IN YOU OH LORD I AM COMPLETE

In you oh lord I am complete,

In you I live, move, and have my being,

Without you my life is meaningless,

I was never complete until the day I met with you,

And I accepted you as my personal lord and Saviour,

You took my sin away, and gave me your everlasting peace,

I will praise you oh lord with all my heart.

In you oh lord I am complete,

In you I dwell in safety and live in abundance,

Who am I that you are mindful of me?

And said to me, “you are my son, today

 I have become your father.”

You crowned me with glory and honour,

I will tell of your wonders oh lord.

In you oh lord I am complete,

You have made known to me the Path of life,

 You brought me out into a spacious place,

You rescued me because you delighted in me,

You turn my darkness into light and you keep

My light burning, and become a shield for me,

Oh lord my God how majestic is your name.

In you oh lord I am complete,

You have made me the head of nations,

People I did not know are subject to me,

You granted me the desires of my heart,

You welcomed me with rich blessings,

And placed a crown of pure gold on my head,

I will proclaim your praise forever,

For in you oh lord I am complete

By -Bolatito

© (Bolatito .c. Peter) (2013)

All right reserved.

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DON’T OPPRESS THE POOR

TEXT: EZEKIEL 34: 17-21

God does not delight in the rich oppressing the poor or the less privileged. God wants the rich to help the needy with their money; your wealth is not only for you and your family alone. If you are a genuine child of God, you should be happy when you are able to meet people’s need and be of help to them, rather than being a threat to them. In the scripture; anytime Jesus come across people in need of one thing or the other, he does not withhold his help. He helped and meets their needs generously.

The apostle of old did the same thing, when Jesus instructed them to go and make disciple of all nation, the scripture says “All believers were together and had everything in common, selling their possessions and goods; they gave to ANYONE as he had need.” (Acts 2: 44-45) They preached the gospel and they share food, clothing, and all they have together in love. As God’s children we should preach the love of God and demonstrate it to people around us.

Some rich believers love to be worshipped and adored; they want the needy around them to turn them to their “gods”. Oppressing the poor can cause God to be angry with you, because it is God that created both the rich and the poor. “Anyone one who oppresses the poor is insulting God who made them, to help the poor is to honour God.” (Proverbs 14:31)

Do not withhold your help from the poor, the more you help them the more blessing you will get from God. “ Tell them to use their money to do good they should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. By doing this, they will be storing up real treasures for themselves in Heaven- It is the only safe investment for eternity! And they will be living a fruitful Christian life down here as well.” (1 Timothy 6:18-19)

Whatever you do to the people around you, you are doing it to God, be it good or bad. (Matthew 25:35-45)

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STRATEGIES FOR MAKING A SUCCESSFUL CONGREGATION

Having a large number of people in your congregation is not as difficult as retaining them. Many churches experience upward and downward slope in the statistics of their church members. This minute the church is full the next minute people are out of the church.

It is not because they are not ready to serve God anymore, neither is it because they are too busy to come to church. Their absence from church may not be because somebody in the church fought with them, but because they have not seen what they are looking for. (a convenient place of worship).

The motive of going to church is to meet with our maker and fellowship with Him, people need some physical things to keep them in the church; to have personal encounter with the Lord. (As we all know that it is not everybody in the church that is genuinely saved). They need to have the revelation of who God is; they need to develop genuine love and interest in God. This can be done by fellowshipping with fellow believers. For them to continue fellowshipping without pulling out; they need to be motivated in the following ways:

·        A convenient and conducive environment- Make the church auditorium convenient for people to worship.

·        Create a friendly atmosphere for everybody, both old and new members: there should be a warm welcome to everybody that finds their way into the church so that they would feel welcomed and want to come back.

·        Inspiring and Spirit filled praise and worship session- Many people attend church because of the worship session, praise and worship connects people to God. It is crucial to make the church worship session to worth its while.

