Emeka Anslem's Blog... Bringing knowledge to the people

TIMELY NOTES! He created the Heaven and the earth. He has a bestseller, every believer has a copy, and even unbelievers keep a copy for reference. The world He created got intruded, and taken over by enemies. This intruder made the world forget its Creator. He should have been really upset with the ungrateful world, but instead, He loved the world so much that He had to sacrifice His only begotten Son to the intruders in exchange for the salvation of the world. He is God, the One who gave us Jesus. Hope came into the world when Jesus was born. John 3:16 tells us that "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life". Before He came, people suffered and perished without a way out; but when He came, He became the way out. People say He is the reason for the season; but I would say He is the reason why we have lived till this season. John 1:4 particular says "in Him is life, and His

TIMELY NOTES! He was a very liberal person; he had great compassion for the sick and the poor. He would give all he has to see the fallen rise again. He used his talents and skills for free, even for those who could afford to pay for his service. His sincerity was often rewarded with evil; his master even sent him to a maximum prison because he refused to sleep with his wife. He loved God, and would never do evil against Him. Because of his generosity, he was made the prison head. While in the prison, he was opportuned to interpret dreams for two palace servants who were sent to prison. Though these servants had earlier punished him, but he never used that against them. He helped them, but they forgot him. Then suddenly, a word came from the king to send for him. And that was the day his breakthrough was established. You know him, his name was Joseph. We may have worked so hard, just as Joseph did, but only a word from the King can set us free and establish our breakthrough. The bi

TIMELY NOTES! The strength of every believer is his faith. When you begin to fall for temptation, when darkness suddenly begins to rule your thoughts, when you begin to doubt your spirituality, then your faith is failing. Faith is like a rechargeable lamp that constantly needs to be recharged. The luminance you get from your lamp yesterday will be brighter compared to the one you would get today if you do not recharge it. Every rechargeable lamp has a battery in it, just as faith has the word in it. As the lamp shines brighter when the battery is recharged, so also faith works better when it is recharged by the word of God. So when things are not as bright as they used to, just take time out to recharge your faith. Do not worry about how dark your situation has become, because when faith is recharged, light will be restored. Have you not heard, that weeping may endure till the night, but joy comes in the brightness of the morning? That's how far we'd go on today's Tim

TIMELY NOTES! He polished shoes to earn a living. Though he had a Masters Degree, but it seemed his "poverty degree" was more potent than his Masters Degree. Situations became tougher; shoe polishing could no longer polish his pot, so he moved to truck pushing. He hauled goods for market women from one place to another. That way, he was able to push on his family's basic needs. After a while, he had a breakthrough; he got a job as a security man in a bank. And the pay was enough to add meat to their pot of soup. It did not end there! He knew that according to Proverbs 4:18, things can only get better for a believer. So he kept believing God for a change. Not long after, the bank opened a vacancy for the post of a chief accountant, which was what he studied. He was on duty that day, so he quickly changed from his security outfit into a more suitable cloth. He got the job! Faith is not an excuse for laziness. He had faith, but also committed himself to hard work. That

TIMELY NOTES! You must have heard that life is in phases and men are in sizes. But I would like to add that "the size of a man is determined by the conscious choices he makes". If you will never choose, then you will never change. Change responds to choices. I remember when my Sunday service offerings used to be a hundred naira; things used to be really hard for me. Even if I would receive financial favour from someone, it was never more than a thousand naira. I often said that "how can someone give a grown up person like me a thousand naira?". If only I knew that what they gave me had nothing to do with them, but everything to do with me. Your physical size does not determine your spiritual or social rank. So I decided to increase my offering to two hundred naira. It was not easy at a start, because sometimes, that was the only money I had with me. But amazingly, before that year ended, two hundred naira became too small for my Sunday service offerings. I have

