LET SOMEONE WATCH YOUR BACK

This is going to be about accountability. We all have friends, don't we? How many are your friends? Categorize them, if you like. How many of them are of much value? Take stock right away. The greatest gifts in life are friends. But then, friends could be your greatest undoing. Today, I will be considering how much value a friend could be to you.

Lanre is the next best thing that happened in my walk with the Lord, after I met the Lord. You would have noticed; I talk about my relationship with the Lord always. You see, Lanre and I met the Lord about the same time. In fact, I was first, and I had the cherished privilege to share the gospel with him. I remember Lanre laughed me to scorn that day; 'Deolu, you? You don born again?' But he listened that day. Months after, he came to tell me of his encounters with the Lord. He is my twin brother in the Lord. I cherish our friendship almost like I do my relationship with the Lord. I will tell you why, but let me describe this 'twin brother' of mine to you. I call him 'Taller', and common, he is really tall. Others call him 'Tallest'. Now let me describe myself; I am a short man. Hmmm, our last born who is more than twelve years younger than I am, is taller than I am. Lanre is twice taller than him with extra. Yet we are so close, you cannot help but giggle when you see us together. This is the man with whom I have been 'spiritually yoked' since I came to know the Lord. Stature in the spirit is different from the physical. We grew together in the Lord. We spent uncountable hours over the years in prayers together. We witnessed to people together. We share experiences together. In fact, we experienced many things together. We share challenges together. We share our fears together. We share victories and failures together. We were there for each other. When I was down, he helped me up. When he was down, I (short me) helped him up. Lanre and I watch each other's back. I would never have come this far- I mean, never- had God not placed Lanre to watch my back. He would tell you same, I know. I dedicated my B Sc. Thesis to him; I would dedicate my spiritual experience hitherto, to him as well and I know God would not mind. Is there such a day as 'A Friend's Day'? No, not February 14- that one has been abused. Lanre will win my prize for the 'Best Friend' any day, and I know my wife would not mind.

More relevant to this piece is; Lanre and I watched each other's back. No one has eyes at the back of his head. Someone said that's why you have a neck- to turn. Have you noticed how many eyes rove whenever the president of a country is around? Those eyes are trained to watch out for the president. Do you have a friend that watches your back? That is the one you should cherish forever. Your back is where you are defenseless. Your back is where you are vulnerable. Ancient armours do have covering for the back in the form of a 'backplate'. But I discovered that spiritual armour makes no provision for your back. (see Ephesians 6:13-20). Paul concluded his admonition in that passage by appealing for prayers from the brethren. That is one way to keep your back; other people you trust. Let us learn something from David- the king who fought wars all his life. How did he keep his back?

I will take you straight to the battlefield where David was at it as usual. No war is easy especially when your king is fighting too. Most often than not, David was there. This time, they were at war with the ever-deadly Philistine army. For the first time and only, we read that 'David grew faint' right in the midst of a battle and right in the front of giants! (see 1 Samuel 21:15-17). Here David was at his lowest and this particular enemy was positioned to strike David just once and that would be it. But someone was watching out for David! Abishai came on time and strike the enemy to save David. This most likely happened more than once. No wonder David dedicated all his victories first to God in chapter 22 of 1 Samuel; and in chapter 23, he paid tribute to his 'mighty men'. Oh Lord, give me more friends like Lanre! And make me so to some more.

David used this strategy all through his life. He always had someone to watch his back. This was another battle of his life; his mentor turned his tormentor. Remember when his life was in peril under the reign of King Saul? There was Jonathan. David had to trust Jonathan with his back. At that time he said to Jonathan 'Kill me yourself, don't betray me to your father'. (see 1 Samuel 20). And Jonathan said 'Far be it! I will certainly tell you if my dad tries to kill you'. The person you trust with your back must love you like he loves his own soul as seen between David and Jonathan. (1 Samuel 20:17). Jonathan then went back to his father to determine his state of mind towards David. Saul even tried to make Jonathan hate David. He told the boy; 'You rebel! Do you not see that as long as David lives, you will never be king?' (see 1 Samuel 20:30-31). But Jonathan was far gone for David. He saved David. David wept, touched by this unusual loyalty of a friend. Are you taking stock? You need some friends like this, I tell you.

Another time, David faced a different battle in his life; his own son, flesh and blood turned a thorn in his flesh. Absalom wanted his father dead. And father fled for son. All the ever faithful friends of David left with him. And David saw danger in that; he needed someone to watch his back. He found that person in Hushai the Archite. (see 2 Samuel 15:32-37). Hushai was the very answer to David's earlier prayer against Ahithophel in 1 Samuel 15:31; 17:14-16. He saved David's life with a counter-advice to Ahithophel's to Absalom. The friend you can leave your back to, is the best of all. In art of war, it is your enemies that you should keep where your eyes can see. Let your friends be where you cannot see.

Watching your back is being accountable. Our world has never been so lonely even though so connected. Few people are truly sharing; very few. Do you have friends who can talk with you and talk to you; pray with you and pray for you? Too many friends backbite one another; too many. They cannot talk to your face; they do at your back. Whatever he told you about that guy, he will tell others worst about you too. You need friends you can talk to. There is nothing too secret you cannot tell someone, you only need one who can keep your back. One thing at everyman's back is the place prone to offensive smell. The person that has your back should be ready for some of your mess; and still protect you while he corrects you. Do not take yourself too seriously; you cannot afford to think you have everything taken care of. Your friend will see that opening you did not cover. You need not be reminded that life is a fierce battle. A friend is a covering in the day of battle. The lion has her pride in her group. In fact, a group of lions is called a 'pride'. Lions do not go alone, in spite of their strength. Hunters learn to isolate some animals to prey on them. The devil has destroyed many warriors this way. Do not be the next.

PRAYER CHANGES STORIES

(SEQUEL TO TIME AND CHANCE VS TIME AND JUDGEMENT)

I grew up in a Christian home. I remember this hanging on our wall while I was much younger. It was a picture of someone's hands clasped together in an attitude common to praying. And it was written in that frame; Prayer Changes Things. I still see that hanging in a few homes I visit. But today, it is not even in my own home; it is in my heart.

Prayer is one divine privilege we get too familiar with. Prayer is the connecting line between the earth and heaven- between man and God. This very busy God has given us His direct line. Picture for a moment; you have got your President's mobile number. He may be too busy to pick your calls, but you know you are reaching him personally each time you call. That is how direct prayer is. The good news is; God is more than the president; He is God and your Father at the same time. He is never so busy that He will not pick Your call. You will not get a 'number busy' response. Psalm 65:2 says 'O Thou that hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come.' And, all flesh is all flesh. If you are flesh and you have an idea who God is, then you can pray and be sure He hears you.

