RIGHTEOUS LEADERSHIP –PART 3

 RIGHTEOUS LEADERSHIP –PART 3

We must understand that we are born to exercise leadership in our fields of endeavor. Whatever organization we belong to, there is potential in us for the top. Thus, everyone is to locate his or her place, every phase of life and choose to first build capacity so as to be outstanding in our field and as well build character in order to be impactful and inspire even generations yet unborn. We must live in such a way that not only are we remembered for Right Leadership, but also as someone who has deeply made a mark in his world. “As leaders, we cannot afford to be of no impact, whether it is in the positive or negative; whatever we do will in the long run affect certain things, certain persons and effect certain changes either positively or negatively”. And whether we are to be remembered, it’s also in the positive or in the negative or most times, we are not remembered at all, such as was a life experience I will be sharing with us today. At the end, what speaks is not how many organizations you have worked in, how many firms you have controlled, or how many followers you have had or in how many places. What matters is how much your works have brought impact upon the lives of men. This is being “successful” as a leader.

As a person who loves biographies a lot, I came across a man that was reported to have had the highest IQ (Intelligent Quotient) than Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton, but to many people, this man was never known. His name is William James Sidis. Then I thought to myself, what really went wrong? I did a research and found out that the above three geniuses did a lot in the field of science but it’s quite unfortunate that not all the three ended very well because of “Character”. William James Sidis could have been more than what he became, but he couldn’t because lacking in him were two great keys, two important virtues – ability to build capacity and also build in the place of character. One may argue He was the best, with an IQ that high, he had capacity. But the real deal is not just the ability to carry or retain, but to grow in that respect and also add the other “C” to it. One thing I have realized is that both go hand-in-hand. You cannot say you have one and neglect the other. I think we all should have understood this by now: Capacity is what takes a leader to a higher position while Character is what sustains him in that position. Capacity will present you with opportunities while Character is what will earn you those opportunities.

William James Sidis was born to professional Jewish emigrants. His father, being a PhD holder in Psychology and his mother a Medical doctor. One would believe that with such influence he could have come out great, to add, his also high advantage. Growing up, Sidis parents believed in nurturing a precocious and fearless love of knowledge. He had quite a great start in his life but soon lost eye on the goal and as a result lost everything. It was reported that at age 8, he had taught himself 8 different languages and invented another language which he called “vendergood” and he also bagged a Bachelor of Arts degree by age 16. Sidis was someone not only on the winning side but also there was a time he earned nation-wide recognition for one of his achievements. Like I said earlier, he came off to a great start but He couldn’t sustain, as he never had the right tools to start with. This made me to understand that you can have all things in this world, even when it comes to successful families and friends but without those two C’s we talked about, it will be difficult for you to go far in life. William Sidis was someone who didn’t have “endurance”, “perseverance” and most importantly “meekness” as a virtue. Good character wasn’t everything for him. However, he also had to his disadvantage “indecision”, “self-consciousness” and “poor attitude” both to himself and to life generally. Even though he had a great attempt in the Mathematics world, as we know it today; history has it that he had to resign because apparently his age and fame were an inescapable distraction to his students. This, among many things he did costed him his life and bright future. Despite attempts to put him back on the right track, he just wouldn’t listen to any- a skill which is very bad for leaders and even aspiring leaders. Not too long, he was later found dead in his apartment. At the age of Forty-six, he was a lonely man (died all by himself after a stroke). A life such great as this was cut short because though the capacity was available, he just wouldn’t develop on it; he just wouldn’t nurture the right character. This is the way so many of us are today, we leave the important things only to attend to the unimportant ones and in the end, we tend to live with regrets. My prayer is this, that we all recognize these areas and we work towards perfecting all that needs perfection; and also grow in places where we need growth. Yes, Leadership is not easy, but having these skills handy, makes it easier to cope with. When you learn to be of good behavior to your followers, when you are a good example that they should follow; you inspire them, relate well with them, mentor them, influence them positively to make a difference. In your life time and even after you must have departed this citadel, you will always be reckoned with for certain great things; because if it will only take these things to achieve success in that which you do, and you do these things; then SUCCESS IS GUARANTEED.

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Goals and objectives

   Our Goals and Objectives

1, Building Godly men both in character and actions.

2. Building the male-man for quality leadership.

3. Helping the male-man discover his purpose and value it.

4. Aligning the male-man back to his creator and most importantly,

5. Building a better society.

How Do we Aim To Achieve This?

1. By creating platforms where we can minister to the male-man.

2. By leading an exemplary lifestyle.

3. By enlightening the male-man through the use of articles published on social media and other platforms.

4. Hosting youth seminars in schools specially for the male-man.

5. Helping the male-man in terms of academics by organizing tutorials effectively guided towards this purpose.

Our priority is a better male-man, a better home, a better society, a better nation.

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RIGHTEOUS LEADERS – PART 2

 RIGHTEOUS LEADERS – PART 2

Proverbs 29:2 “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn”.

