PERSEVERANCE- A VIRTUE FOR ALL CHRISTIANS

PERSEVERANCE- A VIRTUE FOR ALL CHRISTIANS To persevere is to continue in a course of action without regard for discouragement, opposition or previous failures. It is to have your eyes glued to your final destination or the final outcome. Most at times, people do not understand why some other people are so obsessed with certain things they do though they have tried and have been unsuccessful several times. I was once a person who easily gave up on any project I started, either because it seemed not to work as quickly as I had hoped for, or my friends have told me I am wasting my time and resources on something that was only a reality in my head, so I give up. This was once me. But I know that many others are still trapped in this. What is most common is the fact that sometimes in our walk with the Lord, we begin to feel that the promises of the Lord, or the changes you had hoped to see in your life are not taking place. At this point you begin to have opposing voices whisper to you that that is not the place you should be. It is good to listen to advice. But it is not all advice that is good for you. It is good to share your vision with your friends and family, but it is not everyone who should hear of your vision. You may either be encouraged or discouraged. In every good thing, God expects us to persevere. He expects us not to look at the circumstances around us but to keep our eyes glued to Christ Jesus who gives us strength to do all things. (Philippians 4:13). The world would always oppose you and discourage you. But in Christ, you are more than a conqueror. I know many have prayed for a miracle from the Lord but have not seen their miracle. All I will say is that doing not give up. In fact never give up, persevere. Allow me to take you back to two prominent stories in the bible which really informed me to write this piece. The first story is from Mathew 15:21-28 and the second is Mathew 20:29-33. Mathew 15:21-33 tells us about the gentile woman who approached Jesus for a miracle. She spoke for a while but Jesus ignored her. And finally the disciples, who probable had become feedup, approached Jesus and asked him to send the woman away. Finally Jesus speaks to her but it was not to help her but to tell her that he came only for the lost sheep of Israel and that it was bad to take food meant for the children and give it to the dogs. But it is the woman’s reply that really proved that she was determined. And the Lord said to her that she had great faith and her request was done for her. The second story is quiet similar but with a different twist. It talks about two blind men who heard that Jesus was passing by where they usually sat daily. They probably heard the noise of the multitudes that followed the Lord. Now this two men” thought” this was their opportunity to also receive a miracle, so shouted at the top of their voice, calling on Jesus . Now what is prominent here is that as they shouted, the crowd told them to shut up, but they never gave up, they persevered and finally Jesus gave them his attention and they had their miracle. I pray that you take time to read these two scripture verse to catch the revelation in them. God is with us, and we need not be afraid of the world. Whatever you have purposed to do to contribute to the success of your career, business and aspirations, God is with you, persevere.

SOWING SEEDS EVERYDAY

SOWING SEEDS EVERYDAY Genesis 8:20-22 The story of Noah’s sacrifice to God after the flood is one we are all too familiar with. But the most significant thing in this story is God’s blessings proclaimed on the earth. “As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvesting, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.” This proclamation by God whether we are aware or not still stands and forms the basis of our everyday activities. Whether you are poor or rich, sick or healthy, happy or sad, we must all release that a seed was planted and the outcome or harvest is what we have or see happening in our daily lives. The question then is what is a seed and how do I sow a seed? Most often people of God only look at a seed to be tangible substances or money, I also thought so once. Hence many have always felt bad that they do not have money to sow seeds when an altar call is made in the church. But I recently discovered that a seed goes beyond money or any tangible or physical substance. God as a loving father has invested or planted in us all a giant tree which produces fruits and seeds of all variety. This tree or investment God has made in us however needs to grow and continue growing in order for us to enjoy our lives, grow rich, happy and healthy. If we do not sow these seeds produced in us, it remains exactly what it is, a seed. It would not bear fruits. And is the fruit that we need most. God in his wisdom has made all things available for us to lead fruitful lives, he knows the seeds he has kept in each of us and expects us to plant these seeds to enjoy the fruits of life. Let me ask this question, have you ever met someone you smiled at or someone smiled at you and you frowned? Well I haven’t and I know you haven’t as well. The first reaction to a smile is to reciprocate; is to smile back. When you sow a seed of smiles, you are also rewarded with a fruit of smiles. Galatians 6:6-10 says that God cannot be mocked, we reap what we sow And this is very practical in our daily lives. If you sow love, you would reap the fruit of love. If you sow peace and harmony, you reap the fruit of peace and harmony. The other side of it is also very true, when evil and malice is sown, evil and malice is reaped. We are full of wonder seeds. Some of us are gifted with the best smiles, others are gifted to bring joy to people, and whiles others are gifted to help, motivate and inspire people to be achievers. The list is very tall but the point is whatever your gift is, some are common to all of us, some are not, simply sow it in someone’s life and see this principle of seedtime and harvest work in your life. We should be conscious of the fact that money is not what our life is about. Money is a compliment, but there are deeper stuff which your money can never buy for you. You only get those things when you sow the exact thing back into someone’s life. As we move into the weekends, I think it would be prudent that we all sow a seed of smiles, hugs, laughter, time, etc in the lives of people we meet. And the blessings of the lord would surely fill our cups and over flow. A lot can be said about this topic and I pray I get the opportunity to dwell deeper into it. SHALOM.