Prayer changes things. Prayer changes lives. Prayer changes situations. Prayer changes circumstances. If you have got your B.A (Born Again), you can get your M Sc. (Master of Situations and Circumstances). Prayer is an incredible power given to God by man to interfere in his own life. Yes, you read me correctly. Man gives God the permission to intervene in his life by praying. Now I have to convince you and it should not be so much of a trouble to do that. My dad once said to me 'Deolu, why do people bother to pray at all? Can we change God's mind or influence Him? He will do what He will do, because He is God and He knows so much that we humans do not know about any situation.' Yet I have heard my own daddy pray on several occasions; and I know he does much more in his privacy. It reminds me of one man in my country . He lived most of his life saying there is no God. One day, he missed his steps and about to fall; and in that instance, he exclaimed 'Oh Jesus!'

You see, God created all things and put laws in place to govern all His creation. Have you noticed that even for man, God went to the soil just once? He then set Reproduction as the order to replicate man on the surface of the earth. That is how everything works. Think of anything at all, there is a law that orders it. And those laws are sufficient because the Bible said God 'upholds all things by the word of His power' (Hebrews 1:3). The power behind 'Let there be' is the same power that sustains it. There is a law that suspends the earth in cosmic space, and there is a law that brings to the ground everything in earthly space. There are several natural laws, and they do not fail. There are even laws that govern human behaviour. Man has devised other laws as much as possible. And as long as conditions for a certain outcome are fulfilled, the result is the same every time. It gives creation stability. It also shows an intelligent God; a secure God, too. You are a good leader when you do not have to always be there for things to work. Structures are set to uphold systems; and structures make systems work. Laws are the supernatural structures that give our natural world some level of predictability. For instance, you reap what (or more than) you sow. Have you not wondered how many people and nations of the earth do so well, without much ado about God? It is because they apply certain laws of life correctly. So it may appear you can live this life without so much interference from God. We often consider natural disasters as some 'divine interference', but we still call them 'natural' because they can be explained and because we know the laws that trigger them. The laws are reliable. They should guide us. But by praying, we can guide the laws. Do actors in a film just do as they desire? There is the Film Director that controls events to an end. Prayer makes you a director in the film of life. Today, I wish to portray prayer as the one great privilege to actively participate in the art of orchestrating events.

Excerpt from the story of Esther. She had become Queen for a while. Then there came Haman- the enemy of the Jews. Haman vowed to wipe out the Jews because of his perceived pride of Mordecai, Esther's uncle. Mordecai raised an alarm to Esther and Esther initially gave excuses. The prevailing circumstances may not favour an audience with the king. The chances are few. She later decided to take the risk. No, she did not 'try her luck'. She called for prayers from the Jewish community and she took certain steps. She went to the king and made tactical requests; inviting the king to her private banquet and inviting Haman to be a part of it. Then one night, the king could not sleep. The king asked that the Chronicles be brought to him to while time away. He opened a page and read that once in his reign; a conspiracy to kill him was uncovered. He also saw that the person who saved the king was not rewarded. That morning, someone was at his door. It was Haman. The king spoke first; 'what should be done to the man the king chooses to honour?' Read it yourself. That was the beginning of Haman's descent into the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Study the events in this story carefully. Was it Esther's great wisdom that taught her how to approach such a powerful, unpredictable king? Was it just a coincidence that that night, the king could not sleep? Why that night? Of all things, why did the king request for the Scroll? Why was it that page he read that night? Why did he take that interest in rewarding the hero? Oh, let's see, why did Haman choose that very morning to see the king? Why did the king speak first? You believe in coincidences? Me too; otherwise, it would not be a word in the dictionary. But remember the people prayed. Do you not think their prayers to God worked out all the events that followed? Instead of Esther getting the king's wrath, she got his favour and even an offer of 'up to half of the kingdom'. Instead of death, Mordecai and the Jews got life and life abundantly. Instead of shame, the Jews were honoured in all the provinces. Instead of… instead of… . Prayer is the power to orchestrate the 'instead-ofs' of life. You can get a better deal, if you will pray.

Whenever we do not pray, we leave too many things to the laws of life (and I did say that the laws can be trusted). One of these laws is what I call from the Scriptures 'the Law of Time and Chance'. In Ecclesiastes 9:11, Scriptures say '…The race is not to the swift, nor the battle of the strong. Nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding. Nor favour to men of skill. But time and chance happens to them all.' Verse 12 says 'For man also does not know his time; like the fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared in an evil time; when it suddenly falls on them'. Time and Chance says; every time comes with an opportunity. And when 'man … does not know his time' he cannot take his chance. People who do well simply take some chances when the time comes. But you can do better than live your life by chances. There is a better way to live. Chance could also mean 'luck'. I looked for other synonyms of Chance, I saw 'accidental, coincidental, fortuitous, gamble, unintended'… There is however, another established law of life; it is the 'law of Time and Judgment'. In Ecclesiastes 8: 5, Bible says '… a wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment. The Message version of the next verse says 'Yes, there's a right time and way for everything, even though, unfortunately, we miss it for the most part'. How can any man be so accurate as to know the proper procedure for everything at every time? There was a tribe in Israel that gifted. (1 Chronicles 12:32). You can develop this gift too. This is where prayer comes in. Prayer is one way to 'trust in the LORD with all your heart…'because all that is in your head (that is, your own understanding) will fail you ultimately. Prayer is one way to 'acknowledge God in all your ways'. Prayer is one way to get God to 'direct your paths'. (Proverbs 3:5-6). When God directs your paths, you miss what you should miss and meet what you should meet. Things happen for you, and not against you. And everything will be for your ultimate good.

Pray provides us the privilege to have the All-knowing, All-powerful God intervene in our situations. Prayer is not a 'last resort'. It is not something to try when nothing else works. Prayer is not also, an excuse for laziness. Why do some people appear to pray so much and yet have little to show for it? It is because; prayer itself has laws that govern it. In fact, there is a prayer that is abominable to offer God. Prayer is not the opportunity to play God. You do not turn God to your 'errand boy' just because you pray. Prayer is not just to correct what has gone wrong; nor is it just to prevent what may go wrong. Prayer is an attitude of God-consciousness. Whenever you use an appliance you bought as if it is your own and you may do anything you wish with it, that appliance will fail you and may even harm you soon. But when you use it with a consciousness of the maker's manual, you enjoy and maximize the appliance. Prayer is not an invitation to God to live your life for you; it is a call to live your life for God and for your good. It is nothing but pride not to pray. It is your life, but did you make it? Why not commit life to the Maker of life?

Your life is not a coin that is thrown. Do not leave your life to coincidences. You can participate actively in the divine nature. Employ the power of prayer.

THE MEEKEST IS THE GREATEST

God, help me. I do not start many of my writings with this prayer. I do so for particularly difficult topics. This topic looks so simple but it overwhelms my spirit. I opened my Bible in the morning and I had wanted to study the story how Caleb and Joshua became the only people in an entire generation of hundreds of thousands of people; the only people that entered the Promised Land. So I could get a rounder picture, I started from Numbers chapter 12; I got to the third verse and could go no further. It was the first time the word 'meek' appeared in the Scriptures; and it was as if I was hearing the word for the very first time. The way it appears in that story, it was as if God was seeing a meek man for the very first time – in all His creation. It had occupied my thoughts all day long and I just feel you should know.

