Where is the shoe pinching?

"Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren.”  - 2 Kings 2:19

I was having a discussion with a friend this afternoon. We were talking about some people that are meant to contribute a sum of money to her and some of them seem to be lagging behind in their payment. I responded, "what if these people do not really have the money they are asked to contribute?" She immediately answered and said, "Moyo, these people have money!" I paused, then answered, "not everyone that looks extravagant on the outside or dresses very well have money on them. They may have financial challenges underneath those good looks; it is possible they have struggles beneath those extravagant attires." Just like the city of Jericho, its situation on the outside, to passersby, seem very pleasant but the in-dwellers know what they are passing through - the water was bad and the ground barren!

Hi there, does that seem like a description of your life, your job, your marriage, your academics, your career, your ministry, your spiritual life, or your relationship. People are seeing a very colourful home, a sweet matrimony, a stress-free academic life, a glorious ministry, a wonderful and well-paid job on the outside whereas what you are passing through on the inside, only you knows. You know very much well where the shoe is pinching.

You know when you buy a new pair of shoes, sometimes before the shoes get used to your feet, it takes a while. It pinches deep within and sometimes get uncomfortable but people looking at the new shoes on you would compliment, "oh, those are nice" and I trust you to say, "awww, thank you."

So what's God saying about your situation? Elisha said to the people in verse 20, "Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it". What that signifies is God is set to give you a new life (new bowl) and make your life sweet (salt). You know something about salt, everyone can taste it. Its effect is evident to all when tasted. You are the salt and light of this world; you are a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden. Your glory will burst forth and you will no longer know bitterness nor barrenness. You have a new story from now on in Jesus' name. Have a great week and do not forget, Jesus is on your case!

Your seed today

While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease - Genesis 8:22

There are four things here that God said will never cease on earth; seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night. It is interesting to know that these four things have remained since that proclamation was made. Nothing can change it; they have been destined to remain and not cease. These four things do not care whether you are educated or illiterate; old or young;  married, single or engaged; you live in a developed world or not, weak or strong; they don't care. The fact that you are educated does not mean the sun won't come out when it should. The fact that you are have a PhD does not mean you can control how long summer would last. It just happens and needs no contribution of yours. The four of them impacts the everyday life of man. Everyday a man sows, everyday he reaps. So long as you are living on this earth, you cannot run away from them. It might interest you to know that the devil has no control over the four.

Three out of these four things, man can do nothing about; cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night. But seedtime and harvest, man has a hand in what he can input to get his desired output. The seed you sow determines the harvest you'd receive. Every areas of a man's life is influenced by seedtime and harvest. What you are experiencing today is a function of the seed you've sown in the past. You need to then learn how to sow good seeds if you must reap good harvest. Sow good seeds into your marriage by honouring your spouse daily; sow good seed into your job by being hardworking and not always grumpy because its not the best place for you; sow good seed into your nation by praying for it even though it looks way below what you desire today; sow good seed into your future by thinking and speaking positively about it... Remember, what you sow, not what you show, you will reap.

You cannot control summer and winter, neither can you control day and night nor cold and heat but you can control the kind of seed you sow. There is a seed in everyday to sow: the food you eat is a seed into your lifespan and health tomorrow; the way you behave to your spouse is a seed into your home tomorrow; whether little or much. Find it, sow a very good one so you can secure your future. I'd end with this, a farmer once said, "if you want to maintain the quality of your harvest, you have to maintain the quality of your seed".

Sow good seeds everyday of this week. God bless you :)

Seek Ye His Kingdom

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you - Matthew 6:33

While this seem a very popular scripture, I got a dimension from it that I guess I'd never recover from all my life at church on Sunday. Many Christians today seem to have forgotten that their lives are not governed by the government of this world. Their future is not determined by the state of the economy of their country. As a result, they think until there is a perfect government in place, they cannot make it; until a christian gets into power, life would be miserable for them. The truth is, our lives as children of God should be lived according to the government of heaven - the kingdom of God. How do we live this way...?

We must subject and direct all our aspirations, dreams, visions and hopes towards the kingdom of heaven. We must not aspire to be rich only for our comfort and selfishness but to be a kingdom bearer and a soul winner. Much of what people do nowadays is to keep themselves in the rat race. The truth about the rat race, as Pastor Sam Adeyemi remarked, is that, "...even if you win the rat race, you are still a rat".

The greatest aspiration of life is not in the pursuit of material things but in the pursuit of the heavenly kingdom. Real money/wealth is not in the counting but in value and value is embedded on the inside not outside. Recall, "it is the blessing of God that makes rich and adds no sorrow". What it adds are honour, peace of mind, glory and success. Let this orientation go with you this week and beyond.

Have a great week :)

Our God is a Possibilitist!

I was privileged to speak in one of RCCG's parishes in Lagos last week Sunday and I would love to share on this platform what I preached on that day. I titled it 'Reality Vs Possibility'. I affirmed that our God is not a realist. As a matter of fact, should there be a word in the dictionary called possibilitist, that's our God. Moreover, we His children should take after Him. It's high time we graduate from the level of realists [walking by sight] to becoming possibilitists [walking by faith]. The bible talks about our God in Romans, "...even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were."

I went on to put forward a mathematically equation based on Matthew 19:26, "But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

 equation (i) - With men this is impossible                --> X + Men = Impossibility [Where X = Reality]

equation (ii) - But with God all things are possible  --> X + God = Possibility [Where X = Reality]

Let's take some cases from the scripture, so we can come to full understanding of this mathematics.

1. When David was about to go face Goliath; on his way, he went to see Saul, the King. Saul's assessment of David was based on reality when he said, "David, you are not able..." [1 Sam 17:32-33]. But as soon as David heard that, he was not moved; he quickly added God to his equation such that when he got to Goliath, he proclaimed, "the same God that delivered me out of the hands of the Lion and the beer..." The result of that day = POSSIBILITY!

2. At the feeding of the 5,000 men the other day. Reality was that five loaves and two fishes could never have been enough for three people talkless of 5,000 men [minus their wives and kids]. Possibility came to fore when Jesus took the five loaves and two fishes up and said, "Father, I thank you because you always hear me". When God was added to the equation, reality became POSSIBILITY.

Listen to me; what is the reality of your life at this present moment? You have been looking for a job since the last 3 months; everything you have been doing in that office of yours appears as if its contributing to your own downfall; your relationship/marriage have not been going rosy for sometime now; that sickness seem to be getting the better part of your emotions and finances; your bank account is going read right before your very  eyes; I challenge you to add 'G.O.D' to your reality and I assure you that the result will not be different from the two cases I have give up there. Your God is a possibilitist therefore, all your issues will become possible. Just add him to the equation and I assure you, all will be well.

Have a great week ahead :)