Now we have been made to understand that Leadership is a calling to everyone that is ready to take on the responsibility. However regardless of this, not everybody can assume the post of a leader. You see the paradox. Everyone has the potential to be leaders embedded in us, but not everyone will. Why is this so? Being a leader entails more than the potentials for Leadership There are quite a number of requirements that need to be met, certain virtues and attributes that we need to acquire. Since, we all cannot own these virtues or possess these characteristics; it’s however expedient for us to know this “not everybody can become leaders”. From our earlier Leadership articles, we have been made to understand that “Leaders are not born, they are made”. This should explain why. Being a leader is more like you have to acquire certain skills, learn certain things which will most likely aid you as you climb up the ladder; but these things are not innate (they don’t come with us from the womb). They don’t just grow because you have a genetic locus for their chromosome.  

Today, we will consider two important virtues, amongst many others that a leader must possess. These two ingredients are however necessary if we want to attain success as leaders - Capacity building and Character building. Looking at these two things, there is no way one can be successful as a leader without your mastery of them. Today, we see a lot of things in the Leadership sector; one that you may start to ask yourself, if certain things were put in place, will these events still play out the way they have today. This concept of leadership and true leadership affects all, political leaders, spiritual leaders, stake-holders in firms, even as a small council leader in your street. I have come to realize that we are not built on these things and if built, not well in terms of character and capacity. This is why we as a nation are even backward in certain things. You look at people who have assumed the position of leaders in the country so far, there have been different outcomes. Now we can tell or pin point that there are certain things that made a certain rule more preferable than some others. Majorly, without these two things, you as a leader are set for bad outcomes in leadership. You who is without character or lacks capacity (capacity for doing; for learning; for understanding; for interacting and so on). Please let’s ask ourselves, where do we think such form of leadership will end? This is why it is imperative that we develop ourselves first in these things. It is “character” to know that you are in a position of authority to serve others and not to be served 100% like we see in our own world today.

Capacity is what takes a leader to a higher position while Character is what sustains him in that position. Capacity will present you with opportunities while Character is what will earn you those opportunities. Capacity in leadership is the ability to produce a result or attain a feat in the organization while what sustains the accomplishment or feat is Character. A strong foundation of Character is what sustains you and your leadership. The development of character in an individual begins with the realization of his value as a human and understanding what he was born to accomplish. This brings us to the point that both virtues are as a matter of fact, the results of conscious efforts. You consciously build yourself in the place of Capacity and also consciously build yourself up in Character. Never have this mentality so many possess these days; “I will learn on the job”. No one is meant to learn on the job, in fact we are expected to grow on the job, not to just start planting.

According to Merriam Webster dictionary, Character is the “complex” of mental and ethical trait marking and often individualizing a person, group and nation. Looking at this definition, we are made to understand that Character on its own is a complex of many other things. We do not just arrive there, it’s a sum total of all responsible traits in us. We see our minds and ethics are the building-blocks for Character in us, whether positive or negative. Therefore, as we try to consciously groom character, we make sure we understand that the mind and ethics is the place for this grooming.  Is our mindset positive or negative? What can we also say about our Ethics? Are we building on them or neglecting them? As leaders we must focus on how we can develop and follow principles that will distinguish our lives. We also must understand that there will be obstacles, challenges that will come our way; but how well we have discovered and built ourselves in the place of Capacity and Character is what will help us – the strength of your character and capacity to face and also overcome. I have always said, one of the greatest character a leader should cultivate is INTEGRITY. Because when he fails here, he has failed in all. Nobody trusts you as a leader when you fail the test of Integrity.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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RIGHTEOUS LEADERSHIP – PART 1

 RIGHTEOUS LEADERSHIP – PART 1

Proverbs 29:2 “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn”.

From the scripture above, the Bible makes us to understand that when a righteous man is in power or authority, the people he exercises authority over or leads rejoice or become great; this is because Leadership determines all things. The position of Leadership is a very important one, in the sense that as Leaders, we are responsible for many lives attached to ours; we either shape ourselves and our fellow men right or it’s the other way round. As I said earlier, Leadership among many others, is a strong force and determinant. If wielded well, it yields good result, if not, “bad” becomes the case (as we see in the pilot verse). We must understand that as Leaders, your individual leadership determines if not 100%, a large percentage of the life of those that are following you. Therefore, we have to be cautious in all things we do, we say or we teach; because I have come to realize in these three things does a leader exercise His will and His control. You are either saying something, doing something or teaching something. Thus, in all things, it is expedient of us to be righteous in them. “Righteous” here means making sure you are upright in them-you uphold the right things. Remember the Bible in the book of Psalm 92:15paraphrased “our God is upright and there is no unrighteousness in him”. This just means in all things we do; we strive to do them RIGHT. 