I could attempt to define Meekness, but it is one word that exposed the deficiency of definition. Have you noticed Jesus would hardly define anything? He could tell a story- a parable of some sort, but would hardly confine a concept by defining it. For instance, someone asked Him a simple question; who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, 'A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho…'. (See Luke 10:29-30). Funny is it not? One reason is that God responds to the intent and motive of every man's heart more than the words of his mouth. As I proceeded to understand Meekness, I saw the weakness of human philosophy and psychology to comprehend it. Humble, gentle, quiet, modest … are some of the words that have been used overtime to describe Meekness. And I like Wikipedia; it does not pretend to know it all. There is more to Meekness than meets the eye.

Like my Lord, let's approach this with a story. Aaron the high priest and Miriam the women cum choir leader had a grouse with Moses. Moses married an African girl and they did not like it for some reasons. Then they said in their anger 'Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?'. Oh my, my! They would wish they could swallow those words. But too late, God heard them. I'm been careful not to overdramatize God; but check for yourself Numbers 12; in verse 2, Scriptures said '… the LORD heard it' and in verse 4 Scriptures said 'Suddenly the LORD said…' God's response (at the risk of calling it a reaction) was so sudden that verse 3 had to be in bracket. Can you relate to this? You heard or overheard something, and you are like 'What did I just hear? How dare you!' That was it. It is one of the few places you will see God shout. Or what does an exclamation mark signify? That verse said; Suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam 'Come out you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!' Oh my! It was a drama I would prefer to watch from a split curtain. God was angry (again, I risk saying 'furious'). Verse 5 said God came down (in a pillar of cloud) and called Aaron and Miriam apart. He told them 'Whatever came upon you to speak like that about Moses? Do you have an idea who he is to Me?' (Numbers 12: 6-8). Now I'm acting drama, so read it yourself. And you don't even want to hear what He did to Miriam; leprosy. And I think Aaron was exempted to protect the sanctity of priesthood; but he got the message. So what was the big deal about Moses? He was meek. In fact, he was the meekest on the face of the earth at that time. If being meek could make God that passionate about any human, I want to know more. You see why I said 'God, help me'? Moses came a long way. The last time someone questioned his authority, he had to flee. (Exodus 2: 14-15). Now, God would leave all and deal with whoever dared. There is something about Meekness.

Who else could help expound Meekness? Jesus said '… learn of Me, for I am meek …' (Matthew 11:29). It takes meekness to be God and be man at the same time; to be the leader and be the servant at the same time; to be the highest and stoop the lowest at the same time; to be the best and take the worst at the same time. It's so difficult to grasp. I cannot explain it; but to be the meekest is to be the greatest. I cannot attain it, unless You help me, Lord. Paul said 'let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus…'

So, help me, LORD.

THERE IS GRACE FOR FATHERHOOD

Today is Father's Day. Let the fathers in the house say 'Yeah! Yeah!!' I will join you in a few weeks from now in Jesus' name. At the moment, I am an expectant father. And I cherish this period of my life. It is almost comparable to the hours before the first night (if you know what I mean). God is about to birth a destiny through you. And that anticipation is compared to none. Have you been there before? Tell me, was this how you felt? Oh, it's so awesome! What a special privilege! I have this feeling; that this excitement will blow the rooftop when I see … (Oh! me-and-my-big-mouth!). And I can imagine the excitement growing by the day as I watch my … (Oh! me-and-my-big-mouth!) grows. Never mind, my wife said I should tell no one the gender yet. Wait a minute! Do fathers feel this way even when the child is fully grown? I do not want to get over this! There is absolutely nothing like it! Okay, let me calm down now. So this is a day to celebrate fathers, I hope I complete this piece before the day ends.

I want to start with God the Father. He is worthy to be praised and adored; the Father of the universe. Who can compare with You? You are such a responsible Father. You take care of every one of Your vast creation. Far into the depth of the sea, and up on the highest of mountains, even in the thickest of forest, wherever the tiniest life is found- there Your ever tender care abounds. Our heavenly Father, the very present One. Through to the darkest of times, He stays with us and sees us through. Available to all, yet personal to all. You remain the Ultimate Model for all. Forgiving, embracing, unfailing… What more can I say? I love You, Daddy Divine!

Oh yes! Meet my earthly father; Mr. Oyebode Patrick Olumodeji. He is popularly called OPO from his initials. Let me take off from there; Opo means 'pillar' in Yoruba language. And that is what you are. You are very stable, your principles run deep. Not many of your views have changed since I first called you 'daddy'. I know you may never read this; that's how far you are from modernity. But let the whole world know that you are such a friend. Not many of my friends had their daddies as friends- so they envy our rapport. We talk mostly politics, and people wonder why I was so wired up during the last elections. Let me talk of legacies; and first of all is Education. We even have the same alma-Mata. Second to this and better than it, you drove me to God. I learned on time the one thing you lack; a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Daddy, I love you so much and I still have much to learn from you. So today as always, I pray you accept God's love for you. There is so much more you still can be.

I have another father. He led me to the LORD. Biola Folusho Bamidele- don't ever think I could forget you. You came my way like a light through the storm. On hell's fastest lane was I, when you preach the message that gave the brake. You did not leave me there, you nurtured me to grow. Discipleship like friendship, I did not know which was which. There were some like me around you then; some remain my best of friends. One of them is the girl I married. Biola, see how much you mean to me? You shared your life so much, and if today I have some passion- let the world know it's you. I told you, Biola; you will be very, very great. Oh my, did I ever call you 'daddy'? That's how close we were. Remain who you are- and do not be so far from me.

Please appreciate some fathers today. It is no mean task to be a father. But I know there is grace for fatherhood. The story of one man assures me of this. Joseph. I want to learn something from Joseph. I think he is the least appreciated of the fathers around. I mean, the husband of Mary the mother of Jesus.

Just because we all know he did not actually birth Jesus, we seem to pay him not so much attention. Maybe I should speak for myself; but I know that many Christian groups deify Mary, I have not seen much of that for Jossy.

Give it to Joseph. The Bible called him a just man. Matthew 1:19. So he was a man all by himself. He was a man worth his salt. Mary loved him for who he was. Oh, Joseph was no name-dropper; he too descended from David as much as Mary his wife. (Dr. Luke traced the lineage of Joseph while Matthew focused on Mary's). A quiet gentleman; easy-going and firm; skilled man. I think he had some qualities that made God appeal to him not to abandon Mary. 'Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary as wife…' (see Matthew 1:20). That does not sound to me like a command. God would carefully select the earthly parenting of His only begotten Son, and we must give it to the man of that house. Whatever one may think, Jesus lived in obedience to this man for most of thirty years.