·        Impactful and soul lifting sermon- It is very important that the church leader should seek the face of  God for inspiration on sermons that will inspire and touch the lives of the members of the congregation. Sermon is the food for the soul, as food is important to the body, so also is sermon to our spirit man.

·        Follow up and visitation of both old and new members- The church may decide to have a group that will be in charge of follow up (Checking on the new members/ converts) this can be done by texting, calling them on phone and visiting.

·        The pastor should be approachable and have listening ears, not to gossips but to people’s area of need.( Prayers, advice, intercession, and material needs)

·        The pastor should not be angry when his attention is been drawn to something that needs to be corrected.

·        The pastor should not expect a “perfect” congregation (church is a spiritual hospital where all manner of spiritual sicknesses are being healed). Jesus said it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick... (John 5: 31). Many people are in the church for God to transform them.

• The church should not be run as the extension of the pastor's home, therefore Issues should be treated with curtsey and respect.

·        Let you service and church activities involve all ages (that is create something for all ages, do not leave anybody out, let everybody be involved). For example, quiz and debate, outreaches, camps and other Godly gathering will help the congregation to grow.

·        Active and result oriented evangelism team- The team should be evangelising constantly, an open day event can be planned for people in the locality to attend. After the open day event, some new members would join the church.

• the impact of the church should be felt in the community, be part of what the community is doing, look at the need of the community and try all your best to do what you can to help the community.

·        Prayer- above it all, you need to pray without ceasing, Jesus Christ said “no one can come unto the father who sent me, unless the father draws him.” Don’t underestimate the power of prayer, pray, pray and pray without ceasing, for He has promised to build His church and the gate of hell will not prevail.

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AND THE OIL STOPPED FLOWING

TEXT: 2 KINGS 4: 2- 6

When the widow came to the prophet to ask him for help, she did that because she knew she could not help herself, she believed that going to ask for help from a higher authority would empower her to get solution to her problem. She explained her problem to the man of God and the man of God told her what to do.(To borrow empty vessels from neighbours, and start pouring the bottle of oil in all available vessels.) she kept pouring this bottle of oil in the empty and available vessel, when all the vessel were filled up, the oil stopped flowing. (2 Kings 4:6)

We are spiritual vessels and we need a higher authority (God) to empower us to fulfil destiny. The Almighty God is ready to keep pouring His “oil” into us, so that we will be relevant and equipped for every good work. As long as present yourself “ empty” and “available” to God, He will continue to fill you with His holy Spirit and power, so that you can be strong and do exploit in His kingdom.

Nobody can pour anything inside a full vessel; it can only retain its content without any room for an additional substance. This is why we should always come to the presence of God as empty vessels ready to receive and retain all He wants to put in us. We should not be arrogant because that level you are is not where God wants you to be, He want to take you higher, He want to keep pouring His ceaseless oil in you, for you to mount high like an Eagle. There are a lot of ideas He hasn't revealed to you, present yourself empty so that you can retain more of His power. Pride has made the anointing in some people’s life to cease; they have become full with pride that is no more space in them for more oil! When all the vessels in the widow’s house were full, the oil ceased flowing, so also as spiritual vessels if we allow pride, selfishness, bitterness and other works of flesh to fill us, we may not have space left for God to pour His oil. This can make us to be spiritually stagnant. May the oil of God upon us never cease in Jesus name. (Amen.)

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FAMILY THAT LIVE TOGETHER RESPONDS TOGETHER

TEXT: COLOSSIANS 3: 19-21

A family consist of father, mother and their child(ren). We are all different in character and attitude, but in one way or the other we tend to imitate or imbibe character and attitude of people that we relate with, either consciously or unconsciously. This is why the bible says in 1 Corinthians 15: 33 that “Do not be deceived, evil communication corrupts good manner.” The type of the company you keep, the type of family you are from, the environment you live in play a vital role in your life. Every member of a family should live and relate together in love and harmony, they should share ideas and things together in love and never live in hostility towards each other.

