Hebrews 4:16 - Click to Read

It has always been my deep conviction that the prayer for help; the “Lord, help me” prayer is one of the greatest prayers that can be prayed. Sadly, it is also a prayer prayed only by a humble few. Pride and Self confidence are usually vices that stand in the way of the believer and prevent him from reaching out to the Lord for their much needed help.

Where I come from, there is a proverb which says “It is only when a child willingly lifts its hands up to its parents that it is carried.” For us to receive the help of God, we must show willingness to be helped by him, for “the Lord resists the proud but gives his grace to the humble.”

Crying those three simple words: Lord help me, in earnest and simple faith acknowledges our challenge and also expresses our confidence in Gods ability to save and deliver us; regardless of the circumstance. I am reminded of Peter and how as he began to sink in the turmoil and waves of the sea, he cried out these same words. Immediately, the Lord reached out to him and delivered him. It is also important to note here that it was only after the Lord delivered him that he scolded him for his lack of faith.

If we will cry to the Lord in our distress, we are assured that the Lord will immediately reach out to us with the help we need. It is my sincere prayer that we will not let sin, guilt or pride keep us from receiving Gods help. We however have to humbly ourselves and ask him for it.

In conclusion, we are encouraged by the Apostle Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews to boldly come before the Lord’s throne to seek his mercy from our sins and shortcomings and also to seek his grace (divine ability) in such times of need so we can overcome. I am confident that as we humbly ourselves and cry out for his help, he will come swiftly to our aid.

Pray this prayer, asking for his help:

Lord, I need you. I need your help, mercy and grace to live my life for you. Help me Lord. Just as Peter did, I reach out for your help. Please rescue me so I can live a life pleasing and joyful to you. Thank you for hearing and answering, In Jesus Name. Amen

We live in a busy world. A world ruled by the quest to attain success and superiority; almost at all costs. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is sometimes easy to get carried away with the hustle and bustle of the affairs of life and forget the true purpose of our presence on this earth; to do and accomplish the will of the Lord for our lives.

It is also quite easy to “wax cold” in our love for the Lord and for his work. Almost unconsciously, we begin to place work, family and in general things that actually are important before He that is most important. I believe that the Lord is calling us back to him; to his feet. I believe he is calling us to spend time before him in worship and loving adoration, forgetting the cares and troubles of the world. It is time for us to heed that call.

If we get carried away with the affairs of this life; which are important but not to be placed before our God, there is the tendency for us to believe we have all we need. We begin to say in our hearts: “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing”, without realizing that there is nothing we have received that was not given to us by the Lord in the first place (1 Corinthians 4:7). In Revelations chapter 3, the Lord called this mindset and spiritual attitude an attitude of being lukewarm (vs. 16). He also went on to point out to the Church of the Laodiceans that not only were they not rich and in lack of nothing but that they were infact wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked! What a most pitiable state to ignorantly live in.

Today, as the Lord did about two thousand years ago through John the Apostle, I perceive that the Lord would counsel us to buy from him Gold that has been tried in the fire, i.e. the Word of God revealed by his Spirit, white raiment for clothing and to cover our nakedness i.e. the righteousness that comes through faith in him and not by our works or self righteousness and for us to anoint our eyes with eye ointment so we can see i.e. surrender to him and to his corrections so we can see our wrongs, be washed by his blood and receive his direction (vs. 18).

We must repent from the pride of our hearts. We must repent of this pride and self righteousness and cry unto the Lord for forgiveness; then the Lord will have mercy on us (Joel 2:17-18). Regardless of who we are, our social or economic positions or even the level of our education, we must come before his presence in humility and reverence of his person. Only then will he accept us into his presence (Isaiah 57:15).

We must never become so proud as to think that we have all we need, wanting nothing. If we have everything else in the world and do not have him, we have nothing. Please say this prayer of repentance with me:

Dear Lord, I see my fault. I see how I have sought to live my life without you and the leading of your Spirit. I am sorry for thinking in my heart that I am in need of nothing when in fact I was wretched. I ask for your forgiveness and the cleansing of your blood. Help me buy the pure Gold of your Word, tried in the fire. Help me buy white clothing to cover my nakedness and anoint my eyes with eye ointment that my eyes may be open indeed to your Word and direction. I ask this humbly, in the name of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen

Confession:

Lord, I believe this Word you have spoken to me today. I believe that a New Season begins for me today. Therefore, I step out in faith in that area I am looking to you for help. I know I will not lack, I know I will be promoted at my place of work, I know I shall walk in financial abundance in this new season, I know my walk with you will take on a new dimension, in Jesus Name. I believe and therefore I will act in obedience and I know the results shall come speedily in Jesus Name, Amen.