You see, Joseph could have messed Mary up. How many guys out there would believe some fancy story of a divine conception if their prized girls got pregnant from the blues? Just tell me the home-truth, please. It has been prophesied- fine, but it was still strange. But Joseph took the risk! My, my! Just imagine for a second; the wedding date had been announced, everything was set. And you know what shame it was then, if a girl was found unfaithful. Just imagine, had Joseph refused to marry Mary. Okay, let us imagine the implication for the child. This is no ordinary child- Jesus the Son of God. How would it sound like if there was such controversy about his paternity? That is what would have happened if Jossy had made so much fuss about it.

I think Joseph was highly disciplined. Scripture said Joseph 'did not know (Mary) till she brought forth her firstborn Son…' (Matthew 1:25). You know what that mean? He was not exactly commanded not to. He was only told the Child was a 'holy thing', and that was enough to keep him off his own wife till she delivered. Maybe you think that is a small thing. Ask the husband whose wife is pregnant to wait nine month plus. I think that act also show Joseph's respect for Jesus Christ. He must have reasoned; if He is conceived of the Holy Spirit, He must be sacred.

He stood in as the father. He perfectly and quietly played the role. Maybe you think it's not a major role. I know you think Jesus would still do well without the earthly father figure. Just find out from those who had absent fathers or had single parenting. Each time an angel spoke as touching the welfare of the Child Jesus, the angel addressed the Joseph. For instance 'Arise, take the young Child and His mother and go to…' Matthew 2:20. We serve a God of order. Joseph occupied that place of pride as the head and he was responsible for mother and child. Don't you think Jesus grew in an atmosphere of love? I give Joseph the credits.

I could say more about this lovely character who fathered Jesus on earth. But I want to post this today and not a day after. How many of us could God trust with a special child like He did Joseph? How many of us know these children are very special to God? We as fathers, have the golden privilege to train up a child in the way that he should go.

God give me the grace for fatherhood.

AS A MAN THINKETH IN HIS HEART…

This is a popular saying; 'For as he thinks in his heart so is he'. And it is from the Scriptures. In Proverbs 23, the writer was teaching us that the words of a man and his actions could be very different from his thoughts; and that in the final analysis, the thoughts of that man defines him- not his words, not his actions. Every man is a product of his thoughts. Good thinking, good product- what brand is that again? Let us bring some thoughts to light today.

Thoughts are so private, so personal to man. Whatever I say, is out in the open already. Whatever I do is up for everyone to see and judge. No one has discovered yet the art of telling a man's thoughts. You see, it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks…but can you tell what fraction of the abundance are the man's words? The best psychologists can only try. The One who created man said 'The heart is deceitful above all things … who can know it?' (Jeremiah 17:9). No wonder the thoughts in a man's heart are God's primary focus as He looks at the man. The whole world could consider a man as very wise, and yet before God, that man is foolish because his thoughts are vain. (see 1 Corinthians 3:19-20). Can I jolt you a little? There are secrets about that man- yes, your husband, and that woman, your wife that you may never know until we all appear before God. (See Romans 2:15; Micah 7:5). That is how much we do not know of any man. Only God knows man. (See 1 Kings 9:38b)

I'm sure you remember how God chose David among eight brothers in 1 Samuel 16. Samuel- one of the greatest prophets ever- saw the firstborn and exclaimed 'Surely the LORD's anointed is here!', but God told him 'common boy, look at the heart, that's where I'm looking.' (1Samuel 16:7 paraphrased). Then the prophet became a seer at that moment. He saw through to the hearts of each of the seven brothers until they sent for David in the wilderness. Now I am interested in this man called David. How could a man strike God like that? What was his heart like? In fact, God gave this testimony about David; 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart…' It is interesting to note that God said this in 1 Samuel 13:14, before the anointing service of chapter 16. Where was David as at that time? He was still very much the shepherd boy. He was then so far from the throne, but so close to God's heart; so the throne was only a matter of time.

We have established that God sees all men's hearts and David in particular was chosen because of his heart. God said somewhere else to someone else; '… the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them that whose heart is perfect toward Him…' (1 Chronicles 16:9). Is that enough to say David's heart was perfect towards God? Is it what God meant by saying David was 'a man after His own heart'? How can a man's heart ever be perfect towards God? Is that man thinking like God then? God Himself said 'as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, AND MY THOUGHTS THAN YOUR THOUGHTS.' (Isaiah 55:9), so what kind of man was David to hook up on God's thought frequency just like that? I'm curious, don't know about you. Centuries after David had gone, God would still say things like 'he did (did not) what was right in My sight, and did (did not) walk in the ways of David My servant' (2 Chronicles 17:3; 28: 1; 34:2).

Moses also learned something in his walk with God. Scriptures say '(God) made known His ways to Moses, (but) His acts to the children of Israel' (Psalm 103:7). (And we know a person's actions or words are just a small fraction of the abundance of his heart). Moses also knew God's thoughts! Oh, was that why the Book said Moses was a man God talked to as a friend does to a friend? (See Exodus 33:11, and you will not find the word 'friend' anywhere else in the whole of Exodus, as if to drive the point home). Only Moses, in that generation thought like God!

If a man is what he thinks, can a man upgrade his thoughts to the level of God's? That looks like a tall, tall dream considering that too many people live without God in their thoughts at all. (Psalm 10:2-3). And you will be amazed at how well they seem to be doing. It appears life could be so figured out, and you don't need God that much. Few fools will come out and say 'there is no God', but so many people are there who have settled the matter IN THEIR HEARTS like Psalm 14:1 puts it 'The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God…' No wonder David and his son agreed that the place to begin on the path of wisdom is to acknowledge (or fear) God. (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10). And in a book where King Solomon tried to get meaning out of life, he concluded by saying 'Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandment; for this is the whole duty of man' Ecclesiastes 12:13. Then he said God would judge every work, and every secret thing (thoughts), whether it be good or evil. How can you ever hope to be good outside fearing God? How do you ever hope to live wisely outside God? Common, think again!

THERE IS A MONSTER IN EVERY MAN- part 1

What a topic! If you had wanted to tune off and not click, I understand. I have also weighed it in my mind whether it would be wise to just adopt a more reader-friendly topic. I took the risk. It is not a topic that would attract many; instead it would alarm many. But if alarm is so bad, we would not need it to wake us from slumber, or to alert us of danger. So why should I seek to alarm people?

I have stated from the outset what I set out to achieve with this blog; key among which is to motivate every reader. And this has become a common selling point for most speakers and writers of our time. So what is unique about mine? I will tell you right away; my overriding goal is to impact and not to impress. For too long a time, egos that should be tempered are being pampered. Speakers and writers are feeding fat by telling people what they want to hear, not what will help in the long run. We have been used to all kinds of motivational clichés. It was good at the time; the people of God had been terribly demotivated and deflated that they needed to hear all that sweet talk; ‘there is a deposit inside of you, you are a miracle going somewhere to happen, you are a god…’.

I love to hear those words myself, everyone does. As a writer, I know that is what sells. We must continue to motivate and be motivated, but I am worried about what is being generated. I know the Scriptures say we are special people. We must be special for God to love us so much; we must also be horrible that He sent His beloved Son to die for us. Don’t be too fast to say ‘I am born again now…’. If you are, the monster is even more real, except you deny.