Directly or indirectly; whatever behaviour, character and habit that one member of the family has will rob on other members of the family. Character and attitude are like river, they flow to the rest of the members of the family. If a member of the family is mean and hostile, the rest of the family may follow suit. I am the type that loves things to be well organised and done perfectly. The place I reverence most in the house is my bed; I can’t stand to see my bed messed up. I could not stand it when the smallest part of the duvet is not straight and neatly laid!  Because of this I used to tell my children not to sit on my bed, if they have to sit, I will be telling them how to move, sit, turn… giving an endless instruction they need to follow to sit on my bed.

Overtime, I noticed that my children had cultivated this habit from me; they started telling themselves the same thing I used to tell them. “You can’t sit on my bed, my duvet will be messed up, your leg is…… One day I realised that they have started responding to my attitude, I quickly corrected the negative flow of attitude, and they also started accommodating and tolerating themselves. The positive things in me also they imbibed, when people are living together; they respond to all characters and attitudes both positive and negative, this is where it is important to ask God to help us and reveal to us where we need to make amends. Children learn what they live, if they live in a friendly environment, they will love and be nice to everybody around them, if they live in hostility, they will be hostile to people around them.

As Godly family, we should love and respond together in love, in fear of God and in prayer. Families should not live in hatred, anger, malice, bitterness. As parents we are to lay a good example for the children, because they will respond to our attitude thinking that it is the best way to live. They see us as their role model. Let us live to impact positive things into our children, so that they can also impact their children and their generation positively.

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CONTROL YOUR APPETITE

TEXT: PROVERBS 25: 16-17, 27

Whatever you do in excess becomes an abuse, it is good to eat to keep healthy, but too much of food can pose danger to the body. Desire to live a comfortable and prosperous life is very good also, but getting too desperate to get rich by all means is dangerous.

God is not against us living a good life, He is not against being able to afford all we want, but He does not want us to go to the extreme in achieving these things. Lust of eyes have put so many people in trouble, they want to have all that their eyes  can see. This “unhealthy appetite” is of different ways, some have appetite for food, they love food and they can do anything to satisfy their appetite. Example is Esau, he sold his birthright to his brother because of food. There are some “food addicts” that cannot do spiritual exercise like fasting, because they cannot do without food.

Some people have appetite for opposite sex, that they won’t mind going extra mile to achieve this. A lot of people had met their Waterloo as a result of this. Examples of people that had appetite for women are Samson, Solomon, and David. Samson ended up his life as a result of his “unhealthy appetite” and was unable to fulfil God’s purpose for his life. Solomon’s appetite for women caused him to start marrying ungodly women, that turned his heart against the Almighty God to their foreign gods. David’s sinful appetite for Bathseba caused him to get Uriah killed, so that he could marry his wife. Some people have appetite for power, they don’t mind hurting, or killing for them to get into power. The fight for power happens in the church also, they may not go to the extent of killing physically, but they  are  killing their “opponents” with the word of their mouth.

Let us search ourselves and notice things that we crave for; we need to control that appetite before it destroys us. Go to God to reveal to you all “unhealthy appetite” that you need to control. May the lord help us to live our lives to please Him in Jesus name.

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PUT AWAY “STRANGE gods”

TEXT: GENESIS 35: 2

Many people today are cleaving to “strange gods” without them knowing. Whatever consumes you, whatever you give yourself to, whatever dominates you, whatever has taken the place of God in your life, that thing becomes a god in your life.

Having  “Strange gods” may not be any carved image, it may be money, power, property, wealth, clothes, shoes, furniture, cars, gargets, alcohol, drug, astrology, business, job, children, spouse, and relationships. God is precise in his instruction to us, “thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” (Exodus 20:4). The lord does not want anything that will take us away from Him, He created us for Himself alone, so He get jealous when He discovers that something is taking His place in our hearts.

