In our Home Church meeting this week, we undertook an in-depth study of the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42, highlighting the classic and thought-provoking concept of giving God’s Word priority in our lives, constantly, and through our actions, choices, and decisions.

The Lord admonishes us in his Word that, “if you love me, then keep my commandments.” This entails total submission, dedication, and obedience to His Word.

Really, God is more interested in our personal relationship and walk with Him, than in our work for Him. Our personal relationship and walk with God determines our place in His heart,  and ultimately, in eternity.

God’s place in our scales of preferences, and what we are willing to give up for Him, is a pointer to the state of our hearts, which reveals its deeply-rooted priorities.

God needs your time more than your money. God needs your heart more than your time. Essentially, God wants all of you – your body, soul and spirit.

Giving God all He wants and more can only take place while in deep fellowship and intimacy with Him – the Word of God.  This is because, the Word of God teaches us, enlightening our minds in the process. It’s a soul-searching spirit that helps and directs us on the path of righteousness.

The Word of God keeps us focused on Him in spite the cares and troubles in this world. It shields us from the manipulative devices of the kingdom of darkness, which is meant to distract and pull us away from His Word.

The Word of God strengthens us to make God’s Word priority in our lives, through our actions, choices, and decisions.

An African proverb says, “When deeds speak, words are nothing”.

Prioritize the word of God in your life and may He bless you in Jesus name. Amen.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run,
But only one gets the prize?
Run in such a way as to win the prize…[Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 9:24]

A flurry of activities are underway in our various Home Churches as the Festival of Home Churches 2010 draws nearer. At Excellence Home Church  meeting this week, we were all caught in a fever of excitement as we looked forward to this groundbreaking and destiny-transforming event.

As always, we commenced the meeting with a brief moment of praise to God who has made us worthy co-workers in the upcoming Festival. We feel so honoured!

Success is never an accident. If we leave the pursuit of our dreams to chance, we might wait forever for their materialization. There are secrets to winning in life!

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run?

Pastor WD Favour often tells us that life is a race and a game. Life’s prizes are reserved for winners. The slothful, fearful, and average have no share in this prize. When preparing for a tournament, athletes put in scores of time and energy. Those who fail to do so, only disgrace themselves on the day of display as sometimes seen during the Olympic games. Adequate planning and proper execution of  plans are essential secrets to winning in life.

Run in such a way as to get the prize

Everything in life has a ‘way’ to it. We came to this realization during our Home Church meeting this week as we pondered the words of the writer of Ecclesiastes 8:5-6 “…there is a proper time and procedure to every matter.”

As this truth hit home, a member served another volley from the book of Proverbs:

The labour of a foolish man wearies him, because he does not know the way to the city.

So having a great dream is only a trip to a fool’s paradise unless we take the right steps essential to the fulfillment of that dream.

Knowing the way is crucial to winning!

For the joy set before him

Endurance is another secret to winning in life.

Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus endured the cross because of the joy set before Him. So, like our master Jesus in Hebrews 12:2, we will hang on till we  realize our dreams.

God bless you!

At midnight, when the storms roared and the boat began to sinkk, a man filled with courage spoke to the wind and said, “Peace be still”.

The children of Israel had provoked the Lord, and were at the verge of being wiped out, when a courageous man spoke on their behalf, and the Lord tempered justice with mercy.

The courage to speak, not only for yourself but for others as well, is the pathway that leads to greatness and distinction.

So, this week at the Infinity Home Church, we decided to speak out and share stories of instances where we’ve been courageous enough to make bold moves, step out of our cocoons, and damn whatever be the consequences.

I was so sick; serious complications had arisen as a result of the bronchi pneumonia I had come down with. My life was meaningless to me. I wanted to be someone else – anyone else, but without the aches, pain and suffering. The frequent trips to the hospital were now disgusting. I didn’t know what to do.

Still in agony, I was diagnosed with a kidney infection that threatened to take my life away from me.

Panic, chaos, fear!

I was in a frenzy, scared to death, and the doctors words kept reechoing in my mind, “the situation is bad, like, really bad”.