TIMELY NOTES! Many believers have stopped giving to the poor, all in the name of recession. They think they do not have enough. They also forget that the only way believers can actually have enough is to give, even when it is not enough. The Bible tells us that "he that gives to the poor shall not lack". Which means the reason why you no longer have enough is not because there is economic recession, but because you have stopped giving to the poor. Let God be true and all men liars. The world may say "it is because of economic recession", but God is saying "it is because of our ignorance". Hosea 4:6 tells us that "God's people are destroyed because of their lack of knowledge". Your financial intelligence will not sustain you in this coming times, it is only Kingdom principles that will. That's how far we'd go on today's Timely Note. But take these last words; SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM, AND ALL THE THINGS THAT RECESSION HAS DENIE

TIMELY NOTES! What is your monthly income worth? I used to be very proud of the amount I earned as a salary, not until recession equated my salary to just a few things in the market. Money is grossly losing value; some things have become more expensive than any amount of money. Businessmen are murmuring, not because they do not get contracts, but because they do not make lasting profits from those contracts. Salary earners exhaust their salaries even before the month begins. Many of them are practically living in great financial debts. But these things should not affect believers. Amazingly, the inflation in the market also increased my taste for things. Instead of cutting down on the quantity of things I buy, I increased them. Do not be salary-conscious, rather, be blessing-conscious. Your salary or regular incomes will not sustain you in these hard times, it is the blessings of the Lord that will. And blessings come to you as you subscribe to Kingdom demands. Give to the poor, be

TIMELY NOTES! "Spiritual vacation is a risk". That is what Bishop David Oyedepo would often say when the year is rounding off. Every other profession may go on a break from their practices, but Christians should never go on break from spiritual matters. There are many Christians who have stopped praying since December began; they have entered an "holiday mood". Holidays does not cancel spirituality; Matt 13:25 tells us that while men slept, the enemy came and sowed tares, and went his way. Many of the challenges that Christians face emerged from the time they went on a spiritual vacation. This is the time when you should pray and fast more. This is the time when you should study more of God's word. This is the time when you should give more. It may be an holiday season, but the devil is still plotting evil, he is still going about looking for who to devour. I have seen Christians who travel to their villages and return in a very sick state. Our villages are

TIMELY NOTES! He had a mental problem. He could not recognize anybody or anything. He said and did very weird things that nobody could understand. He was tied to the hospital bed for days, because his friends were afraid of how violent he had become. He wanted to be free, because he struggled with everyone who tried to hold him back. I guess he preferred to walk round the street than to be tied to a hospital bed. He is my very good friend, and I was just surprised that something like that could happen to him. One of the days I visited him in the hospital, I gave him a copy of "Timely Notes 30-Day Devotional". Surprisingly, that was the only thing he could identify, read, and even understand. Some days after, he had fully recovered. He could identify everything and everyone. He recently told me that the book I gave him was what delivered him from that ailment. Though it was a testimony, but it was also a prayer answered for me; because I remember praying to God to make tha

TIMELY NOTES! Continue in the faith! That is what Paul admonished Believers to do in Acts 14:22. The blessings flowing in and through your life are not permitted to discontinue except your faith discontinues. You should not lose your job or your business all because there is economic recession. The Bible tells us that as long as the earth remains, seed time and harvest shall not cease. That also means, that even in the midst of a heavy recession, as long as you are sowing seeds, you would definitely see the harvest. No wonder, Isaac sowed in Canaan when there was a great famine, yet the Bible says "he reaped an hundredfold the same year". Recession is not our problem, it is sowing seeds of faith that is our problem. Gal 4:28 says "And we, brethren, after the pattern of Isaac, are children of promise". We need to do things after the pattern of Isaac; he sowed in the land when there was famine, and he reaped an hundredfold the same year. We live in an Isaac order

TIMELY NOTES! "But do not forget this thing; with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day". That is what 2 Pet 3:8 tells us. The psalmist also mentioned that "a thousand years in God's sight is like a day that has not ended". If this is true about God, then why do people give up on God? Why do we often think that it is too late for God to perform everything He has planned to do for us? If a day is like a thousand years to God, imagine what eleven months will be. If God can put all the achievements that should happen over a thousand years into one day, then He can also make everything you have been waiting for since the year began to happen for you in one day. If you do not believe me, tell me how a prisoner would suddenly become a prime minister in less than 24 hours. That is what happened to Joseph; He continued in faith until the time that his word came. When your word comes, all your struggles will suddenly be turned to