Getting yourself involved in “strange gods” may not be done deliberately, it happens unknowingly. Things that takes the place of God in our lives creeps in gradually that we may not even notice that something is taking God away from us.

Some people turn their wealth to their gods, they believe that they can do anything they want to do with their money, and therefore they have no regard for God anymore.  To some; their gods are their children and spouses. People tend to serve God better when they are looking for a change in their status, once there is a promotion or an additional blessing; they allow the position to push them away from God, by making the blessing to take the place of God in their lives. Anything that God has blessed us with should be used to serve Him; we should not allow any material things to become our gods, there can only be one God, which is the Almighty God that created the heaven and the earth and everything in it, including the material things that are keeping us away from our source.

The lord is talking to us today to put away everything that is taking the place of God in our lives and turn to Him in repentance. Stop idolising your jobs, children, businesses, spouses, positions, and relationships, it is not when you have a graven image in the corner of your house that you have a strange god, any job, any relationship, business, wealth and riches that is taking the place of God in your life, is a “strange god.” Therefore put them away today and face the only living God.

Whatever thing you are obsessed with, becomes your god, put your mind off material things and be obsessed with the things of God.

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POWER OF PERSISTENCE

TEXT: MATTHEW 15: 22-28

Persistence is the ability to maintain action regardless of your feelings; it is the ability to continue even when you feel like quitting. The difference between winners and losers is their level of persistence. As believers in Christ we need to be persistent. Throwing in the towel at any little disappointment can make us not to be able to receive answer to our requests. God’s time is different from our own, He does things at His own time, and He does not make mistakes. His timing is always right and accurate. His word tells us in Isaiah 55:8-9 that His ways are not our ways; neither is His thoughts our thoughts…… God will never disappoint any of His children, but we need to trust Him and keep trusting Him. If we are persistent; He would give us things that we do not deserve.

The ability to persist has to do with our faith and trust in God, it shows we know and sure that the lord is able and more than enough to meet our needs.

The account of the Canaanite woman in our text made it clear that God can grant you what you do not deserve, when you persist in asking. The woman wanted Jesus to help her in healing her daughter who was possessed with evil spirit, but Jesus answered her “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” This statement means that the woman did not deserve what she was asking for, but her humility and her persistence earned her what she did not deserve.

“Yes, Lord,” She said. “But even the dog eats the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Some people would have given up at Jesus’ answer but she knew that Jesus is capable of doing what she asked for; she refused to get angry or give up.

If we can endure hardship, if we can persevere, and refuse to give up on God, He will grant us our requests. “Then Jesus answered. “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour. Humble yourself before God, be persistent in asking, don’t get tired or angry, if you persist; He is merciful to grant you the things you do not deserve. Do not forget that winners never quit and quitters never win. 

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WHAT GARMENT ARE YOU WEARING?

TEXT: REVELATION 19:7-8

The military are known by their uniforms, nurses are known by their uniforms, the police force in different countries is also recognised by their uniforms. As believers in Christ we will be recognised by the garments we are wearing. At this juncture we need to ask ourselves “what garment am I wearing?” Are you wearing Christ, Devil, or pride?

The scripture tells us to clothe ourselves with the lord Jesus Christ, and do not think of how to gratify the desires of the flesh (Romans 13:14). People are supposed to see us and see Christ in us, even without opening our mouth to announce it. A military man in his uniform does not need to open his mouth to tell people that he is a military man, because his uniform has announced him. So also as soldiers of Christ, people suppose to see us and see Christ in us. Christ was humble, meek, and full of compassion, he loves everybody equally and unconditionally, he was not mindful of the things of the world. During his earthly ministry; his humility, passion for lost souls, zeal to help and heal made him to stand out and made people to believe in him that truly he is the son of God. It is difficult to identify believers in this present age; this is as a result of the type of garment they are wearing. Their garments contradict what they are confessing to be.