LESSON 4:

Praise is capable of moving God in ways that nothing else can. Time and time again across the pages of scripture, we see how God was moved to do literally mind boggling things simply because man worshipped or praised him. Psalm 22:3 further buttresses this point by explaining how God literally inhabits the praises of Israel; “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel”.

It is important for us to note this because although the entire Chapter 2 of Jonah is devoted to the Prophet’s prayer in the belly of the fish, God only commanded the fish to throw Jonah upon the land when he promised to pay his vows of thanksgiving and praise. God is not moved by our tears, complaints or even our well thought out arguments. However, when we engage the power of praise in our petitions to God, he attends to our requests personally because he inhabits i.e. literally lives in our praise.

Another lesson we learn from Jonah is that there is no situation too devastating or problematic that can deny God of the praise and worship he deserves. We do not thank God for bad things that happen to us; rather, we thank God despite the bad things that happen. We must make the choice to follow the admonition given in scriptures: “In everything, give thanks.”Notice however, that it doesn’t say for everything. So we thank God in the good and not so good times. And when there seems to be nothing to thank God for, we can thank him for who he is. This is the very definition of worship.

I also strongly believe that this work of salvation mentioned here is beyond what today’s Christianity and Churchianity (as my friend and mentor put it in his work, check it out on http://calabarboy.com/) . It is the great work that transformed Paul from being just one of the great lawyers in the Mid-East at his time, to a man known to have affected millions around the world across timelines. This work has re-created many great minds in the world, enabling them to accomplish great feats, greater than they would have been able to achieve on their own. This is why I believe sufficient justice is not done in church gatherings around the world today, as the truth is not given in its totality. This is not the purpose for my discuss in this writing, but I believe that at the end of this, my position will be clear.

I am of the opinion that many have substituted times of deep reflection and meditation for several activities in our activity-oriented world today. Many times we wake up with our schedule for the new day already set in our minds before the dawning of the new day. So, we really don’t have the 5-15 minutes to reflect or meditate on words that will make the day refreshing and productive. Over the years, work-rate has increased to 16-hours a day, many parents don’t have the time to give their children proper training, they are left at the mercy of nannies, who most of the time don’t know how to take care of themselves in the first place.

Many of us have not realized the power in meditation; let me help you with a little perspective, if you know yoga, it works on the principle of meditation, and try to find out what people have been able to achieve just taking yoga lessons. The law of gravity, we understand to be a product of meditation; the civil right movement lead by Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and many others who have made marks in the world all started from times of deep reflection.

A man I deeply respect, when asked by the press of what he does with his time; he answered, “I read and think.” He has so much to show for that today, after many years of diligently attending to reading and thinking. I took cue from history, understanding purpose and the demand of destiny; I sort for lessons in the ‘school of meditation’ to understand the times, and know what I and my country men must do at certain times to be distinguished among many.

Now I know that for every glitter, a great price has been paid. You’ll only be able to understand the depth of this truth on your knees.

People say it’s difficult, I can’t try it, just because they know what to do, but can’t come to terms with it. So, it’s safer to say “you can’t understand” “I’m going through a lot, just about now” This is better than say “I’ll find a solution” “I must get out of this, and I’ll do that with my head up”
It’s easier to say “I can’t” than to say “I’ll equip myself to face this challenge, because I know I’ve got what it takes inside me.”

Many believe that you are weak to believe that your life is controlled by a high power, and when you say it’s God, they say you’re dumb. But are fast to admit when they lose a bet, I ran out of luck or I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning; think of this why must I set an alarm to wake, can’t I be in control of my body? I guess not, because if you can, then you can command your body to sleep right now and it’ll do just that. If it won’t, then I guess it’s not wise to think that the natural is controlled by the supernatural, much more the spiritual based on scriptural truths.

I learnt that life is what it is, just as it presents itself. But to face its complexities, you have to understand certain truths that can’t be learnt in movies, stories or picture. These truths are discovered in the place of deep meditation. Meditating on the words that refine, “the good news about Christ” that Paul – that blessed Patriarch mention in the passage I quoted in my opening. You meditation on this word refines the heart, enlightens the mind and empowers the brain to direct the body in the right path for development and generational impact.