TIMELY NOTES! Faith does not give up! In Heb 10:35, the Bible tells us not to cast away our confidence, because it will be compensated with a reward. That could simply mean that the only proof that you had faith on any subject matter is the manifestation of your expectation. So if you have not seen your expectation, then hold on to your faith. Your expectations may be delayed, but faith is what guarantees its arrival. Faith is like the fuel in an automobile, the moment your faith stops or finishes, your expectations or blessings also stops coming. Many blessings have been abandoned in the skies because their owners have refused to supply faith to move them. Daniel understood this principle, he continued in prayer with fasting until an angel arrived with the blessing. Surprisingly, the angel explained to him that God answered his prayer the same day he prayed, but that some agents of darkness delayed him for 21 days. The angel also mentioned that God had to send another angel to res

TIMELY NOTES! Prosperity is not in the country or place you travel to, it is in the God that is with you. If God is not with you, even if you move to the most prosperous nations, your prosperity is not guaranteed. There was famine in Canaan during the time of Isaac, and he planned to move to Egypt. But God warned him not to go down to Egypt, and that He should remain in Canaan, because He is going to bless him there. The Bible tells us that Isaac sowed or worked in Canaan, which had famine, and reaped an hundred fold the same year. There was famine in the land or something we refer to as "recession" in this modern day, but Isaac still prospered. On the second thought, God may actually approve your movement. There was another famine during the time of Jacob, and he also planned to move to Egypt. After he had prayed to God, God told him not to be afraid to move to Egypt, because He was going to bless him there. And truly, God blessed him, and his entire household. Deut 29:9

TIMELY NOTES! When you find yourself in a position where nobody wants to help you or have anything to do with you, do not worry, God has a plan. The same thing happened to the people of Israel when they traveled to Egypt in search of food. They claimed they were shepherds; and for that reason, Pharaoh agreed to put them in Goshen, because being a shepherd was an abomination in Egypt. The name "Goshen" means "near me"; which means they were not put amongst the Egyptians, but near them. In other words, they were separated. When the exodus began, their separation started to make sense. Though it began with great torture and torments, but the later end was beautiful. The Egyptians made the Israelites to work harder than they had ever worked, which means they produced far more than they ever produced. The Egyptians thought they were suffering them, but they never knew they were producing their take home package, because everything they worked for became their possess

TIMELY NOTES! In Job 23:14, the Bible tells us that "God performs the things that are appointed for us, and many of such things are with Him". This means, if you have lost something that God appointed to you, He still has many of such things with Him. And the reason why He has them is so that He can release them when you need them. People have often said things like "but God said she is my wife", "but God said I will get a job in this company", "but God said I should do this business", "but God said I should go to that school", "but God said I should study this course". They know what God said, but they just wonder why it is not working as God said. If the job that God promised you has been given to someone else, do not worry, He has many of such jobs with Him. If the spouse He showed you gets married to someone else, do not worry, He has many of such people with Him. King David understood this principle; in Ps 52:7, he sa

Everything is turning around for your good this time! This week, God will hasten your turnaround! Whoever has resisted your change must go for you this week! That miracle job is landing this week! That business breakthrough is arriving this week! This week, God will give you a marital laughter! The God of my father, Bishop David Oyedepo, will daze you with surprises this week! So shall it be, in Jesus precious name! Therefore, do not miss this service for anything; God, through His servant, is set to enforce your turnaround! FGTG!