You may start to say, at least I’m not a leader, these words are not meant for me. Hmmm… As I always like to say, every one of us has the leadership potential in us and to add, we must have all exercised these qualities one way or the other. If at some point, you have been responsible for certain decisions taken by certain people, be it in your family, that school of yours, that fellowship, that organization, that local government area, then you are a leader. And as such, these words in actual sense concern you. Most times, when we hear the word Leadership and as we have been wrongly taught growing up, we quickly tend to assume, it’s all about Politics; and also as we have been wrongly taught, though it may seem the case now “Politics is a dirty game”, There are no good qualities or characters in it. No, it is a lie; people in politics do not have good character or virtues in them, because they just do not want to possess them. Possessing the right virtues, attitudes and disposition, cuts across all leadership positions whether as a father, a C.E.O or even as a political leader.

A man once said and I quote “you cannot know the true character of a man until he is given power or authority”. And as someone who has worked with so many, I so much agree with this school of thought. Yes, Power has the capacity to

control or dominate a leader; but as Leaders, we also have the capacity to dominate or control power. However, it should be more of the latter than the former if as leaders, we want to be successful. To be “successful” here, I mean Real success. Most of us have wrongly tied success in leadership as being able to acquire certain things, possess certain things and control certain things. Though to a reasonable extent, we should have these things, but in full essence, as leaders your success should lie in your followers-their success.   As Leaders, our ability to dominate Power shows in us True leadership. If the other way, Power dominates us as leaders, we automatically lose true character; because that power is what we now represent. And as we have been taught from Beginner Learning; the antonym for “true” is “false”. If you are not true, the only thing you then can be is False.

Let us simply put thus; “a man of true character is a righteous man”. Character defines a man, that is the real you when no one is watching you. We must also understand that Leadership is the wise use of Power.

As have been earlier said, everyone is called to be a Leader; we have all exercised Leadership roles maybe knowingly or unknowingly; for an instance, parent to children, elder brother to younger brother or sister and senior to junior in schools. We must however change their ideology that “we are the leaders of tomorrow”. As a person, I so much think that this wrong phrase is one of the reasons, we have certain problems, even in our nation. Since the youths have been wrongly told we are the leaders of tomorrow; there has been a tendency to push the necessary things “today” to “tomorrow”. Truths that we are supposed to build on, qualities we ought to possess, as we won’t be needing them until tomorrow, we tend to not make the most of these things in our Today. 

TO BE CONTINUED…

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PROCRASTINATION: AN ACADEMIC HAZARD - PART 3*

 

*PROCRASTINATION: AN ACADEMIC HAZARD - PART 3*

We have understood the nature of Procrastination and the many types that exist. But today, we see it from another perspective. We will delve into understanding the forms Academic Procrastination can take. We must all know by now that Academic Procrastination is the single most common form of Procrastination that exist and so far has been much harm than benefit.

Therefore, *What are the characteristics of ACADEMIC PROCRASTINATION?*  

There are six (6) characteristic forms of Academic Procrastination, they include:

One aspect of procrastination includes psychological beliefs about ability to work under pressure and it has been defined as “sensation-seeking”.In other words, people with academic procrastination seek for working under pressure whether actively or inactively. That is, these people have undeniable belief in their ability to work under pressure. 

The higher is the students’ belief about their effectiveness, procrastination is more probable in them, and it is related to “exam night rush” resulting from their self-confidence in their ability and positive view about themselves. 

It has been  showed that people with procrastination and people who study at exam night experience higher level of challenge when they postpone studying until the last moments. However, students which delay studying until the exam night are poor in class activities.

 *2. Distractions:* 

People with procrastination are easily distracted by more interesting or fun activities. Thus, they mostly give priority to the more pleasant activities. Instead of working on the most important cases, they prefer to sleep, watch TV, or play, so that they distract or being taken away from the responsibilities.One of the reasons that students distract and replace other activities is that doing assignments and projects is annoying for them. It has been found that the more people do not like a work, they procrastinate more and replace more interesting activities.

Low levels of perseverance and high levels of distraction when working on assignments and poor planning skills have been identified as factors affecting procrastination.Evading working on the major responsibilities is one of the main characteristics of people with . They constantly replace focusing on specific activities and tasks by other activities and behaviors.

 *3. Social factors of Procrastination:* 

People with procrastination fail in self-regulating behaviors which they have high stress. Self-regulation includes the ability for matching at regulating individual’s performance in different environments. Thus, people with procrastination ignore deadlines of the projects when they are in stressful conditions. Social factors can increase work avoidance or evading the tasks. 

Students are usually those who are at the beginning of adulthood or in adolescence period at the ages of 18 – 23 years old. This age is specified by social compatibility and independence. Students attempt to plan their time with the friends and family. New senses of independence and authority add to this fighting, and university students may leave aside the deadlines related to the academic assignments and instead choose to work or socialize with the friends. Thus, social factors denote and exacerbate procrastination.

 *4.Lack of time management skills:*

Time management can be defined as the ability to control activities and behaviors purposefully so that available time is maximized.

People with procrastination are unable in managing their time and there is high difference between their actual perception and their perceived behaviors. The time management problem has been stated as a reason for academic procrastination.

Time management skills are not an inherent attribute, but it is a characteristic learnt by people. Time management is an important factor for procrastination in the academic complex. 