Some so called believers are putting on pride, backbiting, worldliness, love of money, slander, hatred, bitterness, unforgiving, selfishness, etc as their garments. When they confess to be Christians, their attitude and character will be saying something totally negative about them. Their appearance and their confession or claims to be Christians are in conflict with each other. The kind of garment you are wearing will show the world if you are truly for Christ or for the devil. The scripture says by their fruit we shall know them. (Matthew 7:16).

For you to be recognised with Christ, you need to clothe yourself with humility, love, kindness, perseverance, tolerance, long-suffering  forgiveness. It is not enough to profess being a Christian with your mouth; your behaviour must show it also. Your garments (character) speaks louder than your voice, people identify you better with your garment than your voice. It was the Hebrew garment used to wrap Moses that made Pharaoh’s daughter to know that baby Moses belongs to Hebrew woman. In 2Kings 1:8, Elijah was described by his garment when Ahaziah sent messengers to Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether he will recover from his sickness. God sent Elijah to tell the messengers that he wouldn’t recover because he consulted another god. Ahaziah asked the messengers to describe the man that they met, and they said “He had a garment of hair and had a leather belt around his waist. “ The King said that was Elijah the Tishbite.”

Your garments (Character) will show if you are for God or against God. Before you will open your mouth to talk, your garment (Character) will speak!

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DO NOT GO DOWN TO EGYPT

TEXT: GENESIS 26: 1-3, 12

God knows the end from the beginning, He knows what we do not know, and He sees what we do not see. What we see as the best option for us may not be what God want for us. We may be looking for  breakthrough from a particular area, and God may be saying to us “THAT IS NOT WHAT I WANT FOR YOU.” God does not make mistakes; He knows what is good for everybody, before you start anything; He knows where it will end.

If you follow God in obedience, I can assure you that you will not regret doing so. There was famine in the land where Isaac was living, maybe Isaac was planning to relocate to Egypt where there was no famine, but God appeared to him and told him not to go down to Egypt, God said he should stay in the land where there was famine and He would bless him.

In the midst of famine; Isaac planted in the land, and the same year he reaped a hundredfold; because the lord blessed him. Isaac was able to live in abundance in the land where there was famine, because he obeyed God. If you allow God to direct your path, He will guide you towards achieving your goals.

God will never support what He did not tell you to do, He will not guide you in the path He did not send you to go through. God told Isaac not to go DOWN to Egypt; this means that his steps to Egypt could have been a downward step that would not add any positive thing to his life.

Egypt at that time could be economically buoyant than the nation that Isaac was, but God does not want him to go there, He does not want him to engage in anything that can truncate his destiny. Egypt in this context may mean going into sin or going back to your old ways. God is telling you today NOT TO GO DOWN TO EGYPT! He will make a way for you where there is no way, in that land or in that place of work, that business that is not going on fine, the lord is assuring you today; to be still and know that He is God. It was in the midst of the famine that Isaac planted and reap a hundredfold. If you don’t go down to Egypt ( giving in to sin) while you are trying to fix thing your own way, God will make you the envy of people, when people are saying casting down; you will be saying lifting up.

Is there any famine (challenge) in your life? Listen to God in obedience; do not involve yourself in anything that can lead to sin. Never allow any problem, situation and affliction to take you back to Egypt (old life). Wait on God and He will see you through.

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THE MORE THE WORD THE LESS THE MEANING

TEXT: JAMES 3: 3-6

Believers are created to emulate Jesus; we are to be like him in all our ways, that is why we are being called Christians; that is we are Christ like. Throughout the ministry of our lord Jesus, he did not engage himself in harsh, idle or any word that will not bring glory to God. Jesus Christ was never a talkative; he speaks when it is important and the word that he spoke imparted lives. He used his words to heal, save, to give hope, to raise the dead and to deliver.

He did not speak any idle word, he did not involve himself in gossip, neither did he speak evil or backbite anybody.