You can do beyond what you are doing now, you best days are yet to come; the good you have seen is not still as good as the deposit you’ve got inside of you. Get the thinking cap on, get His word, speak it as written in the Holy Scripture, believe it, reflect on it, then take appropriate action in the right direction and you’ll not be able to compare your yesterday with toady and your tomorrow will be greater than today.

We have the deposit for the change the world is desperately in need of. He believes in you! And He wants to speak with you and teach you great and marvellous things….give him a place.

Heavy Weights
Imagine for a moment that you are watching a game of ‘throw and catch’ between a grown man and a four year old and the object they are throwing happens to be a bag of cement. For the grown man, catching the bag of cement will be possible because he can handle the weight of the bag. However, for the four year old, it will be a different story because he cannot handle the weight of the bag of cement. If the four year old in his naivety tries to catch the bag of cement, he is most likely to get injured in the process.

Relating this to thoughts, ideas and the mind, the adult player is the person with a strong developed mind while the four year old is the person with a weak undeveloped mind and the bag of cement represents ideas. Grand ideas are everywhere. The only reason why they appear to be in short supply is because weak minds cannot retain grand ideas/thoughts. When great ideas breeze into the thoughts of people with weak undeveloped minds, it flows right through because they don’t have the capacity to retain such thoughts for their lives. This is a reason why people settle for less than they should.

The Creator of the universe is liberal with great ideas and He longs to drop them in our minds. However, as long as we remain weak in our minds big ideas will always appear weak and great thoughts will be alien to us. So how can you make a weak mind become a strong one – able to retain great thoughts and ideas? The answer is in lifting heavy weights.

Weight Lifting is designed to increases the body mass, the muscle size, and ultimately, the physical strength of a person. Likewise, weight lifting done to the mind will increase the strength of the mind. When I say weight lifting, I am referring to the quality of materials you lift into your mind.

If It Must Be, It Must Be Read!

It has been said that two things determine the difference between a person today and five years from now – the people he meets and the books he reads. Don’t let anyone deceive you: edifying books have power! One person I have come to respect and admire in my life is John C. Maxwell. I have read a number of his books and one thing I have come to observe is how often he quotes other authors. He can hardly write two pages in his books without quoting something from a book he read sometime or something he heard someone say. If you are looking for someone with a blessed mind, John C. Maxwell certainly fits the bill on every count!

In his book, The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires, Brian Tracy made a comment about the power of learning continually as it relates to having an edge over your peers. This made me realize a fundamental truth about being preferred in any field of endeavor: having a mind that has been developed makes you retain big thoughts; big thoughts birth big ideas; big ideas make you a big shot, and being a big shot makes you a person to be sought after. This is evident when organizations want to hire new hands. I have observed that the hiring process is categorized into two. One category is when there is a notice put out by the hiring company for interested and qualified applicant to submit CV’s and application letter. The other category is when the organization does what is called ‘strategic employment.’ This kind of employment is done when the company has targeted a particular individual from another company to fill the position they have an opening in. Most of the time this kind of hiring is done when the organization intends to move to another level hence they seek and individual who has what it takes to take them to that level. This individual is the preferred person and he will never have to pick up his pen to write an application letter. Why? You are right! He is a big shot! I am sure you can relate with this analogy and even mention some of these big shots yourself. One common trait they all have is that they are all passionate about books.

It is my prayer that you get sick and tired of being counted as one of the many that make up the numbers, wallowing in the class of the majority. If your mind is weak and undeveloped, this is where you stand but changing that is just a decision away – change your attitude to books and you will see how easily your worth can increase simply by reading a few books.

Now on to Brian Tracy’s comment:

“There are three keys to lifelong learning. The first key is to read in your field for at least 30 to 60 minutes each day. Reading is to the mind as exercise is to the body. Reading for an hour each day will translate into about a book per week. One book per week will translate into 50 books per year. 50 books per year will translate into 500 books over the next ten years…” this part alone made me see just how powerful our minds can get having been exposed to over 500 books in a short time of 10 years! A man having this kind of exposed mind will definitely become preferred above his peers because, continuing with Brain Tracy’s comment, “…the average adult reads less than one book per year. When you begin reading one hour per day, one book per week, this alone will give you an INCREDIBLE edge in your field. You WILL become one of the smartest, most competent, and HIGHEST PAID people in your profession by simply reading one hour a days.”