For success in an academic environment, students should perform their assignments timely and observe deadlines. They should complete their tasks in the deadlines.

Poor time management may lead in forgetting tasks, leaving aside studying without any specific purpose until the last moments or working on less important activities instead of academic working. Thus, defected time management may be defined as characteristics for people with academic procrastination.

* 5. Lack of Personal passion:*

Procrastination can also be termed as an inefficient delay. Such delay not only can be due to situational or social variables, but also can be due to personality or attitude characteristics entitled as passion.

Passion is general readiness or ability to start or perform the tasks with energy. If there is low passion in the student, there would be no strong stimulation for completing the tasks in due time. Lack of personal motivation or passion was recognized as a reason for procrastination by "Caruth". Overall, when students are motivated they will be more efficient academically. The motivation is a stimulation for success and it can be internal or external.

 *6. Laziness:*

Laziness is the tendency to evade working, when there is needed physical power. Evasion of working and laziness are the cause of 18% of the reasons for procrastination. Therefore, procrastination may be accompanied by a great desire to avoid schooling or laziness.

In addition to the mentioned factors, Situational factors of procrastination include inherent qualities of the assignments, such as attractiveness, importance or difficulty, and the teachers’ characteristics are also mentioned as the factors affecting Academic Procrastination .

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PROCRASTINATION: AN ACADEMIC HAZARD PART 2

 PROCRASTINATION: AN ACADEMIC HAZARD PART 2

Earlier this week, we started out on learning Procrastination and its dangers. But today, we will look further on what Procrastination is really all about. 

Procrastination, as have been defined, is a behavioral tendency in delaying what is necessary for achieving our goals. To this end, there exist various types:

 Studies have shown that various classifications exist to PROCRASTINATION. These include;

✓Chronic and situational type

✓Active and inactive type 

Let us see what the above mean.

•Chronic procrastination* is defined as one’s tendency to the constant delay in many aspects of out lives, while Situational procrastination is applied on one’s tendency to have constant procrastination in a specific aspect of one's life. 

However, Academic procrastination is a subgroup of Situational procrastination and it is defined as delay in initiation or completion of academic assignments in irrational fields.

The other classification we have; active and inactive procrastination. People with active procrastination purposefully decide to delay, and finally they can complete their tasks with strong motivation under pressure, and they can also achieve satisfactory results, while inactive procrastination people postpone their tasks until the last minutes which is accompanied by guilt and depression feeling, and it probably leads to failure in doing the tasks.

 *What then are the characteristics of this "Procrastination"?*

There are four distinct characteristics for *Active Procrastination*:

1.They prefer time pressure.

2.They intentionally procrastinate.

3.They are able to work at last moments.

4.They are satisfied with the result.

 *Academic Procrastination*: we have rightly stated that the most common type of Procrastination is Academic procrastination. It is a delay in tasks or activities related or dependent on learning and studying.  Academic procrastination is a tendency to put off or delay in learning activities and behaviors. The terms Student procrastination and Academic procrastination are sometimes used  interchangeably. Student/academic procrastination is defined as follows: a deliberate delay in a practical course of study or learning in spite of the expected deterioration. Academic procrastination occurs at all levels of education. 

Research has shown that procrastination among University undergraduate students is more common, and some studies have shown that more than 70 percent of college students regularly procrastinate.

Furthermore, Academic procrastination occurs when students postpone completion of activities, projects, and assignments unnecessarily. Such procrastination may create unnecessary stress and anxiety for people when they attempt to complete their assignments with rush until the deadline. Leaving aside or postponing the tasks not only influence well-being and physical state of the person, but also it may influence his communication with others. 

Some other studies have however maintained that Procrastination may have positive outcomes which allow students to have better use of available studying time. While other have shown that procrastination is associated with less success in the life.

To Be Continued.

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PROCRASTINATION: AN ACADEMIC HAZARD* PART 1

 *PROCRASTINATION: AN ACADEMIC HAZARD* PART 1

Procrastination, also termed Postponement is a habit which is observed in a lot of people and affecting a vast area of one's life. As far as Researchers believe, it is one of the inherent tendencies of the human. Procrastination is with us in many cases and is expressed in a variety of conditions influenced by the culture. Among the types of Procrastination, Academic procrastination is the most common one. This type of Procrastination has been defined as tendency prevailed to postpone the academic activities and is almost always associated with anxiety. An obvious example is to delay studying the lessons until the night of the exam and resulting hurry affects the student. Academic procrastination is a relatively common phenomenon among adults and students in the universities.

*THE NATURE OF PROCRASTINATION*

The term "Procrastination" is made of two parts "Pro" meaning forward, ahead and in support of and "Crastinus" meaning tomorrow and up to tomorrow . This term derived from the Latin word "Procrastinare" meaning "swallowing", "delaying", "pulling", "pausing", "stop moving", or “postponing a task” . This term has been mentioned as a bad habit and behavioral problem which is experienced by many adults in their daily works. Especially it is experienced in the tasks which should be usually done.