TIMELY NOTES! "God will make a way". That is what most people say when they are faced with oppositions. But the truth is, God has already made a way, He only needs you to take a step. 1 Cor 10:13 tells us that "the temptations in our lives are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful, He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure". This also means that, when you can no longer stand a challenge, then you have not found the way out. People stay on a challenge for too long because they refuse to admit this truth. My father has often said that "any faith that makes God absolutely responsible for the affairs of your life is fake". Asides the fact that Jesus is the Truth and the Life, He is also the way in and out of everything that pertains to life and godliness. That is probably why Prov 24:14 tells us that "when we have found it, there shall

TIMELY NOTES! Evangelism is not a medium to condemn people; rather, it is a medium through which the greatness of God is testified of and demonstrated. The disciples of Jesus understood this principle; in Acts 2:47 "they were praising God, and having favour with all the people, and the Lord was adding to the church daily - people that should be saved". Praising God is not just about singing and dancing, it is also about testifying of God's greatness in the lives of people. So they were testifying of God's greatness, the people liked what they were hearing, and they were added to the church. That is Evangelism! God may forgive us for every sin, but I am not sure if He will forgive us for the sin of condemnation. Rom 2:1 tells us that there is no excuse for a person who judges another person for the same sin he commits or likely to commit. Stop telling people that they will go to hell if they do not repent. You may be right, but you would also be surprised that many

TIMELY NOTES! Things do not get worse for a believer! That is what Proverbs 4:18 is trying to say. It says "but the path of the just is as the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day". This also means that if you encounter a problem today, expect it to get better tomorrow. Problems do not have capacity to stay long on a believer; most times, it is our expectations that keep them for long. The challenge may be known to get worse by the day, but for you, it should only get better. Problems may endure for a whole night, but joy must come in the morning. The moon may not be able to overpower the darkness of the night, but the darkness would disappear when the morning sun arises. 2 Cor 4:17 tells us that "our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory". This means that no matter how heavy a problem is programmed to be, it can only be light on you. No wonder Deut 2:3 says "you h

TIMELY NOTES! Joseph was perfect in all the assignments that he handled, his masters did not need to supervise his work. Gen 39:23 tells us that "the chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph's charge because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper". That is how a Christian should work. Our Christian faith and integrity should show in every assignment that is handed over to us. What is the proof that God is with you if man would always need to supervise your work? Personally, I do not appreciate people who try to supervise me on things I know how to do. However, it is not enough to know how to do something, you should also do them. That is where your Christian integrity comes in. His masters knew that Joseph would always perform his duty, and that he would always do it well, and that is why they never bothered to supervise his assignments. People would always want to look into what you are doing when they do not see the expected

TIMELY NOTES! A person is said to be stagnant when he is not progressing. People who do not know what to do to make progress often believe that regression is the best thing. So they go back to their old ways, former jobs, previous businesses, past relationships, old houses. I have seen people who moved back to their parent's house because they could no longer afford their rent. Moses and the children of Israel were in a similar situation. They moved out of Egypt hoping to relocate to the promised land. But unfortunately for them, the red sea had blocked their path. Truly, it was humanly impossible to cross the red sea on foot. And that was why they began to accuse Moses for bringing them out of Egypt. At that point, regression was more preferable to them than progression. However, they preferred to go back only because they lacked knowledge on what to do to make progress. We know the rest of the story, God told them to go forward. Yes, go forward; that is what to do whenever yo

TIMELY NOTES! We may make our plans, but God has the final say. That is what the Bible says in Proverbs 16:1. People may plan evil against you, but your prayers to God can change their evil plans. Your boss may refuse to promote you, your teacher may refuse to release your grades, your clients may refuse to give you jobs, your helpers may even refuse to help you, but God has the final say. Oppositions would always arise, they may even come in very weird and impossible forms, but it does not change the fact that God has the final say. What you believe in times of chaos and challenges is what keeps your place. Chaos may shake you, but faith is what you need to stand. Physical things are temporal, while spiritual things are eternal. Chaos and challenges are temporal, they can never overpower or outshine the eternal force of faith. 1 John 5:4 defines faith as the victory that overcomes the world. Which means no matter what is happening, you will emerge victorious through faith. The gov

TIMELY NOTES! Praise takes you deeper! Many believers are enjoying the surface of God's blessing, just as many people who do not know how to swim would only enjoy the surface of the waters. Praise is like swimming, the more praiseful you are, the deeper you go into God's presence. The deeper you swim, the farther you go from the surface of the earth. The reason why challenges are so close to you is probably because you are too far from God. The Bible says "draw near to me and I will draw near to you". The nearer you are to God, the farther you go from challenges. