I CHOOSE TO SERVE 16: QUALITIES OF GOD’S SERVANT 10

“However, the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” James 3:17 (ISV).

Foundation Text: 1 Tim. 3:1-7

NOT VIOLENT (PEACE LOVING):

“The kingdom of God suffereth violence and only the violent takes is by force”. You are familiar with this quotation right? You have used it literally before, haven’t you? Stop trying to run it off, you know what I am talking about. Before you continue with that sanctimonious hypocrisy, just know that I am also as guilty as charged. As a matter of fact, I have listened to countless preachers use it in messages that has to do with anger. Do not get it twisted, you have the right to be angry but you must not get violent about it.

Often times, a lot of people use this quotation to justify their violent and haughty nature. I am not overlooking the fact that some people have violent tendencies, but that still does not justify violence. It is a weakness that needs God’s help and not an issue to brag about. I do not know how best to share what the Holy Spirit is laying in my heart, but I trust He will explain it better in your heart.

I have seen Pastors pull their clerical collars and fight members in Church. It does not mean that God has not called them, but there is a violent tendency that God needs to deal with. I am always careful to talk about Pastors, meanwhile my dad is one. I only point out some of these flaws to help both Pastors and those who are serving God in any capacity, including myself.

I would have loved to share with us some keys to overcoming your violent nature, but I will deal with that in subsequent series. However, irrespective of whatever stepped down keys I will share, the ultimate solution is in Gal. 5:16: “So, this is what I am saying to you. Live by the power that God’s Spirit gives. And let him lead you. Then you will not do any wrong things that, as a human person, you may sometimes want to do” (EET). As you yield yourself to the leading of God’s Spirit, God will help you overcome your violent tendencies in Jesus name, Amen.

If this message blessed you, you are free to share it with anybody or group.

Stay blessed.

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(Transforming the World through the Word)

PRECIOUS SEEDS 018 By Godwin ‘Captain’ Kalu

A clear compelling goal is energizing…

I read this line from a book and it got me meditating. Do you want to move your life forward? Then, you need to surrender to the principle and force of goal setting.

Goal-setting is not just lining up a long list of things to do. It is a skill that should be learnt and developed.

A clear specific goal will set the tone for a clear specific result. You need this! Looking back at your life after a certain period of time to say, “wow, so I crossed this one line”!

A clear goal magnets focus. You don’t need to do everything because some other people choose to run around things; zoom your focus to a specific goal and you will encounter the vitality that can drive success. This works for anything.

Goal setting is work. Don’t take it casual. This is what you need to begin:

(1) Set clear goals. Be specific

(2) Set quantifiable goals. Avoid goals that have no progress level. The worst track event you can do is to run around the field of confusion.

(3) Set attainable goals. Don’t set goal to impress others. Set goals that have a pathway to achieving them.

(4) Set goals that are realistic, reasonable and relevant: Stop deceiving yourself with fantasies. You can’t wake up by 6am in Nigeria and eat breakfast in Dubai by 7am of the same day. That’s how some people would wish to travel to major countries of the world yet they forget that they will need visas for that to be possible. Walking by faith does not license stupidity.

(5) Set goals that are time bound. Even examinations have time table. Tag a decision to a time limit.

Friend, your goals are meant to give you a push. Clear goals have rich energy content. When you know what to do, you can be certain of where you will end.

Hey, it’s Friday! It’s a good day! A goal setting/re-setting day.

©PRECIOUS SEEDS
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“Shooting up a healthy generation with inspiring wisdom seeds of God’s word”

AT THE SCENT OF WATER By Aleele Paago

A great warrior and conqueror, Nebuchadnezzar took the world by storm. It was under his leadership that Babylon rose to its greatest height – the fame, the wealth, the power – of his kingdom was uncontested.

God showed this idol worshipper what heaven has decreed concerning him. The revelation was vivid. He remembered every single detail. He recognised that the  main actors of the dream came from heaven – not from his own deities. And Daniel gave him a very detailed explanation of the dream.

He was going to lose his throne, his kingdom, his grandeur. Through wisdom, Daniel counselled him that he can avert this crisis by repenting from his sins and showing mercy to the poor. As it usually happens, the effect of the dream waned off and 12 months later, Nebuchadnezzar started to brag about his greatness.

At that moment, God took away his mind, and gave him the mind of an animal. The great king was deposed immediately. He left the palace and dwelt in the forests. He ate grass like goat and his hair grew like feathers. He lived like a chimpanzee for seven years.

He lost everything. He lost his throne. He lost his palace, his kingdom, his fame, his wealth, and his mind. I don’t know what you have lost. Is it a job? A child? A parent? A spouse? An opportunity? Your health? Your education?

The devil may have taken these from you. But at the fullness of time, there shall be a restoration. Even though everyone knew the King was mad and living in a bush, no one could kill him. The weather could not kill him, even though he had no blankets. The wild beasts could not kill him though he had no weapons. That is the hand of Jehovah. He will protect the things you cannot defend

He will restore to you the years the cankerworm has eaten. He will restore your throne, your virginity, your marriage, your joy. He will at the scent of water.

For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.  Job 14:7

You are a survivor!

© SURVIVOR

DeepWords Devotional

TARNISHED TAMAR By Aleele Paago

Gen 38

My life is filled with bitterness. My heart has been broken into a thousand pieces.

Death moved into my home and made it a permanent address. First it was my husband. Then I was made to marry his younger brother. He had never liked me even when my husband was alive and he never pretended about it. When he inherited me as wife, he showed the disdain even on our marriage bed. He swore to me that I will never bear his children and every time we had sex (we never made love) he would withdraw when the seed of life is coming. God heard my cry and he died. I did not mourn him.

My father in law was kind, but he has lost two sons and believed I was bad luck. So he tactically sent me home to my parents on the excuse that his last son was too young and when he is old enough he will send for me. He never did.

He came to my village and I knew he would be looking for a prostitute to sleep with so I did the unthinkable. I lured him to my bed and what a time we had! (well I say that with shame). Thank God I conceived. That was all I wanted. I wanted to keep my husband’s name alive.

But my father in law demanded that I should be stoned to death. He has found the perfect reason to kill me. But God was on my side after all. Not because I had done the right things. What I did was sinful and I sincerely repent of it. But I was only a desperate woman trying to keep the tradition I was born into.
 

God upturned the yoke of barrenness, took away the death in my home removed the reproach from me and gave me sons that remain a testimony in Israel.

My name is Tamar, daughter in law of Judah and the Matron of the Messianic lineage and I am a survivor. If your story is not as bad as mine, then you stand a better chance. If your story is worse than mine then Jesus – the Messiah is even much more pleased to give you that chance to prove your abusers and haters wrong.

Yes, I am a survivor and so are you.

©SURVIVOR
DEEPWORDS DEVOTIONAL
 

I CHOOSE TO SERVE 15: QUALITIES OF GOD’S SERVANT 9

“Do not drink too much wine, because that will cause bad things. It will stop you ruling yourself properly. But instead, let God’s Spirit fill you” Eph. 5:18 (EET).

Foundation Text: 1 Tim. 3:1-7

NOT GIVEN TO WINE:

We are back here again. The last time I treated this issue of drinking wine, the response and feedback was amazing. Please there is a caveat: the wine in this context is any alcoholic drink. Haven said that, we can move forward. I will still throw pointers to some things I said before. The only difference this time is the purpose of this episode. The other time I treated this was to address a misconception, but this time, I am dealing with something deeper.

There is a question I have heard a lot of people ask, I believe you too have asked and I am not an exception. Should a servant of God take alcoholic drinks? Interestingly, any side of the answer you chose to take is okay. If you say a servant of God should take alcoholic drinks, you are right. If you say a servant of God should not take alcoholic drinks, you are right as well. It all depends on your personal relationship with God.

The drinking of alcohol should not form moral arguments amongst servants of God, in my opinion though. It is very distracting and should be given little or no priority. I think what we should be dealing with is the addiction or the excessive intake of it. If you believe servants of God should take alcohol, then there has to be moderation. That is what the Bible teaches.
We should not be so given to alcohol that we lose control of ourselves. If you must take alcoholic drinks, let the purpose be well defined and prescription followed (for medical cases). There is no doubting it that excessive intake of alcohol can be intoxicating and lead to losing control of oneself. I can boldly testify to what excessive intake of alcohol can do.

Remember we said earlier that the servant of God must have good sense of judgement. This cannot be achieved under the influence of alcohol. I admonish us today to pay more attention to the filling and leading of the Spirit of God, rather than losing our minds to irrelevant things like alcohol. 
  
If this message blessed you, you are free to share it with anybody or group.

Stay blessed.
  
©TRANSFORMING WORDS SERIES
(Transforming the World through the Word).

PRECIOUS SEEDS 017 By Godwin ‘Captain’ Kalu

EVEN GOD RESISTS THE PROUD
… Who am I not to?

I have supposed friends that know everything. They call for help yet they turn around to make you wonder whether they truly needed help from you and not vice versa.

You mention “A” and when you ask them to repeat “A” they  already fly to “P” and you begin to wonder, “so they knew all these!”

You say, “Jack” and they quickly add “Robinson” without allowing you to land safely.

Behold what manner of people that live around us! I’m sure that you have encountered them too. They hardly admit that they are knowing some things for the first time. They lack the patience and the discipline of listening to teachers and mentors. They would tell you, “yes, I’ve always known this and that” when in reality they know nothing. They lack teachability. They lift off discussion from the mouth of their mentors and run their mouth as though they were typewriters, out-talking their mentors without a given privilege.

In my case, I would often wonder, “since they already knew these things, of what use was their knocking on my door?”.

Teachability affects accessibility. There are good things you can’t access until humility becomes your lifestyle. The grace for learning is only accessible to the humble. It takes humility to learn, unlearn and relearn. It takes humility to submit to someone whom you are older than. That is the way up.

Today is a good day!
Knock off pride.
Pray for the spirit of humility.
God gives grace to the humble.

©PRECIOUS SEEDS
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“Shooting up a healthy generation with inspiring wisdom seeds of God’s word”

VICTIM OF MERCY By Aleele Paago

Jonah is not the regular kind of prophet. He is a messenger that does not want to go on a message. He is disobedient, recalcitrant, obstinate and uncooperative. God sent him to Nineveh but Jonah decided to flee to Tarshish.

 
When he entered a ship he went to hide at the bottom so that even God will not see him. For his sake a mighty storm came and all the merchants and sailors started appeasing the demons of the sea. They were not just trying to lighten the ship, they were making sacrifices to their gods. But Jonah had forgotten his own God and had gone to sleep.

When the captain of the boat found him, Jonah was bold enough to tell them the truth. He demanded that he should be thrown overboard. Jonah presented and represented God badly. Do you know that all the people on that ship will believe that Jonah’s God is a blood thirsty deity who would only accept a human as appeasement?
 

As far as Jonah was concerned, God was through with him. He had failed his life assignment. He had failed God. There was no point to it. He wanted to end it all and rather than preach in Nineveh, it would be better to die in the sea.

Have you messed up big time? Have you fouled the call and grace of God in your life? Have you stumbled into the sin of fornication, adultery, abortion – with people you know you should never have done it with? Have you taken advantage of the poor girl God placed under your ministry? Have you failed? Maybe you have. Maybe like Jonah you have represented God badly.

But wait! Jonah has been thrown into the sea, the raging storm has stilled immediately and while Jonah gasped for breath, God sent a deliverer. Mercy has found him again! Mercy will find you again.
 

You are never too far from God’s Mercy. Never! All you need now is to drop the pride and self-justification and ask for his forgiveness. You know the only reason you are still alive is because He wants to correct this mistake and restore you.

Thank God you are a survivor!

© SURVIVOR

DeepWords Devotional

PRECIOUS SEEDS 016 By Godwin ‘Captain’ Kalu

ME , MYSELF and I……

This is a popular phrase. Some persons have used it to imply at certain times that in life, they are their everything. The sound of it can mean that there is a limit in our lives that should shut others out. I am still reasoning this out anyway. It can be true but I didn’t say so. Why should I give ears to the needs of another when mine are starring at my face?

If you had an opportunity to put a smile on three faces today, who would the three people be?

“Me, myself and I”?

Success is a reality that thrives under the culture that accommodates and reaches out liberally to other people. When your heart is moved by the tears and pains of others so that you can’t just leave them like that without a helping hand, you are a successful man needing time to be processed. Stingy people can’t survive the future. Heartless people can’t attract true greatness. True greatest is sustained by service.
“Must I always help people”?

I’m sure your problem is that you are not so buoyant for that. Well, success is first a mentality. How you respond to the needs of others in your mind will affect how you react to them in the physical.