Procrastination is defined as a behavioral feature, or defect which is specified as delaying a task or decision. Procrastination is considered as a behavioral tendency in delaying what is necessary for achieving the goal. In other words, it is postponing a work which we have decided to perform it.

However, Procrastination does not occur without inflicting causes, but these causes are not clear cut.Despite  different definitions and ideas regarding procrastination, reasons of procrastination among students are still unknown, and even sometimes contradictory findings have been achieved in this relation. 

Thus, various experts have enumerated various reasons for it including fear of success; fear of failure; self-destructive behaviors (conscious or unconscious behaviors that lead to  individual’s failure/self-harm); avoidance of duties that the person has no desire to do, lack of incentive to do work (Extra rewards);  work difficulty; unpredictable events; negative attitudes toward regulatory system and organizational structure; lack of knowledge and skills needed to do the work; the impracticability and lack of mobility;  bad physical condition; as well as cases such as Perfectionism, low level of tolerance, inability to deal with problems and low self-consciousness.

To further classify these causes:

Individual, Environmental, and Organizational factors 

*Organizational Factor:* structure, monitoring system, performance evaluation system, management procedure, culture.

*Environmental factor:* family pressure, economic pressure, social culture, unprecedented event

*Individual factor:* personality characteristics, age, gender, service records, education, fear of failure and success perfectionism.

To Be Continued

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GOD'S HANDIWORK - PART 3

 GOD’S HANDIWORK - PART 3

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do(NIV)”.

We have understood so far that we are God’s handiwork and we’ve been called according to his divine purpose and agenda. Still, we would delve more today as we see further what it means to be called according to God’s plan and purpose. Until you have the understanding of a subject matter, you can never be outstanding in it. 

We must know that not only are we God’s handiwork and created in Christ, but we also have a glorious future prepared ahead of us and we must walk in divine plan to fulfil this glorious destiny. By now, we should understand that no man was ever born an accident or a misfit as the world today will term it. Everyone has, ordained for him or her our divine plan and purpose.  Your ability to see the light of this purpose and plan; and not just seeing it but according to the bible running, is VISION. Habakkuk 2:2 “And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it”.  As it has been rightly said, Vision is simply seeing your future in the picture of your mind and walking in it. Walking in the vision for your life is as important as seeing the vision. Nehemiah had the vision to rebuild; he did not just stop at seeing it, he ran also with the vision until it became a reality. 

When your understanding of your Vision is clear, it becomes easier to walk in it. Until we come to understand that we are God’s handiwork and understand what it takes to be in Christ, our vision can never be actualized, so therefore it is very important for you to know that you are God’s handiwork and you are created in Christ. I have heard people say that good things are meant for some persons while the “not good” things are meant for some others. But this is a lie! The Bible makes us to understand that never in God’s agenda is evil for his people (Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end”). This is God’s word, not any man’s. Let us also understand that it is only when we have not seen the vision or have not placed ourselves in position to receive, that we can utter statements like that. Until you are rightly positioned the vision will not come. 

Paul said in Colossians 2:6-7(NIV) “so then just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him. Rooted and built in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thanksgiving”. The bible here makes us understand that it is our responsibility to make sure we are rooted and built in Christ; because until we are rooted and built in Christ, our vision remains illusion and will never lead to a future. 

Every man and woman that has attained any heights on earth today is a man and woman of purpose and vision. Men who know where they are heading to and are constantly walking in it because they know that God has prepared it for them. You may now wonder “why are they blessed or why are they great”. Let us make reference to the life of Job. The bible made us understand that Job was the greatest in all the east (Job 1:3). But why was he? Job 29:4 makes us understand that he(Job) had access to divine secrets-VISION. “As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle”

One of the very vital steps to take upon discovering your vision is Planning. In a game of relay, before an attempt is made at racing, there must be an already mapped out plan; part of which is selecting the runners and placing each one at strategic positions for which he or she has potentials. This is the same way with Vision. Until you are positioned and not just positioned, but positioned right, you may end up battling and not realizing that Vision. The place of Planning is not optimal but obligatory for any vision that will thrive. It takes Constructive Planning to excel in life. God won’t plan for us, you are to sit down and plan it. A man once said God gave us sense so that He can rest; therefore, we must take responsibility in the place of Planning, for our Vision to come into full realization. Planning among other virtues is what births Consistency and gives room for Patience.

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GOD'S HANDIWORK - PART 2

 GOD’S HANDIWORK - PART 2

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do(NIV)”.

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (KJV)”.

Beginning this week, we started the journey on God’s handiwork and have been made to understand that we have been called to the path of doing good works. There is a reason to our existence and we just existing is strong evidence that we have something to add to humanity and the world at large. But today, we will dwell more on understanding God’s handiwork.

Apostle Paul not only said we are God’s handiwork, he also said we are created in Christ. This tells us that our relevance is only in Christ Jesus; what will reveal our real purpose is in Christ Jesus. This means that we have to be in Christ for us to really shine fully as God’s handiwork. HE is what we should represent here on earth. As the Bible has rightly showed it to us; that “as HE is in the heavens so are we in this world”. We are God’s extension here on earth, we are Christ’s ambassadors, that is, we represent Christ here on earth. Every ambassador of a country has a particular mission he was sent to carry out in another country. And for such a person, there is a need to know what he really represents to really carry out his duties and obligations well. This is the same way it is for us Kingdom citizens. For we to know what we are sent to do here on earth, we must have a relationship with the one we are representing-this is JESUS CHRIST. When we don’t represent Christ, then our good work will be diverted to bad works. 

Christ came to connect us back to the father (Our creator) so that we can make use of our potentials positively. God expects you to dwell in him and Him in you (1John 4:13 “Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of his Spirit”). The Him in you is simply LOVE; when God dwells in you, LOVE automatically dwells in you. 1 John 4:16 “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him”.

One of the most powerful forces that you need when trying to discover your purpose for living is LOVE for God, i.e. making Him your number one priority; loving him above all else including yourself. It is our LOVE that must come even before our asking. For you to know, you have to ask. The Bible says in Matthew 7:7paraphrased “Ask and ye shall be given…” But before we ask, let us come in LOVE. Let us be LOVE driven. It only triggers effective speedy answers to our requests. 1Corinthians 13:13b “but the greatest of these is Charity (Love)”. Everything needed to dominate the planet earth is already embedded in us; what we now need is the Love of God to activate them. Love is an Activator of destiny; it’s a trigger for every successful arrow you shoot. What makes men to be relevant in their field is the presence of LOVE in them. Is it love for your work, career, academics, whatever it is we do; they must all based on one thing-LOVE.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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GOD’S HANDIWORK – PART 1

          GOD’S HANDIWORK – PART 1

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do(NIV)”.

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (KJV)”.

Here Apostle Paul makes us understand that we are God’s handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works; the works which HE had prepared for us to do right from the very beginning. Remember the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:1paraphrased there is a purpose for everything under the heavens. No man came to this world just by accident, we were all created to serve one purpose or the other. Paul clearly explained to us in the anchor verse that we are Men of Purpose, created in Christ and with a Vision in view. The Bible in the book of 1 Peter 2:9 talks about a calling upon every life; “that ye should shew forth the praises of him”. There is always an assignment to every creation made by God- I have an assignment; you have an assignment. If the birds of the air can be assigned a particular work (Genesis 1:22); how much more you and I created in the image of the Father himself.

Firstly, Apostle Paul said we are God’s handwork, that is God deliberately formed us; and we must understand that there is nothing deliberately created that does not have a sense of reason, why it is been created. Handiwork means something made of the hands and most times, they are valuable properties. We are meant to show forth his handiwork not to cover it up. The Bible makes us understand in Psalm 19:1paraphrased “and the firmament sheweth his handiwork”. If the firmament also can be bestowed this duty; I see no reasons why one should ever doubt the reason for his existence. Growing up I had this impression that children born out of wed lock or out of unfavourable circumstances like rape, are misfortune children; in such a way that God is not aware of them, nor does HE cater for their needs. But as I grew more in Faith, I came to the understanding that everything that God created was good and there was no “not good” amongst them. Genesis 1:31paraphrased “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good”. Thus, if you were created by God, then you are “good” and not just good but “very good”. Did I just hear you say “I am very good”? There is no creation that God made, that was not destined for something, notwithstanding the circumstances surrounding that creation. No man is ever a biological accident. God deliberately created us to fulfill a Purpose here on earth, we are born for a reason. The fact that there can be illegitimate or unlawful parents does not make you an unlawful or illegitimate child, OR that you have been told severally that you were not planned, does not mean God does not have plans for you. I have come with a good news today; He does have good plans for His children (Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end”.

The FATHER not only created us, but He created us to do good works (John 14:12). Therefore, there is a good work that God has assigned us to do on earth; this good work is our Purpose here on earth. That sweet sonorous voice, deep writing skills and any other potential we have embedded in us, is needed here on earth. We need them here to reign here; Heaven does not need them. Your existence is evidence that this generation needs something that your life contains. HALLELUJAH

TO BE CONTINUED…

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THE LIFESTYLE OF GODLINESS - PART 3

 HOW THEN DO I LIVE A LIFE OF GODLINESS?

Godly living is accessible and affordable for every man that is born-again. Such a person no longer lives on the dictates of the natural world but lives according to the leading of the Holy Spirit inside him (1John 2:16 “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world)

1. Know that there is a law of sin which is the law of the spirit of the world:

The same way there is the Spirit of Righteousness which is the Holy Spirit, is also the same way we have the spirits that work unrighteousness in us. According to the Holy Bible in Ephesians 2:2 “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience”. Sin is never a mental ideology; it’s a satanic force; we should understand that whenever we are giving to sin; all it means is we have allowed the devil entry into our life. Thus, as he dictates, we follow (whether it is the spirit of lying, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, idolatry, strife, hatred, e.t.c- Galatians 5:19-21)

2. Turn to GOD:

John 3:5 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, Verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”. Being born again is our ticket to living a life of Godliness. Until we are in Christ, we have no inheritance in Godliness. 1 John 5: 4 says for whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world… For we to overcome the law of this world which is the law of sin, we must be born again (born of the Spirit). Godliness is living a life like God, like Christ. If we must live this life, then we must first come unto Him who is able to give it unto us.