What is it in you and I that our parents worked overtime to curtail? What is it that the society set extensive rules and regulations to curb? What is it that government establishes complex institutions to control? All the religious beliefs appear to appreciate that something in man must be tamed, or else… If we would be honest, we know that even the most religious and revered among us fall short of simplest of standards. We know that even the most talented among us do base things. We know that even our most respected leaders foil it. We know what even we are capable of. You see, if Satan is revealed to man, there won’t be much surprise because he will not be unfamiliar. In generic terms, Satan is called ‘devil’ and that is just a collapse of the two words ‘do-evil’. Oh when the Scriptures say "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" (1 Peter 5:8), you thought it entirely refers to an entity external to you? Every one that does evil is a small devil. And believe it, there is a resident evil in every human. If you feed it, it will grow.

Before we look into the Scriptures fully, let us look around. Let us have a quick look around and survey the present state of our general Character Development, in spite of the many motivational speeches and writings of this generation.

Leaders who lack depth. If you go so high without having gone so deep, you are a disaster (and not a miracle) waiting to happen. In fact, you are suicide bomber going somewhere to explode. One of the lessons I first learned in Social Studies was 'Qualities of a Good Leader'. Today I know too many qualities of a bad leader without going to school for it. Value-based politics is non-existent. Principles have given way to promises, yet our elections are full of jingle. At almost every level of human groupings, exemplary leadership is extinct. Opportunists are on the prowl, and some who could do it have been intimidated into oblivion. Have you noticed the death of vibrant student unionism in my country? You say how are all these caused by faulty motivational doctrines?

Charisma without character. Too much flavour, nothing to savour. Uncooked, undone. Too much cloud without rain. Colour without texture. The cosmetics supercede the authentic. There is so much talk and little or no action. They look like they can do it until you allow them. The smallest integrity test becomes their albatross. It has been said that 'charisma will take you to the top, but Character will keep you there'. Maybe we should allow Character take us there in the first place. Maybe we should revisit many of our internalised 'wise sayings'.

We are seeing desperate moves to fulfill destiny. No where else is the teaching of fulfilling destiny more ubiquitous than in the church. And it is a powerful topic for motivation. Focus is on discovering life purposes, and there is a scramble on the discovery field. They discover it and then smash it. Life is now seven steps to somewhere, then take a dive to nowhere. So everyone is in a rush, worse than a ratrace. Get rich quick, hit it big Syndrome is everywhere. Mega has given way to Maga and the everyone nods away like agama. What has these motivational speeches led us into? Why am I blaming it on the speakers? Human being will always be who they are. Yes, that is the point.

Nothing much to stand for, so much more to fall for. The monsters in men are on a spree. They are feeding fat and gaining speed. The earth is one big zoo at the moment. Why? Every enterprise seems to be targeting our human appeal, and that is actually feeding the monsters. Whatever you sell and it feeds the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life, that thing will sell like salt.

So why am I raising so much dust? Scandals did not start with Tiger Woods, and so many have come after his. I am worried because if you get to get to a pond of stagnant water and drink from it, you have yourself to blame. But if you open your supposed purified water tank and drink, should you worry? Our templates of motivation should be entrenched in truth, cause truth sets free.

In subsequent series, we shall expose the monster in every man. Until then, tame yours; while I do mine.

ONCE BITTEN, TWICE WISE

Have you ever failed before? It is not an experience you want to look forward to. And since there are only two probable outcomes of any venture you undertake in life, many would rather not try than fail again. We even arm ourselves with excuses not to try again; we use maxims like this one; 'Once bitten, twice shy'.

Something bit me recently. A wasp.  I was somewhere and the insect flew in. I began to aim severally at it and I kept missing. At last I was able to strike the now troubled wasp with the weapon I was holding and somehow on its way to theground, it touched my exposed ankle and stung me. Instantly I felt the sting. I lost balance immediately. That wasp must have used all the venom left in it as it got that singular opportunity to hit me back. My only joy at the instance of that initial pain was that the wasp lay dead on the ground. But I limped on that leg for the next twenty four hours. Such was the fury of one wasp bite. The sting (or is it stigma?) of failure last more days, you know. It stays for years even. It is so difficult to get over the sting of failure. Everyone seems to see you in the light of what you failed in. Failure stings (or sticks) badly. And every time you get the opportunity to try again, you fear you might fail again. You are shy to try again.

Well, a few days later, I saw another wasp. (Now, I have no 'wasp-attractor' on me. I think there was going to be a lesson from a wasp bite, and I did not miss it). So, another day, I saw another wasp. Just about the same setting. My mind went back to that sting. I did not want to experience that pain one more time. That maxim came to my mind; once bitten, twice shy. But a second thought came to my mind; once bitten can be twice wise. What if that was a way not to kill a wasp. I calmed down and I killed the wasp with ease. Maybe you would say I should have sprayed an insecticide. But what is important in my experience is; I did not shy away because I was bitten once. I gained wisdom instead. This is the thought-process that must have invented the insecticide. This is the thought-process that would make your journey full of victory.

The only person who never fails is God. He is the most successful being ever. You can judge a man's success or failureby his works or results.  Okay, let's check God out as humanly speaking as possible. God created the heavens and the earth in Genesis 1:1 and in verse 2 the earth was void and without form. In Genesis 2, God made man and in chapter 3, man fell. By the 6th chapter, He had to destroy everyone saving just one family, and He wiped all things away, save for an ark and the things that were in there.  By the 11th chapter of the first book, men effectively mobilized against God. In chapter 12, God decided to begin again step by step with another man, Abraham. Even then, I could go on and on with God appearing not to be getting it right with this bundle of clay He breathed into. Be human, just how successful would you rate God’s adventure with man? But did He give up? He had to devise a way to be man, and to die. He paid the ultimate price. Even then, did He give up? What are you learning from this relentless God? Why do you ever think of giving up? See what He said in Isaiah 62:1; ‘For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace. And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest…’.

If God would keep at a thing, why should I not? I often tell myself 'the journey is as important as the destination'. Why don't we just enjoy the bends and turns on our way to our dream? No generation can be too sophisticated to learn from Thomas Edison . Edison failed and failed in his quest for the patent innovation of the light bulb. He was reported to have tried and failed up to one thousand times on that single project. Yet, not only electric bulb, he has more than 1,050 patents for other inventions. How many times did he fail at each of those over 1,050 inventions? And we all have 24 hours in a day!

What have you tried? What have you failed at? What have you given up on? Trial and Error is an accepted method of invention, and every invention has error rates that can be improved upon. Why not settle down to work and embrace failure as the opportunity to try again more intelligently. You can refuse to allow another person take the glory by learning from your failure, you can learn from your own failure. Finish what you started. Do not accept too many 'Nos' in life. You can succeed at anything you have failed at.

If it bit you and did not kill you, kill it next time.