What runs through your mind the moment someone knocks on your door for an assistance? Do you see your list of broken down appliances that needs to be fixed or do you allow compassion for the person soak your heart? God blesses those that respond to the burdens of others in love. You can’t help everybody at the same time in the same way, but nobody should pass through your door without coming alive with fresh hope that the earth is still the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. You may not have all the money to give them. Also give direction. Give assistance. Give information. Complement with helpful recommendation and contacts. Be concerned!

It’s a good day! Be a blessing.

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“Shooting up a healthy generation with inspiring wisdom seeds of God’s word”

BEYOND IMAGINATION By Aleele Paago

 

Who has prayed and not got an answer?   Am not asking the usual rhetorical questions that seek to prove that all prayers are always answered.  

 

I am looking for the real man and woman whose request has been turned down over and again by heaven. Yes, you lost the pregnancy once again. Yes, he walked out of your life and married someone else. Yes, you were not given the job. Yes, you did not pass the examination and it is not because you did not study hard enough. I am looking for the real person who has real questions for heaven.

 

If you have followed God long enough, then you must have come to that point yourself, when you get the dreaded silent answer from heaven. It is at moments like this that religion tells you, “oh, you didn’t pay your tithe that’s why …”  or , you haven’t prayed enough, or the generational sins… Honestly we can never argue with religion because these things are true and they do happen.

 

Elijah led a great national revival and the next day he prayed that God should kill him. He got a resounding silence from God. When God finally spoke it was a resounding “NO”. Do you know why?

 

Heaven had a better answer. Rather than kill Elijah, he was adopted into heaven without seeing death! For God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ever ask.

 

God is set to break the rules that is why your prayer has not been answered. He is set to give you an answer you could never imagine. How on earth could Elijah have imagined that he will not die? Uhm… what was it you were believing God for?

 

Eph 3:20-21  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

  Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

 

You are next in line! You are a survivor…

 

© Survivor

DeepWords Devotional

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I CHOOSE TO SERVE 14: QUALITIES OF GOD’S SERVANT 8

“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” 2 Tim. 2:2 (KJVL).

Foundation Text: 1 Tim. 3:1-7

APT TO TEACH:

Knowledge is power, and I believe it. What you know that others do not know makes you a master in any field. This is what informs workplace hierarchy. In the academia for instance, you have different categories of people. You have the students and the lecturers. Among the students, there are some that are more knowledgeable than others. Among the lecturers, you have those with M.sc, PhD and the Professors. All these are based on their different levels of acquired knowledge.

In the secular setting, you see that people try to intimidate others because they are supposedly more knowledgeable. They hoard what they know for fear of being out-shined by others. Most of these people do not have protégés, just because they do not want to pass on what they know. In most tertiary educational institutions today, the Lecturer-Student relationship is a big sham. Lecturers end up intimidating students to the point that the latter is scared of learning from the former. God will definitely help us in this regard. This is not my interest today. However, I started on this note to bring this anomaly to light.

Before now, there was a concept of Master-Servant relationship that existed. A master gets one servant, tutors and grooms him on the things that needs to be known. The master invests resources to ensure that the servant is well knowledgeable. The master ensures that the servant learns all there is to learn. He is not doing all that because he has special love for that servant. On the contrary, he is teaching that servant so the servant can step down what he knows to other servants and save the master the trouble of haven to teach every single servant.

As a servant of God, whatever he teaches you is not for you alone. It is not for you to carry yourself about as the Master’s delight. God teaches you so you can teach others. The reason Jesus did all the teaching He did with his disciples is so they can learn from him. When he was about to leave, he gave them the great commission which part of it is to teach (Matt. 28:20).

I like to say this: if you are not ready to teach what you have learnt, you are not ready to serve. The more you serve the Lord, the more experience you gather. It is expected that you pass on these experiences to others who might not be as experienced as you are. It is an anomaly when there is no one to fill in for you when you are not around. I know you are tempted to tell me that it makes you relevant. Well, I am bursting your bubbles today. There is no hierarchy of relevance in God’s service. Seeking for relevance in the service of God is an aberration.

Finally I want you to understand that teaching does not make you any less knowledgeable, rather it gives you a platform to learn more. If you have so much that you know and you hoard it to your grave, well it will matter to nobody. But if you are a teacher, your impact will speak long after you are gone. Take that decision to teach what you know and God will expose you to more knowledge.  

If this message blessed you, you are free to share it with anybody or group.

Stay blessed.
  
©TRANSFORMING WORDS SERIES
(Transforming the World through the Word)