Out of options, I started medications and was in the middle of it, when a man filled with courage spoke to me. He said, “Stop all the medications and believe in the healing power of Jesus Christ”.

Now, that was a tough one, considering my past.

However, I took a step of courage, and as Raymond Lindquist said, “Courage is the power to let go of the familiar,” I let go of the familiar – the drugs, going back to the hospital – and believed in God’s word.

I haven’t gone back to the hospital and its been over two years. My health has been completely restored. I’m whole!

Just dare to let go of the familiar. Be bold! Be courageous! There’s no stopping you.

God bless you and remain in His embrace.

We spent a good chunk of our time during this week’s home church forecasting and planning ahead for the forth-coming festival of home churches.

Concerning the festival, we are responsible for all protocol and security tasks. In order to lend speed to our pace, we understudied Joseph. We saw that the principle of foresight was the chief secret of his phenomenal success and dominion in Egypt.

Joseph was the 11th child in a polygamous home filled with strife and envy. Because of his prodigious foresight and lofty dreams as a child, he was sold into slavery by his envious and awe-stricken step brothers into a foreign land where he was later put in prison.

However, in a miraculous turn of events, his foresight translated him from prison to royalty!

By the application of divine wisdom and foresight, Joseph created a food surplus that fed the whole world for seven years. This was in the midst of famine! He bought up the entire human and material resources of a nation. He gained absolute dominion over a nation that was then world power, so to speak.

Joseph entered Egypt as a slave, then landed in prison. However, by the application of divine wisdom that brings foresight, he became the master of an entire empire.

Foresight is the ability to clearly discern trends.

• It is the perception of the significance and nature of events before they occur.
• It is an awareness based on spiritual positioning that enables you know intuitively what’s going to happen.
• It is a preview of future realities that empowers you to take unique steps either to take advantage of coming opportunities, or to avoid  danger.

People who have foresight, who see ahead and plan ahead, will always dominate those who don’t.

The more acquainted you are with the word of God, the more foresight you have, and the more success and dominion you experience.

Can you see far? Do you think ahead? Get properly oriented and deeply positioned in the knowledge of God so you can smarten up your foresight.

Often in life, the negative experiences we have not only ‘teach’ us, they have a nice way of preventing us from letting go and moving on to the next level. Thus, we suspiciously view things through the mirror of our experiences. Unfortunately,the inability to let go results in a timid approach to life that hinders us from achieving our deep-seated dreams and desires.

In the course of our home church meeting this week, we studied the above phenomenon. We realized that to change our current realities, we need to mind what we are focusing on, as what you focus on, multiplies.

We looked at what the apostle Paul had to say about this:

‘But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.’ ~ Philippians 3:13

No wonder he was able to achieve all he did in his lifetime.

We figured out that one should place one’s focus on the mirror of God’s word; simply partner with God by agreeing with what He has said concerning us in His word.

Mirror, mirror on the wall
Who is the fairest of all?

The above is a line from the popular tale of  Snowwhite and The Seven Dwarfs. The tale has it that Snowwhite’s wicked step mum had a mirror that could tell who was the most beautiful in the land and the mirror never told lies.

As people of God, we have something superior – the mirror of God’s word. You are who and what He says you are. For crying out loud, who knows more about a product than the maker? So let go and let God’s word.

Gideon in the book of Judges 6, decided to let go of his past negative experiences at the hands of Midian [ Israel’s oppressors at that time] and embrace what he saw in the mirror of God’s word as shown to him by an angel of God. His life and that of his fellow Israelites never became the same, simply because he chose to let go and let God’s word.

Let go of that abuse experience!

Let go of that betrayal by a loved one!

Let go of that experience at the hands of that creditor!

Let go of that failure at trying some thing new!

And let God’s word!

God bless you.

I saw myself in Christ’s shoes this week and appreciated where it pinched. “This is more than we can stomach! Are we soldiers that need military training? Why listen to such hard talk?”

These were the loud murmurs of my members during our meeting on Sunday. There were burning issues at hand.