TIME & CHANCE vs. TIME & JUDGEMENT series 1: AN INTRODUCTION

The word 'Incident' means 'an event or happening'. We can then qualify the event as either expected, or unexpected. Sometimes it is strange, sometimes the occurrence is sudden. At certain times an incident is referred to as an accident. One thing is certain however, at every point in time, something is happening. All of the time.

Let me share a little experience with you. It happened more than two decades ago. I was very young; a few years older than a toddler. My aunty called out my name from the kitchen asking what time it was. I stood in front of the wall clock in our sitting room and I said loud to her 'The time is one'o clock. It is moving… it is moving. The time is two now. It is moving… now it is three…'. I continued that way until she came right beside me. She asked quietly 'which hand are you watching?' Of course you know by now which hand I was watching. I was watching the seconds-hand. That day, Auntie Titi taught me the basics of time telling. You see, years after that experience I have not forgotten. I have learned several things from that pre-school lesson by Auntie Titi. I have learned that like the seconds-hand of the clock, I should spend time by keeping my hands busy. Today, from that experience I will be sharing that; in life, something happens all the time. And this is the hand we ignore most in time telling. Only in watching athletes on the track do we sometimes appreciate the seconds of the clock. Yet there are micro-seconds; what we often call 'split-of-a-second'.

Time. That is what differentiates here from the here-after. If we cannot handle Time, just how will we handle Eternity? Many have not grasped the concept of Eternity, because they are still struggling with the understanding of Time. Moses taught us to pray 'Teach us to number our days; that we may gain a heart of wisdom'. (Psalms 90:12). Paul admonished us several years after saying 'See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise; redeeming the time because the days are evil'. (Ephesians 5:15-16). It appears that those who would be considered wise in Eternity are those who understood Time while on earth.

The man acclaimed to be the wisest man that would ever walk the earth, King Solomon wrote so much about Time. He said 'To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven' (Ecclesiastes 3:1). He seems to be saying that, here under heaven (that is, on earth) time is everything. I will be at the risk of misquoting him if I do not explain further. Tell me one thing that can ever happen here on earth outside time? Or is there anything you can do outside time? In fact, for it to happen at all, time is involved. Nothing can ever bypass time into occurrence. Absolutely nothing. The space and the stage for every incident on earth is Time. At the moment, I am writing this piece; at the moment you are reading it, the time has changed. One write-up, different times. There is time for everything (or event), every purpose (or act), and for every man.

Oh my! There is time for every man. For instance, Solomon started by saying in Ecclesiastes 3: 2 there is 'a time to be born, and a time to die'. And between the time to be born and to die, what is there? Time. Call it 'the time to live', if you like. The 'time to live' is like the seconds-hand. Tick-tock, tick-tock goes the time to live. This is the one I need to track. The Scriptures told us of a tribe in Israel who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do (1 Chronicles 12:32). Now every tribe had its own skill, but the most gifted of men will still lose if he misses his time. Look at a farmer, no matter how skilled; if he does not gather in summer, and he sleeps during harvest as Proverbs 10:5 desribes, he will say like it was said in Jeremiah 8:19 'The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved'. What will save the farmer is the right action at the right time. Nothing else works.

It is true what has been said severally that every man has equal time. Twenty four hours make one day everywhere. But truer is the saying that 'every man has enough time'. We do not all live to be a hundred, and some may even exceed that mark. But you have got enough time to do what you are here to do. And it does not matter how long or how short it is. Jesus was allotted time -infinitesimal compared with Eternity on earth. Thirty-three years on earth was enough time for Jesus to do what it takes to save humanity for eternity. How old are you? I know for sure we do not have all the control. Things happen and it is as though your time is set back. Even then, I dare say to you, you have got what it takes within your time. Man has little or no control over the time to be born and the time to die. But if we still have no say over the time to live, then what is so special about being a little lower than the angels? I will share with you what can give you the minimum control you need to maximize your time.

Do you operate your time under Chance or Judgment? We will go in-depth in the series that follow.

WE WILL HIT THE EARTH FROM WHERE WE ARE

Have you ever felt disadvantaged by location? As if you are where you are because of where you are. This is one reason for the global influx into urban centres. As at 2007, the Population Reference Bureau said ‘the world is on the verge of a shift: from predominantly rural to mainly urban… By 2030, urban dwellers will make up roughly 60 percent of the world's population’. Presently, Singapore is 100% urban. Of course, the cities offer more facilities and opportunities, so that shift is easily understood. And this is particularly so in developing countries. So, if those facilities will not come to the villages, we should go for them where they are. Am I teaching Urban and Regional Planning today (by the way, that is what I studied in school)? Not really. I will not dwell on Population Shift as much as I will on Paradigm Shift. What you need first is not a change of where you are, but where your mind is set.

One man that the major religions of the world lay claim to as a progenitor is Abraham. Oh, I am talking religion now. I am talking people and the people’s opium has not changed much since Karl Marx discovered. Abraham from the Biblical records was called by God to father the nations. God told Abraham in Genesis 12:1 ‘Get out of your country …’ and in verse 4 Abraham departed as the LORD has spoken. In verses 5 and 6, he and his family got to the land of the Canaanites. Now nothing in that story suggested Abraham left a rural area for an urban one. In fact, Abraham was called from an urban centre to ‘a land I will show you’ (as God Himself had put it in Genesis 12: 1). That looks like the land of Nowhere. Nowhere is either No Where or Now Here, it is a question of your mindset. So Abraham found himself in Canaan, and God appeared to him saying ‘To your descendants, I will give this land’. Today, we refer to Canaan as the ‘Promised Land’, is it not? Okay. If you have read your Bible from the beginning and you got to verse 25 of Genesis 9, won’t you be shocked to read ‘Cursed be Canaan’? So how did a Blessed man find himself in a cursed land? How could God so lead his man there?

Let me attempt an answer to the questions raised in the last paragraph. It is probably to show the efficacy of the Blessing. If you are so blessed, does it matter if the land is cursed? Isaac had an experience. There was famine in the land, and God told Isaac to avoid a generational mistake- Do not go to Egypt. Abraham did. So where should Isaac go? God told him to stay. Where? Gerar; the land in which there was famine! Genesis 26. So Isaac settled down. The man of blessing began to sow in the land of famine. And he began to prosper and became very prosperous. The Philistine envied him, resisted him, until they feared him. Ain’t no stopping the blessed man. The first emphasis is you before the place. You see, if you are so blessed of God, He will put you in the most difficult of places to prove the point. Elisha got to a place and was informed of the barrenness of the land and the water. The man of God put salt in a bowl of water and went right to the source of the bad water to pour the solution. And the land and water was healed. 2 Kings 2:19-22. I think the worst point of a bad river should be its source; that is where to put the salt. Jesus said ‘Ye are the salt of the earth’ Matthew 5: 13. Which places do you think would need the most salt? And you say you are blessed.

