An answer of peace for you!

…there is none that can interpret it. Genesis 41:15-16

Pharaoh had a disturbing dream, but there was nobody who could interpret it for him. The best in his kingdom could not. Put yourself in the picture, you also have a dream, you have an issue on your mind and it is bugging you. It could be about your home, you know all is not well. You are surrounded with pressure-you've sought for advice from parents, friends, brothers and sisters, yet you are not satisfied. You have asked yourself several questions, yet you have gotten more confused instead of answers.

Don’t be alarmed, Joseph said, “It’s not in me.” It’s not in you either, to solve the questions and issues bugging your mind. It’s not in you to give the answer and bring an interpretation. However, there is good news.

Joseph said, “God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” When God gives you an answer of peace, you will have peace that passes all understanding. When God gives you an answer of peace, things will change in your family. When God gives you an answer of peace, you will stop suffering. The answer of peace can take care of your challenges.

The answer of peace from God can take care of all kinds of peer pressure, and they will lose their power and influence in your life. There are habits you desperately want to stop; you have tried all you could, all to no avail. An answer of peace from God can help you overcome them.

The answer of peace is the voice of peace. Proverbs 18:24 says, “There’s a friend that sticks closer than a brother.” This friend is Jesus. He was with his friends at sea. They faced a storm and his friends became afraid. They were facing the same issue you are facing now. Jesus came and gave an answer of peace: ‘peace, be still.” Immediately there was calmness and peace. My friend, the same calmness is here for you to take this week and always.

It does not matter the storm you are going through right now, I bring you good news today. You are qualified to be peaceful. Peace is your portion, and you can have it. Isaiah 30:15 says, “…in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength…”

HOW TO HAVE A GREAT 2014

Act 20:22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not

Knowing the things that shall befall me there:

The scripture here points to us that Paul was heading to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the pinnacle of dreams at that time for the Jews. It was a place of fulfillment, the capital city of the nation of Israel. It was the confluence point of every citizen, the center that holds all Jewish cities together.

So, Paul was heading to the fulfillment of his dream, but he took an approach towards it, he said “I go bound in the spirit…”  This was like a promise God gave to him, a dream he has always expected to come to pass. Although he was already going there physically, he took a sure route-the route of the spirit.

Like God told Abraham in Genesis 13, to lift up his eyes and look around the land about to become his. Paul was doing the same thing here; he went in the spirit to Jerusalem. Friend, going in the spirit also means taking your pen and paper and putting down things about your future. What have you seen about the year 2014? Have you looked and maybe you haven’t seen anything? Probably because, what you want`, you haven’t seen any possible way it can happen.

Maybe what you have seen are all troubles, lack, failure. Don’t worry friend, Paul was also in the same shoe as you are now. He said, “I have gone in the spirit and still do not know the things that shall happen to me there, but what I see are bonds and afflictions.”

He made another statement in v.24 of Acts 20 “but none of these things move me…” But come to think of it, it is not only hardships that makes people moved or backslide. I have seen people rich and successful and they became moved forgetting God. In essence Paul was not only referring to bad things when he said, “bonds and afflictions” but also success. He is also saying, “I see also prosperity and success in every month of the year.

This shows us the importance of seeing ahead. But, knowing also that seeing ahead is not a guaranty that you will have what you saw. If so, Moses would have entered the Promised Land. It does not matter what you have seen about 2014, what interpretation are you giving it?

Paul said, “None of these things move me. What I have already conquered in my mind will not move me when it comes physically. When I get to my dream and face difficulties, I will not ask God why.” God wants you to have a mentality of victory against your adversaries. Whatever that comes your way in 2014, make up your mind that none of them will move you. You will be living in deception when you think failure, disappointment and loss will not come to you in 2014. Rather, when they come you have to move them out of the way.