The words of our mouth should be the one that will benefit listeners and bring glory to the name of God. God does not want us to involve ourselves in derogatory words or any careless talks that add no value to listeners; he does not want us to involve ourselves In gossips, backbiting and other sinful utterances. As long as you keep talking without cautioning yourself, you might end up saying what God will record as sin for you. If you are in a gathering; be courteous and choose to listen more and talk less. The scripture says the more the word the less the meaning… (Ecc 6:11).

While engaging yourself in too much talk, you might get carried away and start saying what should not be heard of a Christ like person. You might engage yourself in an unnecessary argument that would result in fight, and as disciples of God; we must not fight (2 Timothy 2:23-24).

The scripture says whatever we do; we should do it to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). When you are in a gathering; don’t speak because you want people to know you are there, take time to listen and when you are ready to talk, let it reflect Jesus, let your words add value to lives! Do not use your word to pull people down. I Peter 4:11 says “if anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God.”

God gave us two ears and one mouth; He wants us to make use of our ears more. Listen more and be careful to speak. Indeed we all make many mistakes; for if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves inn every other way (James 3:2).

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REHOBOTH

TEXT: GENESIS 26:17- 22

When Isaac was in the land of Philistine he was rich and flourishing, they became Jealous of him and the king (Abimelech) sent him away. Isaac encamped in the valley of Gerar to settle. He reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father, but the herdsmen of Gerar quarrel with Isaac’s herdsmen. They dug another one but they quarrelled over that one too, he moved on from there and dug another well and no one quarrelled over it, so he named it REHOBOTH saying “now the lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”

This account of Isaac made us to know that you cannot be loved by everybody, especially when things are working well with you.

Abimelech and his people became jealous of Isaac’s greatness to the point of frustrating him by fighting him over wells that were for his father. The good part of the story is Isaac’s “I refuse to give up to defeat.” That he displayed. Despite the fact that there was opposition against him, he persisted in achieving what he wanted.

He ended up digging a well and nobody fought with him over it. A great lesson here is, no matter any challenge; don’t give up on your purpose. For you to make it in life you need to be persistent, you should know that failure and problems are part of what will strengthen you to achieve your goals in life. We all encounter different obstacles on the way towards our promise that can make us to think of quitting, but don’t quit because at the end of every tunnel there is always a light.

When the Philistine saw that despite their wickedness to Isaac; he did not give up and his blessing continues, they came back to make peace with him, if he had given up trying may be they would have frustrated him out of Gerar, he would not have been able to eat the good of that land. Whatever problem you may be going through today, do not give up on your dream. Remember that all afflictions, problems, setback, have their expiry date, sooner than you expect you will get to your REHOBOTH a place of greatness, a place where you will flourish.

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YOU ARE A CANDIDATE FOR A CHANGE

TEXT: 1 CHRONICLES 4:9-10

There may be something we need to change in our lives before we can get our breakthrough. To some it may be their names, some may need to change their character and their ways of life, before God will release His blessing on them.

When Abraham and Sarah were childless; it was after God changed their names that the promised child came. Their affliction stayed with them until God renamed them. Jacob experienced exceeding greatness when God changed his name to Israel.

When God changes people’s names, it is for good and the change of names always fetch them blessing. Apostle Paul was known as Saul when he was persecuting Christians. When the lord met with him on his way to Damascus, he was renamed by God so that he could fulfil destiny.

No matter the situation that you are in, it does not matter the names your situation or circumstance has given you, God is ever ready to hear you when you call on Him. He is also capable of changing any negative circumstances in your favour. He will rename that ugly situation; He will erase the negative names that people are using to describe you.

Jabez was named a child of sorrow, he cried unto God and God granted his request by enlarging his coast.

Be rest assured that , that situation, circumstance, affliction that has stigmatise you is not going to be forever, because you are serving a living God, the God of divine turn around that turned scarcity to abundance overnight in Samaria, that situation will be renamed in your favour and to the glory of God.