The Pain of a Nation

I was at the National Youth Service Corps camp in Umudi, Imo state last year to fellowship with Corpers under the Winners’ Corpers Fellowship where I had served as President of the fellowship during my service year. When giving my address, I asked that those who had finished reading a motivational or self-development book since they graduated to put up their hands. Less than 2% of a class of about 60 graduates put up their hands. These were the people who would take our nation to the next level. It pained my heart and I say this not to spite them but to share with you how mediocrity is thriving among the youths of the nation.

It is common place in Nigeria to believe that who you know will get you to the top. Connections and networking with people does have its advantages, if it is for the right reasons and not corrupt reasons, but even if who you know gets you to the top, at the end of the day, it is what you know that will keep you at the top!

The attitude of the average Nigerian to reading is nothing short of upsetting. The number of books authored by Nigerian that have made the Best-seller list is very few. It is not that these books are not good or well written rather it’s that the numbers of people needed to make it a best seller are not interested in the book! Hence the majority non-reading population misses out on the goldmines hidden in such books.

Highest paid people are not paid as such because they execute small, mediocre ideas. On the contrary, they are paid as such because they execute excellent ideas; excellent ideas stemming from great thoughts; great thoughts stemming from developed minds; developed minds stemming from exposure to mind-building books.

In concluding this chapter, I bring to your notice these truths that will remain as long as the earth remains:

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Before I make an attempt at breaking these down, it would be proper to evoke the context of the story that equips my muse on this issue. Exodus introduces the man Moses to us all, and tells us of his rather strange upbringing and how he was like nothing short of a drama from beginning to the end. But from the whole, nothing struck me as much as the opening chapters of Exodus which tells of his unfortunate attempt at leadership, which led to his ultimate escape from the palace into the wilderness. He became a Shepherd, then a deliverer sent by God, then a way maker. Through this process, one thing was central in the scheme of things, and that was the Rod in his hands. Herein lays the convergence of three separate issues: Sheep, Snakes, and the Sea. With that Rod, he tended to the Sheep, swallowed up Snakes, and parted the Sea.



This is what forms the central argument of my discourse, on how one thing; the Rod in Moses’ hand was what really mattered in the three kinds of circumstances he found himself at the start of his career, or profession if I may say that. Unknowingly he had picked up a rod like any Shepherd would do in order to guide and guard his Sheep, but it went beyond its primary assignment and was transformed into a life saver and a way maker for Moses. The gist is that as I traveled through this story, I found some parallels in my life and thought to highlight that for others to glean from. It is very easy to ignore the things that we already have and look out for other things, which we assume will be what we need for the kinds of difficulties we face. Well I want to take out time now to share how the Rod in your hand is sufficient for your ‘Sheep’, your ‘Snakes’, and you ‘Sea’.

The Sheep was Moses’ primary assignment and what gave him his livelihood. It was his base profession and what woke him early in the morning to get busy. If he didn’t do that, then his well being was not guaranteed because there would be no labor demanding reward. This was obviously what life dealt him far out in the wilderness of uncertainty and was a normal course he followed in order to make the best of his days. This sounds a lot like the story of most people who have a predetermined direction for their lives. Most times it’s usually not your choice if you go to school or not, it is a given. Until you finish from a university, you are usually following a determined course for your life because it is assumed that you must of necessity follow through if your life is going to have any relevance. Some of us were born into a family of lawyers and were beclouded by the reality that it was not a choice for one to become a lawyer, since the family business had to be preserved. Moses encountered Shepherds and was catered for by the same, thus it was only natural that he fell quickly into the profession of a Shepherd.

Using my life as an example, some years back as a church musician, I held on strongly to the idea that praise music should be fast paced, while worship music should be slow. So every time I hear singers trying to increase the tempo of a worship song, I get upset. The truth is simply that I just cannot recall where I got that idea from. It was simply just a church practice that had become a dominant and an acceptable idea in my head and I taught others this as well. The words are what matters and not the tempo. I had to learn to deemphasize the style and concentrate on the content. Also I couldn’t understand why in some churches the communion was taken under very hype circumstances. I had always believed that it should be a sober celebration of life, where we remember what Jesus had done for us all. I went into a church where when the communion is being served, praise and worship is going on and people are dancing. I churned within to face this new style. The problem is I was simply very churched and was held on to by the strings of religious traditions. God deliver me.