3. Follow after Righteousness:

The Bible speaking in Jeremiah 6:16 “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls”. For us to live a Godly life, we have to shun all forms of unrighteousness and follow after Righteousness. As the Bible has said “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh” (Galatians 5:17a). If you follow after the path of righteousness, it will be difficult to also walk in ungodliness. Psalm 1:1,5 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful; the ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away”

4. Hold on to God and Believe you are saved:

There is one tool the devil uses against the children of God. He puts in us the spirit of fear. Once he begins to make you doubt your salvation; he is about to unleash his evil agenda. One tool that he never jokes with is the Spirit of fear. Fear is the absence of Faith. Once the devil launches the spirit of fear upon a man; he gradually begins to lose faith and then starts to doubt his salvation. Romans 8:15 “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father”. The ministry of the devil as we have learnt so far is the ministry of bondage; he makes us lose our son-ship rights once we have the spirit of fear in us. But we should know that God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

5. Put On the Whole Armour of God:

Ephesians 6 talks about us putting on the whole armour of God. “Whole” here means the “complete” armour of God”. In order to stand against the wiles of the devil, his evil vices and ungodliness, we have to make sure we have the complete armour on. No soldier will ever go to the war front without dressing fully for battle. Everything has to be intact, his helmet, breastplate, war boots- all is necessary. So as believers, we ought to also lay hold on the complete armour of God. Verse 12 of this scripture paraphrased; “for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world…” We cannot afford to not have the weapons of our warfare. From verse 14 to verse 18, we see what the whole armour of God entails:

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

6. Lay Aside Every Weight of Sin (Purge Yourself): 

Hebrews 12:1 says “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us”. We are in this world to run a race and if we must win any race, we cannot afford to be heavy. We must shed all extra loads that will hinder our walk with God; fleeing from all appearances of evil and making sure we purge ourselves daily. Apostle Paul gave us this account in 1Corinthians 15:31 “I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily”. 2Timothy 2:21 “if a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”

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THE LIFESTYLE OF GODLINESS- PART 2

 THE LIFESTYLE OF GODLINESS - PART 2

Psalm 92:15 “To shew that the LORD is upright: He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him”.

Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus”:

1Timothy 4:8 “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but Godliness is profitable unto all things; having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come”.

Living a life of Godliness is gateway to a world of profiting. Earlier this week, we learnt that Godliness is and should be a must have for every believer; a life must-lived. The Bible admonishes us in 1John 4:17b “that even as THE FATHER is, so are we in this world”. Therefore, to live like HIM should be our desire. Christ is a perfect example of Holiness. Romans 1:3-4 says “Concerning His son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the son of God with power, according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead”. If Christ could only be declared as being the son of God by the Spirit of Holiness at work in His life. Thus, it is important for us as God’s children to also show these fruits in our lives. Galatians 5:22-23 talks about the fruits of the Spirit-love, joy, peace, longsuffering, goodness, meekness, gentleness, temperance, faith and so on-all these are seeds of Godliness; they are seeds sown in a godly life. According to Colossians 3:12 which says Put on therefore, as the elect of God, HOLY and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humility…. These virtues can only be found in men and women who have given themselves up to Holiness and to living godly lives. 

One thing I want us to understand is that Godliness is God’s commandment for us. He has commanded us to live a righteous life; the same way the Holy Spirit is always ringing it in our ears (John 16:8 “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement”). This is the mandate upon which the Holy Spirit has been given unto us. Verse 13 of the same scripture: “Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth is come; he will guide you into all truth”. The Holy Spirit is here to put us in check and remind us of everything Christ taught and lived for while he was here with us. This is why for every believer; it is necessary we have the Holy Spirit inside of us. 

There are two things; we can either be for God in righteousness or be against God in sin. There is no two way about it; we are either for him or against him-no middle position (neither here nor there) 2Timothy 2:19 “And let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity”. But we must also understand that the enemy of all righteousness is the devil. He specializes in sowing the seeds of the flesh, the seeds of unrighteousness, which are the seeds of sin in man. WHY? Because he knows once he is able to do this; he drives us away from God’s plan and purpose for our lives. We should all know that God has a beautiful agenda for every of his creation. We see this in the book of Genesis; HE created man and placed him in a beautiful place; the Garden of Eden; but when man sinned, he fell out of God’s agenda and lost his rightful place. This is what the devil tries to rid believers of; their true inheritance which can only be gotten in the place of righteousness. Job was holy, perfect, upright; and the bible made us to understand that he was the greatest of all men in the land. We have so many biblical proofs of Holiness as a lifestyle. 

