are  just as bad as taking cocaine and cigarettes!  Because they too can cause severe damage to my body and cause me not to finish the work that Jesus charged me to do! Spread the gospel everywhere I can!

This charge doesn’t say we should spend all our lives savings to look good but that we should keep our bodies in tip top condition as much as we can, refuse to put thing in it that is bad and like a car check the inner workings (the engine and wiring) and ensure they are not worn out or need replacement. As someone that carries the resource of heaven we should make it a point of duty to drink more water, exercise even as we do not forget spiritual exercise.  

So along with slimming my waist line, I am being a responsible Christian by caring for this physical temple of God (my body) by staying in shape.

JOY IFAH

The dearth to Learning despite the increase in knowledge is disturbing. How can there be so much knowledge and such few wisdom? Today I'm highlighting the second of these ills. Its the culture of INSTANT GRATIFICATION! This particular one explains why we have so many young people who can't wait for anything. Their mentality is the SEED-HARVEST paradigm. Very contrary to the SEED-TIME-HARVEST paradigm God put in place from the beginning. People can't wait to make money. People can't wait to have sex. People can't wait to become "oga at the top". etc. The effect of this new culture is: 1) More sex but no love 2) More money but no value 3) More rulers but no leaders 4) More churchgoers but no disciples And the list is endless Imagine a man who has not contributed anything to his society but wants to ride the best cars. Another one wants to do what their parents do without taking on the attached responsibilities. Explains why people jump queues (and cause unnecessary hold-ups). I can literally write a book on the ill effects of this defect in our culture today. The following questions will help you assess yourself before we get down (tomorrow) to the solution to this cancerous ill in our society: 1) Do you earn more than the value you create? 2) Do you want to start at the top (disdain for growth processes)? 3) Do you start a relationship before being ready for its attached responsibilities? 4) Do you demand when you have no resources to supply? When you give so little and get so much, eventually you won't amount to much. Life is a series of exchanges. Seed, Time and Harvest shall not cease (Bible) What are you giving for what you desire? Poverty (not only money) comes as a result of having NOTHING to EXCHANGE! God bless you and have a productive and stress-less day({})

THE STONE OF DAVID

David and Goliath is a beautiful and wonderful story that has been told for over 4000 years (1^st Samuel 17:26- ), this story has motivated many, caused many to rise above their situations, lent wisdom to the low that bravery or armory that wins a war is not in the sophistication of it or the readiness of it but in the might of Jehovah!

King David himself was made popular by the very act and the bible recollects songs were sang because of this defeat that Goliath suffered in the hands of a small 17 year old Jewish boy ( 1^st Samuel 18:7). It was because of this event that Saul the king of Israel asked who David was.

But today the focus is not on David but on the instrument with which he achieved this great and enviable success. A stone and a sling (1^st Samuel 17:40) a very odd combination to fight the enemy that had caused the whole Israel fear for months! But all he chose was five smooth stones by the side of the brooks! These stones are pebbles formed by the abrasive contact of water and other sea materials, when they come in contact with a rock! This rock through sheer friction and force from the water and other materials in the river is broken, moved from place to place, tossed and rubbed against by hard hitting forces before it settles to where David picked it! So yes for the stone or pebble to be used by David to slay Goliath it went through a process and not a very easy or nice process it went through an abrasive smoothening process where it was tossed back and forth by the waves and tides. Even when it was chosen it was picked alongside five others! When it was finally selected for the job it was put in the sling and swirled around swooshed in a manner that only that rock could have been swooshed to attain the right momentum! And finally it was released! And because of all its process and the purpose of God for it, the stone of David hit with precision, with accuracy the mark that was set before it! Goliath’s head! That singular stone guided by the hand of God delivered Israel out of the hands of the philistines!      

This stone can be used to represent a lot of Christians and what they go through today! They are formed through the furnace of trials, tossed and seemingly uncomforted (Isaiah 54:11), they are trimmed to size to function in a precise and accurate pattern. That in eventuality when they are released like the stone of David they might be twirled and twisted round but will hit the mark perfectly.

The stone of David may not have as much popularity as the wielder, but it is written in the course of history as the stone that brought down a great enemy of Israel! Who you are by the brooks is nothing, it is WHO YOU ARE IN THE HANDS OF HE WHO WIELDS YOU that matters.