Israel sent spies into Canaan to check out the land, just as Paul went in the spirit to Jerusalem. This is how you are also going to look into 2014 to spy it. But in the case of the Israelite

, 10 out of 12 brought a negative report. But the other 2 brought another report saying, Numbers 14:8 “if the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into the land and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.” There is a condition, “if.” So the big question is, “does God like me? Does He delight in me? Does He find pleasure in me?”

Psalm 149:4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people:

So, we see God likes you and that means he is going to bring you into 2014, and give it to you. You might choose like me to call the year 2014, according to the word of God, “the year of milk and honey.” But don’t forget, it’s only the mature cow that gives milk. success and prosperity doesn’t come overnight, it has to mature. For the honey part, you will have to face bee stings, and sometimes as well, you have to face a lion like Samson.

You will have to face bonds and afflictions. Fights, for you to get to your milk and honey, but Numbers 14:9 says; Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they [are] bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD [is] with us: fear them not.

The year is yours for the taking!

CURIOSITY

The tendency to learn about things by asking questions, investigating or exploring.

Inventors have always been curious people. Among all the world’s greatest inventors you will find very curious individuals, who always asked the question of why things work, or how does things work, and how they can make things better. Curiosity is asking the right questions that make us learn something new.

No matter the age every individual is always in a curious age because our brains can always take in new knowledge, researches have shown that our brains never really adapt to a particular line, show it something new at any time, I can always adjust.

Curiosity makes you ahead of others because you are always trying to know something new. Making up our mind to learn something  new every day spices us up. Fela Durotoye said it is a crime not to learn something new every fifteen minutes. Every knowledge is within our grasp these days of information technology. The internet can supply us of information anytime any day, we can Google up almost anything now and get an informative response. The vast knowledge of Wikipedia has at least a line to say about anything we seek to learn about.

Our young people these days have resorted to only be a consumer of other people’s brain child; they seldom ask questions on how things come about. We use almost anything called a social network and we seldom ask the question: of how is this done? and surprisingly we will find out or realize we could have actually done some of these things at some point in our lives if we have simply paid attention to the questions in our heart.

GOD created every individual and put questions in our heart and at the same time HE put the answers all around us. But we can never get answers without questions. Curiosity brings out these questions in our hearts to the point where they can produce tangible answers that are productive.

Curiosity is simply the secret behind the rising technology of the Chinese that is challenging America now. The Chinese simply adopted the technique in engineering called ‘reverse engineering’ this technique simply works on the principle of curiosity. They were driven with the question of finding out how things were produced and how they can do the same with the available resources that they have. Their curiosity drove them to ask how they can make a better, cheaper and more user friendly products than others.

In my place there is a saying that goes: “a person who asks questions about his route will never get to miss his way during the journey.” This holds true in all other areas. Curiosity can drive us to our divine destiny. Our level of operation in life is determined by the questions we ask. You know where a man is going by the quality of questions he asks.

Intelligent curiosity brings about intelligent knowledge and drive away ignorance. Let’s say no to ignorance, it will go a long way to save us a whole lot of unwarranted mistakes.

Try a little sarcastic curiosity today, it will do your heart a lot of merry!

OWNING YOUR NAME

In my previous post I promised to bring to us 21 days to a good name, while putting together the piece I discovered that life is not just about bulding a good reputation or name, like +John Wooden puts it “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” But about the person of quality we are.

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.
+Warren Buffett

It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.
+Benjamin Franklin

No man will ever carry out of the Presidency the reputation which carried him into it.
+Thomas Jefferson

Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.
+William Shakespeare

A single lie destroys a whole reputation of integrity.
+Baltasar Gracian

Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.
+Thomas Paine

With these in mind lets see how we can work on a good name in 7days.

DAY1

• Hold your tongue and take three deep breaths before responding to comments and situations that make you feel angry, defensive or upset.

DAY 2

• Never talk badly about anyone. Never say anything negative about any person behind their back. If you have a problem with some else’s behaviour, talk to them privately and directly. When you talk negatively about someone in their absence, the person you are talking to feels you may do the same behind their back.