The point of this piece is to deemphasize your worry about where you are not and focus on where you are. You can hit the earth from where you are! See, all of us humans have the same contact with the earth. You touch the ground, I do too. It is not a matter of location; it is a matter of impact! A tsunami is a tsunami anywhere. Where it hits the earth, from there the impact is felt. A click on your keyboard can hit the worldwideweb. It does not matter where you are. You can hit the earth. That idea in your mind-right where you are-can rock the world. We can hit the earth right where we are!

Let me tell you about some people. John the Baptist, Myles Munroe and Gbile Akanni.

John was a rare man. Early in his life, he took to a lifestyle that must have disturbed hi relatives. He wore camel’s skin, ate locust and wild honey. And he lived in the wilderness. Yet people of all works of life flocked to the deserts to listen to him. If his message was so important why did he not come into the city? Your message had better be powerful first before importance. Oh yes, Jesus went into the cities with His own message, but long after Jesus left the earth the power of His message is still spreading it. So one day, Jesus asked a multitude of people ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see?’ Matthew 11: 7. He was referring to John- the camel-wearing, locust-eating prophet. And Jesus informed them that John was more than a prophet. He was the greatest man before the days of Jesus. (See Matthew 11:5-15). Yet that man made his impact from the wilderness. That is not a place you would want to go, is it? So you can hit the earth right where you are.

Myles Munroe. The day someone compared some of my writings to that of Myles, my joy blew the rooftop. I have some of his books and have read many of his writings. I have also listened to him severally. A man of rare insights. He is a consultant to governments and many Fortune 500 companies. He is well sought after for his motivational speeches on leadership. He has been to Nigeria a number of times at the instances of churches and even the government. He is a black man, and not so impressive in stature. But if you ever listened to him and remain the same, your case is very serious. Now where is he based? In Bahamas. The Bahamas is an age long settlement of liberated slaves of mainly African origin, and that remains the bulk of the populated till date. Why Myles never thought of relocating to the US beats me. If only to feel among and get off the ‘slavery stigma’, shouldn’t he have planted his church in New York? No he did not. Today he has contributed immensely not only globally, but to his country (he is the youngest recipient of the British Empire OBE Award for his social and spiritual contributions. Today Bahamas is the third richest country in the Americas after US and Canada, terms of GDP per capita and the richest country of African people. You can hit the earth from where you are.

Gbile Akanni is in a class of his own among men of the pulpit. He does not have a church of his own but holds an interdenominational fellowship that attracts Christians of all denomination. He is man of the word who is in very high demand locally and internationally as he preaches from churches to churches on invitation. I have sat before him in Ife and at Maiduguri (these are two ends of Nigeria). That man presents a standard of life from the Scriptures that put you on your toes, no matter who you think you are. No wonder, though they call him Bro Gbile, he is the ‘pastor of pastors’. He holds conferences where ministers of God go to prune themselves and sharpen their heavenly focus. This man is based in Gboko. Gboko is not even known to most Nigerians, so don’t bother. It is a remote town in Benue state, Nigeria. My mum did her one year compulsory national youth service in that town far back in the early 70s, and she said not much has changed when she visited years after. This is the place where this rare man of God chose to stay. Yet he has been making lasting global impact. Common, you can hit the earth from where you are.

So here am I. At the moment, I am in Lokoja. And it is the location of the confluence of two major rivers in Africa- Rivers Niger and Benue. If you love tourism, you may not enjoy your visit to Lokoja. But if you love history, you will. Lokoja was the capital of British Northern Nigeria Protectorate and was the first capital of the British government in 1914 when the Northern and Southern Protectorates of Nigeria was amalgamated. Lord Fredrick Lugard, the first Governor General ruled Nigeria from Lokoja. In fact, the name Nigeria is believed to mean ‘Niger-area’, that is ‘places around the Niger River’. The name was given by Flora Shaw, wife of Lord Lugard.The Confluence at Lokoja gives you an easy understanding of the geopolitical structure of the world’s largest black nation. Samuel Ajayi Crowther founded the first primary school in Northern Nigeria in Lokoja. History. History. And history. Is there any future here? The largest cement factory south of the Sahara and owned by the current richest black man on earth, Aliko Dangote (Now, why do I have him as the wallpaper of my phone?) is situated few kilometres away from Lokoja. Abuja the FCT is less than three hours’ drive away. Talk of potentials. I can go on and on and you feel like coming to see. And then you are not impressed. This is where I live and work. This is the place where I am hitting the earth- one blow at a time. I am being inspired daily and empowered of God to hit the earth right here. It won’t be long, the world will rock.

So where are you now? What should you begin to do? You may not need a migration; you need first of all a ‘mind’-gration. I will close with what God told Abraham when Lot left him for the city, he told Abraham ‘Lift up your eyes NOW and look FROM WHERE YOU ARE… for all the land which you see, I give to you…’. And then God told him ‘Arise and WALK IN THE LAND…for I give it to you.’ Genesis 13:14-17. When you can shift your mind to your vision- I dare you to make it a global one-, then you can start doing something about it. You can begin to hit the earth.

This is my word to you ‘ARISE AND HIT THE EARTH FROM WHERE YOU ARE!’

OUR RESERVOIR IS IN GOD

 I really cannot say why it took me so long to have a blog. I still have more books (in different forms) than any other article of property. I love to see books. I'm eager to read them. And I feel fulfilled when I write. Whatever excuses I must have had, I will always remember Bridget for that push. She had maintained a blog and consistently inspiring thoughts posted on it.  Thanks Bridget, you helped my dream.

Now this blog is just one among the many steps I am taking at this season, but it is a major momentum for me. When I told a friend about my blog, he was surprised I had not thought of it before now. He has been an ardent follower of my posts on Facebook. And he wished I had put all of those pieces in a blog of my own. Well, I had a blog in mind all the while, but Bridget dealt a blow on my sin of excuses and

procrastination. Now when my friend felt sorry for me that I had laboured to write so much on Facebook and not on a site of my own, I gave him a response that inspired this piece. 'Our reservoir is in God'. And by that I was saying 'I have not even scratched the surface of God's deposit in me as far as writing is concerned”. Now that is a statement of faith and it is also a way to challenge myself to reach into Him for as much as I can bring out for posterity.

If it is true that no man can exhaust more that 10 percent of his mental capacity in a lifetime, how much more is a mind filled with the Holy Spirit capable of? Scriptures say 'Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9). Verse 10 of that Scriptures say "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." (1 Corinthians 2:10). In a different account, Paul exclaimed; "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?" (Romans 11:33-34). And the answer is here; "... we have the mind of Christ." (1 Corinthians 2:16b).