Let us however note, as we see from the scriptures; “the enemy that sowed them is the devil (Matthew 13:39)”. So as Christians, we should never commonize that Sin is a normal way of life. No, there is Nothing NORMAL in Sin. It is an agenda from the devil to see that we do not get into God’s beautiful agenda for our life and also put us in bondage. The devil’s three-fold ministry is to steal, kill and to destroy; but Glory be to God we have a goodly inheritance in Christ who has come to redeem us. The Bible says in Galatians 3:13 “He came to redeem us from the curse of the law. The curse of the law is Sin; it is unrighteousness. So this tells us that believing in HIM is the only way out. For every believer who even lives a righteous life; it is however expedient for us to continue to pray for Grace to continually live in righteousness. I see why Paul said in one of his teachings that we are not ignorant of the wiles of the devil. Jesus also admonished us in Matthew 6:12-13 that when we pray, we should ask for His forgiveness and that we be delivered from all temptations. Our only way out is to live our lives in RIGHTEOUSNESS. Though, there is a great price to pay but the end result is always PRICELESS. GODLINESS is just us having the nature of GOD. Understand that as HE is in the Heavens, so are we here on earth. Therefore, let us in all that we do strive to live Holy.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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THE LIFESTYLE OF GODLINESS – PART 1

THE LIFESTYLE OF GODLINESS – PART 1

Genesis 17:1 “…and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect”. (kjv)

Genesis 17:1 “…and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before me and be blameless”. (Nkjv)

1Timothy 4:8 “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but Godliness is profitable unto all things; having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come”.

Godliness is over-rated some may say. It is not possible to live a holy life, others may profess. How can one be in this world and live a life of perfection with no sin at all- it is impossible!!! If you live a holy life, you will just live a pauper; no one wants a godly man or woman in our world today. All these are the thoughts of many in the world today. But Here we see God stating the ideal way for our living. I have come to understand that everything HE says is not for HIMSELF but for us. The Bible in John 6:63 says “the words I speak unto you, they are Spirit and life”. Does HE need the Spirit or does HE need that life? We are the ones who need the impartation, we need the life. 

Our GOD does not need to live a godly life or a holy life; the Bible says our God is upright and in him there is no unrighteousness (Psalm 92:15). It is a responsibility for every believer and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord to live righteously. From the pilot scripture; we see GOD saying “I am the Almighty God, walk before me and be thou perfect; be thou blameless”. God was speaking not to a Spirit like Himself but HE was speaking to man. Thus, it is possible to live a life of Godliness; it is possible to live in the truth and to be perfect. The bible says let us be holy as the LORD our God is holy (Leviticus 11:44). 

We cannot claim to worship or be in sync with a Holy God until we ourselves are holy. The Bible says God is Spirit and if we must worship, we must do so in Spirit and in truth; in the same vein If HE is holy, we that come unto him must also be holy. Romans 12:1paraphrased says “let us present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable...” We see from this scripture that being Holy comes first. It is a principal requirement. Before one can be accepted or before anything we do can be received, we must first be holy. Let us look at the Beatitudes, the Bible talks about being pure in the heart (Matthew 5:8)-this is holiness. He says “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God”. That state of “pureness” is what we need to see HIM work in our lives; if it is lacking in any man, we cannot see God. Hebrews 12:14 talks about following peace with all men and Holiness, without which no man can see God. 

You have been complaining things are not working right; Have you checked yourself first? Are you working RIGHT with God? Many a times, we think being always in the midst of the brethren or the first to attend Bible services, or even be in a service unit is synonymous with being in sync with God or knowing Him; but that is not the case. Unless your ways are RIGHT before Him, you are not permitted to receive answers to your prayers when you call out to him. Let us see the life of Job, in Job 1, the Bible says “He was a perfect man and upright before God” yet God still did not hear him until he prayed for his friends. As righteous as he was, he had still not met with God’s standard as he wasn’t totally void of unrighteousness-Unforgiveness (Job 42:10). 

When we talk about Living a Holy life or a Righteous life; it is all-round Holiness. The bible says be ye not as men pleasers or with eye-service (Ephesians 6:6). Let it be in our record with God that we live perfectly and upright as it was the same with Job (Job 1:8). Some say it is impossible to live a life of Holiness; it is not IMPOSSIBLE, because if God has asked us to do it, then that means it is something we can do. There is nothing God ever requests from HIS people that he has not made adequate provisions for. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 talks about the Faithfulness of our God. In a world like ours today, you might want to believe it is not possible to live a holy life; RATHER there is a Price to pay and a heavy one at that but that doesn’t make it impossible. Our Fathers have lived this life, so it is POSSIBLE. The Bible talks about our Father Abraham in Romans 4:3 “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for Righteousness”. If our fathers could do it and not just by themselves, but with the help of GOD. Surely we also can. It just takes a desperate hunger, it takes a longing from us, to desire to live holy; to desire to live like Christ, because it pays at all times. 

All we have to do is pay the Price knowing fully well that nothing of Great value comes cheap; and as such we have to desire fully to live our lives in righteousness exhibiting the fruits in whatever circumstances we find ourselves, remembering HIS Word that says Godliness with contentment is GREAT GAIN (1Timothy 6:6).

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