DAY 3

• Be respectful of other people and their opinions. There is never one way of doing things, and your way is not the only way, even if it feels like that at the time. Always keep your mind open and accept other people may have a different experience and a different opinion. Remember, you can disagree and still be respectful.

DAY 4

• Be truthful and honest. lying and deceit always finds its way out, and it’s never worth it. I always say “When in doubt, tell the truth”. Telling the truth is cleansing and liberating, no matter how small. If you are running late, don’t blame the traffic, say “I’ve miscalculated the travel time”, “I left too late”… whatever the case may be.

DAY 5

• Keep your promises. If you made a promise, keep it. It seems so simple, yet very few people can hold ALL their promises. If you can’t make it happen, do not promise. If you’ve promised, but can’t make it happen, tell the other person honestly. They will be flattered with your honesty.

DAY 6

• Accept responsibility for your actions and behaviours, and avoid blaming others.

DAY 7

• Do not judge other people or their behaviour. Do not jump to conclusions and label people in your mind or when talking to others.

Have a good day people.

BRANDING YOUR NAME

I grew up to see that as I played my pranks in school as a pupil, the authorities would go for my parents. It was a case of my parents answering for my sins which obviously they didn't commit. But as I grew much older and became more responsible for my actions, I realized that it wasn't much about my parents anymore and it was becoming more about me. I could remember back in secondary school, there was this notorious boy known for his many pranks, on one of the many occasions where his father was called to school to answer for the boy's sins, we all heard the father scolding Ralph, for that was his name saying "why do you keep dragging my name to the mud?"
Every young man or woman will get to a point in his or her life when he or she will begin to make a name for his or herself. Your father's name will no longer be dragged into your own mess. This is a sense of responsibility the young people of today should uphold.
The question I ask is this: when will you make it your name? With the way young people today count their words to be nothing and thinking that there is a father out there to always bail them out or like Ralph still thinking it’s his father's name being dragged to the mud, by the time our father’s kick the bucket we will realize its then too late.
As young people, our names can open doors today just like our father's opened when we were younger. Our reputation can be an asset. Your name can go to the bank and come back with a facility. Our women can look up to our men for their words.
It comes by holding to the virtues we saw in the names of our fathers, having integrity. When you borrow money or any other thing you strive to pay back. There are little habits in which if we practice daily, we can establish a trustworthy name.
In my next blog you will be having "21 DAYS TO A GREAT NAME"
Know this my young man and woman: your name can stand as an asset. Have a great life ahead of you!

...that joy

The joy of prayer is what every believer should never deny his or herself every day. I can’t imagine what I will be missing without this joy, the joy of speaking in tongues long before others start rising from their beds.

It opens my eyes to see what others don’t see, it puts a spring to my steps, and lights up my face with a divine glow. Whether it’s evident to the physical eyes or not, there is a fire burning in my eyes.

That joy when scriptures begin to find expression in your lips forming a behavior for you for the day. That joy of knowing its going to be alright because you got on your knees and stayed there before GOD.

I love praying in the morning, because it gives me an opportunity to avoid a lot of time wasters and irrelevant discussions and involvements through the day.

When it comes to prayer am still a novice because I know not what to pray as I ought but thank GOD for the Holy Spirit that makes intercession for me with groaning which cannot be uttered so I can have an utterance in my conversations with men and when I am teaching or preaching in church even in the classroom.

I love praying in the Holy Spirit, because this is where I know I will not make mistakes because the Holy Spirit does not make mistakes.

 Every day I learn how not to use my brain to direct the prayer focus, direction, sequence and even the intensity but on how to simply allow the one who is praying to pray and I speak as He gives the utterance.

Give your life a lift as we explore the estimable joys of prayer again. Isaiah 12:3 says “with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation”

iykeIGWE (Abuja, Nigeria)