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VANITY, VANITY SAYS THE PREACHER

Vanity, vanity says the preacher,

What does man gain from all his labour

At which he toils under the sun?

Generations come and generation go,

But the earth remain forever,

The eye never has enough of seeing,

Nor the ear its fill of hearing.

Vanity, vanity says the preacher,

A man may do his work with wisdom

Knowledge and skill, and when death comes,

Then he must leave all he owns to

 Someone who has not worked for it,

There is no remembrance of men of old,

And those who are yet to come will not

Be remembered by those who follow.

Vanity, vanity says the preacher,

Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb,

And as he comes, so he departs,

He takes nothing from his labour

That he can carry in his hands,

This is why doing good is better than riches, because

Man born of woman is of few days.

Vanity, vanity says the preacher,

Time and tide waits for no one,

You do not know what will happen to you tomorrow,

You are a mist that appears for a little while and varnishes,

Death is a price that all mankind will pay,

No man knows when his hour will come.

Vanity, vanity says the preacher,

Let those who are rich in this present world,

Not to neither be arrogant nor put their hope in wealth,

Which is so uncertain, therefore do good and be rich

In good deeds, in this way you will lay up treasure for

Yourself for the coming age, so that you may take

Hold of the life that is truly life.

By -Bolatito

© (Bolatito .c. Peter) (2013)

All right reserved.

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CHASING AFTER THE WIND

TEXT: ECCLESIASTES 2:4-11

Solomon was the richest king of his time, he was the wisest king. His wisdom was great that people use to come from far and near to listen to him. In his days; Gold were common like sand, he had thousands of horses, chariots men and women servants, he could afford everything his eyes saw. “ I undertook great projects , I built houses for myself and planted vineyards, I made gardens and parks, and plant all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees; I bought male and female slaves, and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also own more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and Gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces, I acquired men and women singers and a harem as well, the delights of the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me” (Ecc 2:4-9).

All the wealth and wisdom that Solomon acquired were not enough to give him peace of mind; they were not able to add joy and fulfilment to his life. From his utterances in the book of Ecclesiastes, it could be said that he was looking for a better way of having peace of mind, because his wealth and wisdom failed to get him satisfaction. “The sleep of a labourer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep” (Ecc 5:12). If you don’t have riches or wealth like others, but if you have God and you are truly serving Him, you will have peace of mind and your joy will be flowing like a river.

If you have all the wealth in the whole world and you don’t have Christ, you may be struggling to have peace of mind despite your riches. Peace and happiness can only be gotten from God and not from any material things (John 14: 27) Solomon was rich and wise to the point that the riches and wisdom became a problem for him. Though it took him time to know that everything in the world is vanity, but he eventually realised and quickly turned back to God. “Therefore stand in awe of God.” (Ecc: 5-7). To the man who pleases Him God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner He gives the task of gathering and storing up to hand over to the one who pleases God” (Ecc 2: 26). This implies that if you continue struggling to acquire wealth and you leave God out of your plan, you may find it difficult to make it. while a person that is pleasing God in all his or her deeds, will make it more than you, because God will bless him more than his or her efforts.

Do not allow the treasures of this world to deprive you of your eternal inheritance. What shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and lose his life? Or what can a man give in exchange of his soul? (Mark 8: 36-37) After all he had toiled to achieve, Solomon said “Everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind, nothing was gained under the sun.” Lay up your treasure in heaven, for treasures laid here on earth is meaningless.

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EMPOWERED TO EMPOWER

TEXT: EPHESIANS 4: 11-12

Empowerment means to be given authority, to allow and to enable somebody to carry out a particular task or job. As God’s children we have been empowered in different ways, so that we can empower others. God created us and put seeds of greatness in each and every one of us, to that we can impart lives. He does not want us to be useful for ourselves alone, but to be useful to others.