So if I have the mind of God, should I sweat over inspiration? Well, not if that is a gift. He has endowed me with. I and writing have come a long way, and may I not be found guilty of blowing my trumpet.  Let me give you some hints. My greatest laurel till date- which will remain in a class of her own throughout my life- my wife of inestimable virtue, Bukola can tell you one thing; she married a writer. Throughout our ten years of pre-marriage friendship (seven of which were courtship years), I had a special letterhead paper (jewEL) on which I used to write her volumes from my mind. Almost like a shepherd boy in the wilderness, trying to find his throne, I wrote to my girl the psalms of my dreams and aspirations. On our wedding day- those present can testify, I distributed free copies of a book we jointly wrote; ’12 Tips of Greatness’. My unborn children already have a private book I am writing for each of them. Because they each come from revelation, I found the need to articulate apostolic events of their spiritual conception and natural birth. I just love to write, you know. I find every reason to write. My wife learned quickly that pieces of paper –especially with my writings on them- don’t get to the dustbin without my permission.  I remember the day I felt God ask me the same question He asked Moses ‘Deolu, what is in your hand?’. Guess what I had in my hand then. Just guess… You are right. A pen. That day, I knew the source of the ink of my flow. It cannot run dry.

Common, let’s look at it from this angle; what would you need water for that would unsettle the ocean?  Our supply is more than the ocean. See John 7:37-38. 'If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth in Me, as the scriptures hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.' Welcome to this fountain. Three things I can guarantee you each time you read  my posts; You will be INSPIRED. You will be MOTIVATED. You will be EMPOWERED to ACT out your true purpose in God. That is my mandate to my generation.

THE SCEPTRE SERIES I: THE PERSONAL SCEPTRE.

               " Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A sceptre of righteousness is
                                                       the sceptre of Your kingdom" - Psalms 45: 6

THE SCEPTRE SERIES  I: THE PERSONAL SCEPTRE.

A sceptre is a symbol of authority in the hand of a king. It varies in lenght, but it is basically a king's rod- as a shepherd over the people- and when it is wielded; people, forces, and results yield. But today, we shall consider the individual. After all, the king is first an individual before a king.

The first mention of the word 'sceptre' in the Scripture was a father talking to one of his children. See Genesis 49:10.  Oh yes, Judah was to become a tribe in Israel, but at that point in time, he was an individual. We must appreciate first and foremost that just as every king is a bloody human in God's eye, likewise every bloody human is a king in the eye of his creator. Every man and woman has a fundamental responsibilty first to himself under God, then to others. For the sake of order, few men must be accountable for resourses and trust on behalf of others. So let us begin with the individual today. Do you have a sceptre, first as a person?

You may have heard before now, that in ancient palestine and in many parts of the middle east and northern Africa today, an average man has a staff. You may say it is because they were mostly shepherds, but there's more. The staff, a crude form of the sceptre is equally a rod held in the hand. A rod or staff represents your placement in the society. A rod represents your public standing at a point in time. Even in the corporate world of governace, we still refer to someone given a new responsibility as having received the staff of office.  That is how every individual has a sceptre because you are first of all responsible for yourself. A man must first love himself (be responsible to himself) before he can love his neighbour.

Okay, even angels each have their own staffs. See Judges 6:21. And maybe you forgot; God has a staff. See Psalm 23:4. Let me remind you that Moses dropped his own rod and picked up God's rod. You also have a staff,man! Everyone of us has his or her personal sceptre.

Let us take quick glances at representations of our personal sceptres in life.

Your personal sceptre is your covenant placement in God. That is the substantial evidence in the spirit that you are relevant in God's purpose on earth. The devil recognizes it; David had his sling, a porch filled with five stones and his staff, yet Goliath addressed only his staff.  That is the one that bothers him most; our staff. See 1 Sam 17:43. How dare you despise yours! Oh David knew what he carried, he knew his 'stance' in God, so no Goliath- no matter how phenomenal could intimidate him. Why did David hold on to his staff when he was going to use his sling and stones? No real man drops his staff unless he sleeps. It is more useful outside than inside the house. May you not be found without your staff  among men. Take your place. Take your staff.

 Your personal sceptre is your command. In Genesis 49:10, the Scriptures interchanged the word 'sceptre' with 'lawgiver'. Do you wonder why our National Assembly of law makers operate with a mace? A mace is shaped like a sceptre and it is entrenched in our parliamentary tradition. Any gathering of those people without the mace is nothing but a social gathering, their resolutions will not bind on the nation- not at all. There is power in the sentence of a king. See Proverbs 16:10. The Message version says 'Rulers speak with authority'. You now know why. You got to find your voice. You got to find  your staff.

Your personal sceptre is a proof of your assignment. Like I said earlier, your personal sceptre represents your staff of office. And we all don't work in the same offices; neither do we all have the same job description. Your staff of office encompasses all that you are here for. If you misplace it, you are misplaced. How did I know that? In Numbers 17, when God wanted to show to the nation of Israel that He called Aaron and the house of Levi into priesthood, He required that they get the rod (staff) of each head of the house- writing the name of each person on his rod. The rod was placed in the Tabernacle, before the LORD. It was only Aaron's rod that budded as a proof of his priestly assignment. Is your rod wasting where it would not bud? Why not relocate. Find your assignment. Let your rod bud.

Your personal sceptre represents your strategic provisor. Maybe I just love that word 'provisor'. God is our provider- Jehovah Jireh. But provisor entails the mechanism of provision. A regular in-built formular of provision. Just like all domestic water comes from the river (maybe), but there is a whole engineering of pipes that makes home supply possible. The Catholic knows the value of one provisor. He makes provision for everything. You see, your staff has the capacity, not just to bring food on your table, but also to meet your deepest emotional and spritual needs. In Leviticus 26:26, it is called the 'staff of your bread'.  And when that staff is broken, you can eat all you can, you will not be satisfied. (See same Leviticus 26:26).

Your personal sceptre is your testimonial in the spirit. As we journey through life, our personal staffs have engraved on them the laurels of our victories in the battles of life. The skills you acquire in your everyday interaction with life, do not despise them. They are the very credentials that will matter in the examinations of life- when you face your Goliath. You get an idea why David brandished his staff in front of Goliath. 1 Sam 17:40. Oh, you got to flaunt that thing, brother. Those little acts of faith, those experiences in the presence of God, those answered prayers- they may not appear major or spiritually sophisticated- but those are the laurels hung round your staff. They contain your own peculiar experiences overtime. They come handy in times of greater challenges.

Your personal staff is a divine instrument of defence. With your staff, it does not matter what weapon the enemy has mastered. See in 2 Sam 23:21 how Benaiah, one of David's men killed an Egyptian foe who had a spear. Interestingly, he also killed the enemy with the enemy's own weapon just as David did to Goliath. Truly, you are as tall as your staff is in the spirit, so ignore the enemy's show of height.

You will need to find your staff, if you lost it. Or pick it up, if you've left it. I sense it so strongly; there is a move of God now that calls for men with their sceptres. If we stand up- first for ourselves- then we can stand for our marriages, our families, our communities, our nation.

What exactly is my personal sceptre? Is it something I can relate to in the real world? I believe so. I may tell you mine, but it won't help you much. It is a PESRONAL stuff (staff I mean). Till next time, why not go to God during this timeout and ask Him to show you your personal sceptre. Then we can move on in this very revealing series.

God bless you richly.