As we deliberated on how to handle them, naturally, most of our members wanted us to take the easy way out. But on the contrary, we had laid down principles – as provided by our code of conduct – on how to handle such situations. I knew that a leader should never sink to the level of his followers, but should stay ahead and lead the way; even if it means standing alone. That’s the loneliness of leadership-the cost of leadership.

As you would guess, I insisted that we abide by the laid down provisions. This raised much dust as my people thought I was being unreasonably rigid. Most, especially the relatively new members, threatened to leave the home church. “We’ll rather go back to our former churches where we’re allowed to grow at our natural pace” they unanimously lamented.

Now, I felt like Christ in John 6:60-67, where most of His disciples left because they perceived His words as hard. I now had to choose between keeping my beloved members and upholding discipline-the foundation of our ministry.

Powered by my principle -based life, I looked them in the face and told them all to leave, for I can’t operate by sentiments. I told them that God would raise me discipline-loving people. “I don’t fear losing anybody; it’s only God that I fear to lose,” I emphasized.

I felt sad that I’d lost my members; for I deeply love them. Honestly, I do.

However, an eye- opening event happened this Wednesday as it was time for home church meeting. I expected none of them to come back. But, alas, everybody came.

When asked why they came back, Chioma said “I saw that I couldn’t leave. At home, it dawned on me the huge difference this home church has made in my life in so short a time, and I figured it would benefit me most, if I submit to the principle-based leadership of this ministry.”  To show her commitment, she brought a large sum of money for the support of our projects. She also came with her friend who was full of admiration of how our home church is run.

Every other member made similar thought-provoking statements. This incidenT opened my eyes to these leadership principles:

1. People, in their naturally weak state, are looking for whom to follow; and they follow the strong.
2. As a leader, do not need people to like you; rather, go for their respect. You’ll benefit them most if they respect you.
3. A thing is truly never yours until you’re ready to lose it.
4. Principle-based leaderships create strong systems; sentiment-driven leaderships breed weak systems.
5. Whatever is given to you by God will always remain with you, as the apostles did with Christ (John 60:66-71).

A number of occurrences this week, got me mulling over this statement by Jesus, “the words I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life.”  I decided to bring it up during our interactive bible discussion at Excellence Home Church. As I mentioned last week, this session is always a time of great learning and illumination as we pool ideas and impressions.

We examined the story in the book of Ezekiel 37:1-10, where we saw the prophet Ezekiel bring to life very dry bones by mere declaration of the word of God. By the time he was done, a vast army stood before him according to the word of the Lord.

The bible is rife with numerous instances where situations were turned around according to the word of the Lord.

Beginning from the amazing story of creation in Genesis, to the prophecies handed down to the apostle John in Revelation, we see the word of God as a force that rules both in heaven and on earth.

Hebrews 4:12 aptly pays a tribute to the word of God:

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double edged sword…”

As we rounded off our discussions, we made the following deductions:

• The word of God is a force that causes change to occur.
• Just as Newton’s first law of motion states that an object at rest will continue in the same state unless a force is applied to it, the challenges we face on our path to success won’t budge unless we apply the force of God’s word.
• We have to feed our our faith with God’s word so we can move our mountains

Next week we will be sharing our personal experiences on this subject. God bless you.

When the storms of life come, raging ferociously with insensitive intensity at you, what do you do?

When your heart beats so hard and darkness becomes an unwanted companion, what do you do?

When the struggles of life beckon at you constantly, threatening to drive you to insanity, what do you do?

When you need to choose between the freezing depths of the Red Sea or be pierced with the sword of the Egyptian soldiers, what do you do?

When your world is crumbling down fast and all hope seems to be gone with the wind, what do you do?

Personally, I sing a song in the night. I sing the song my love puts in my spirit.

It soothes my soul, producing a chilling, calming effect which relieves the tension, putting me in a state of euphoria, reminiscent of His pleasant abode.

As I sing, I hear a steady, still voice saying, “You can lean on me”.

If you are going through pain and hurting within, God is saying, “You can lean on me”.