The virtues He deposited in each of us are more than what we can use for ourselves alone. Ephesians 4:11-12 says God gave some to be Apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers. To prepare God’s people for works of service, so the body of Christ may be built up. This verse buttresses the fact that God has empowered His children from the inception of the earth to occupy one place or the other. He is not an idle God; therefore He cannot be delighted to see His children idle.

Don’t underestimate yourself that you cannot impart lives, don’t think you have nothing to offer to your generation. Pray to God to open your eyes of understanding so that you will see where He wants you to function to impart your world. No matter how little you think you have, it will still be a breakthrough to those coming behind you.

You are a problem solver; you are a solution to somebody’s problem. Find that problem you can solve today, you need to add value to people’s life. God created you not to be blessed alone but to be a blessing to your generation (Genesis 12:2).

If you don’t take action; you may not be able to do exploit for God. The scripture says “These signs shall FOLLOW them that believe….. (Mark 16:17). If you stand still the signs would not manifest, because He says the signs shall “follow” this means that you need to move for the sign to follow you. Nothing moves until you move it. Stand up today; activate the great power of empowerment deposited in you and do exploit for God. Remember you are born to empower.

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MY GLORY I WILL SHARE WITH NO ONE

I am the Lord; the lord of host is my name,

From the rising of the Sun to the going

Down of the same; I remain unchanged,

I am the lord that is my name,

I will not give my glory to another,

Or my praise with idols.

I am God, and there is no other,

I am God, and there is none like me,

I make known the end from the beginning,

I am the lord of all flesh, what I have said

That I will bring about,

What I have planned that I will do.

I am the Lord mighty in battle,

I say my purpose will stand and

I will do all that I please

To the faithful I show myself faithful,

To the blameless I show myself blameless

Who among the gods is like me?

I am God that is my name, I strengthen,

The feeble hands, steady the knees 

That gives way; I will instruct you and teach

You in the way you should go,

I will counsel you and watch over you,

Honour me always for my glory I will share with no one.

By -Bolatito

© (Bolatito .c. Peter) (2013)

All right reserved.

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THE TRUE VINE

TEXT: JOHN 15: 1-5

Jesus is the vine, he is the true vine, the root is the Holy Spirit, and believers are the branches of the vine. As the root of a plant is unseen; yet it gives strength and nurtures the tree to grow and bear fruits, the root bears the tree. A tree cannot grow without the support of the root; Holy Ghost is the root in which Jesus Christ is able to grow as a vine that can sustain branches that will bear fruits.

 To achieve fruitfulness; these three parts of a tree are inseparable (root, vine, and branches). The vine cannot sustain itself without the root; neither can the branches live to bear fruit without the root and the vine.

As believers, we must always abide in Christ who is our vine, because he has not disconnected himself from his root (Holy Ghost) so that all the nourishment that the branches (believers) need to bear fruits (achievement) can be gotten from him.

If a branch that is very rich and green falls from the vine, within some days the branch will dry off and die, because it has disconnected from the channel that brings nourishment to it. Also as believers; if we disconnect from our source (Jesus) we would be spiritually dry and weak. Jesus is our source of strength and achievements through God. We cannot say because we are progressing and successful, that we don’t need God again.

When Jesus came as human being, he never did anything without God. Acts 10:38 tells us that Jesus waited to be anointed with Holy Ghost and power before he started his ministry, and through out his ministry on earth; he did not disconnect himself from God and the Holy Spirit.

In our text; Jesus said God is the gardener; He is at alert to cut off any branch that is not producing fruits. This shows that God did not create us to stay the way He created us, He wants us to be productive, and He loves fruitfulness! He said we should be productive and subdue the earth (Genesis 1:28) He does not want the earth to subdue us. Go ahead now, continue to be fruitful and let your fruitfulness be to the glory of God. Do not allow success to disconnect you from the true vine, there may be other “vines” but Jesus is the only TRUE VINE.

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