Now let me talk about something a bit more controversial. All through my church experience, the consumption of alcohol has been an issue that the judgment was very simple: You are a sinner when you take alcohol. I wrote a note about this sometime ago called “Rethinking Everything”, where I raised some important issues. Two instances made me rethink the use of alcohol. First, I had the privilege of attending a private birthday party of a reputable person. After lunch he went up his house and came back with two bottle of original Palestinian wine, which he brought back from a recent trip to Israel. Friends, I only had a less than a quarter of the glass and moments later, I felt I had grown taller. Then I suddenly knew what fine wine, according to Palestinian standards meant. No wonder the Pharisees accused Jesus of being a “winebibber” (Matt 11:19), simply because he eat and drank such wine with the ‘sinners’. A second instance was when I received the Holy Communion at an Anglican church during my friend’s father’s memorial service. I went for that service on an empty stomach and after the communion wine, my eyes were rolling. I had to settle for fast food before I insulted someone innocent. This was original Communion wine from the Middle East.

However, I have severally argued with some folks that are really churched about the use of alcohol. It is clear from scriptures that it is abuse that leads to sin. Fermented fruits have their value to the body, but like the harmful results of the abuse of anything, abuse of alcohol makes a mockery of you. But you see churched people think it is a sin to drink one bottle of beer, but righteousness to drink two to three bottles of chilled Coca Cola on a hot day. This is the kind of bondage that churched people have created and I am no better. We the churched have put ourselves under some kinds of rules we cannot obey and have also caused many who are weak to feel condemned because they cannot carry such weights. Does this remind you of what Jesus told the Pharisees? We have left the most important part that we should highlight; Self Control, which is a direct result of God’s Spirit within a man. We all need this element in everything we do; from eating, drinking, talking, sleeping, and in our several desires. Self Control is the virtue we should imbibe and advance to others as well.

On another case, a wrong perception of sex has destroyed a lot of lives in the church simply because churched people have refused to talk about the issue. When you try to talk about sex openly, churched people will label such discussions as sensual and corrupt communication. Meanwhile, the enemy is having a field day warping the mentalities of our children and they are growing up to be outwardly Churched, but inward sexual perverts. The American society is full of highly religious people, whose succeeding generation has totally gone on sexual rebellion all because the church was too hypocritically sanctimonious. I am amazed at how many young church men are caught by the law who are child molesters. We organize Family Seminars and Relationship talks only to cover truth and pretend about the reality of what church folks are facing. Gradually sexual purity is being thrown out the window and churched people are pretending that nothing is happening or that it is not affecting them.

Churched people are very notorious for pointing fingers. They are very quick to judge and throw down those who have succumbed to one weakness or the other. It took me certain encounters with God’s word to be delivered from this Churchy attitude which dominates a lot of our assemblies today. Those who make the most commentaries after the media when a ‘Man of God’ falls is churched people. But I remember I remember our Big Brother telling us in John 5 that He himself judges no one. But many in the church today quote Apostle Paul and state that the spiritual man judges all things. Perhaps, if such judgment were out of love, maybe the effect would be different. But since most of such judgments come from self-righteous commentaries, it produces a damaging effect on the church.

When the church condemns its own, what would the world then do? I remember many years back a famous pastor whose name starts with Jim pointing accusing fingers at another fallen pastor whose name is Jimmy. All of a sudden, Jim also fell, and great was his fall. A pastor once told us a story of how he joined in accusing another pastor who had messed up, only to come to a point of stagnation in his life. After many years of seeking God’s face, God told him to go and apologize and ask for the prayer of that pastor, who by now had been restored. I remember that our Savior told us: “Judge nothing before the time…” But churched people love to do it before the time. I refer you to a note I wrote on Ted Haggard. This should clear my position on the matter.

So much to talk about here, but my point is that at we all have been churched, and define our relationship with our Father based on what human organizations have defined. This is very dangerous because we have placed more burdens on ourselves more than that which Jesus has permitted us to carry. I am reminded that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. This is one reason why the church has become a very worldly institution, where much rules and regulations exist and a taking-on of the form of secular structures. In fact I am beginning to think that Jesus has to be delivered from the church today, because we have saturated it with human and carnal motions that have killed the essence of His message and what He came to do on the earth.

The last part of my muse will be to consider what the church really is, and what it stands for. I have been amazed by my recent discoveries of what the church really means and what God really intended by leaving us here on earth. This way I hope to also liberate someone else to enjoy the fullness of the life of Christ within us, rather than be hindered by human mechanics that has nothing to do with the purposes of God.