But, as I told members of the Infinity Home Church, this transference of burdens can only occur in a place of intimacy with God, in a place of fellowship with Him, and while in deep fellowship with His word.

I buttressed the fact, that the Father bears our burdens so we can bear the burden of others; essentially so we can partner with Him in alleviating the pain, groaning, and sufferings of all humanity and mankind in general.

The Lord is on the look-out for vessels; He is searching for contrite hearts and men who are deep-seated in righteousness, who will seek Him, to enable Him bear their burdens and thus, empower them to bear the burdens of others.

Will you heed to His call? Will you long for Him as the hart pants after the water brooks?

Ponder on these words and may God bless you.

Like the scorching heat of the sun
that brings to the fore,
and lends publicity to the soothing effect
of the ice-cold water, that trickles down your throat
on a tropical hot sunny day;
like the stern, palpably thick darkness,
at night, in a humble Soweto village,
that creates a delicious chance for each
ray of light
from an old woman’s weak wick lamp,
to shine and showcase its sovereign smartness
and splendor over darkness;
so your disadvantages are a meet platform,
that brings to the limelight,
the forever-selling genius within you.

The foregoing is a description of our discussion in this week’s meeting.

We studied Joel 2:25.

God restores your lost years, but He doesn’t do it arbitrarily; the process is activated by you.

God has programmed His restorative ability to respond to those who get inspired by their disadvantages – who set out to turn their obstacles into stepping stones.

Every challenge should motivate you to go for greater heights. Disadvantages give you an opportunity to shine, just as darkness gives light the opportunity to display.

Experiences are meant to give us mastery over life’s circumstances.You must have the instinctive ability to pursue, overtake, and recover all wherever you are disadvantaged or have failed.

People with a seed of greatness, when disadvantaged, vigorously seek out ways to attain greatness-creatively utilizing their “disadvantages”. They know they have a date with destiny and cannot afford any excuses.

It is in your strong-willed, retaliative efforts to release your virtues, despite your circumstances, that you leverage your disadvantages to the point people begin to associate such “disadvantages” with greatness; like an offended, wounded lion, you fiercely come back at the offence and take your pound of flesh.”

We understudied people who exemplify this concept:

• Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10): His short stature inspired him to think ahead of the crowd and position himself strategically for true greatness.
• David (I Samuel 30:1-25): He responded to the instincts of greatness in him by pursuing and overpowering the Amalekites.
• Nick: born without limbs, but today has become a globally acclaimed motivational speaker.

During  our Home Church meeting this week, which was in a cosy, calm, relaxed and soothing atmosphere, I posed this question to members of the Infinity Home Church, “What will you offer to the Lord in appreciation for His love and favour towards you?”

These were some of the reactions:

Chummy said, “I’ll give Him my life”.

Dee reechoed the same thoughts.

However,  Bubbie said, to my delight, “I will give God my heart, praise, and then offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Him”.

This further prompted the in-depth study of the book of Psalms, and there, we discovered three modes of thanksgiving which would unlock more grace and favour in our lives and then, usher us into an avalanche of unending blessings.

The first key is acknowledging God as Lord of our lives. Then , His Godship and our sonship and, of course, recognizing Him as the pathway and continued source of our existence.

The second key is trusting Him completely as he admonished us to in Proverbs 3:5-6.

The third key is fulfilling of our vows to the Lord.

These are advanced modes of thanksgiving, which unlock the fullness of our lives. It  makes sense of our past and turns what we have into more than enough.

Thanksgiving preceeds favour and then, more thanksgiving preceeds even more favour.

After our study, we gave our gifts to God and published His good works in our lives all to His glory and praise.

Our Home Church, the Infinity Home Church, is fast and permanently becoming a Home of feasting and merriment.

We had sandwiches and rolls before putting some touches to our presentation for the “Celebration of Talents”, coming up during our Family Gathering this Sunday.

You need to be present for the show as it promises to tickle your fancy and leave you gasping for breath.

He who thanks but with lips
Thanks but in part;
The full, the true Thanksgiving
Comes from the heart.
~   J.A. Shedd.

God bless you and have a pleasant weekend.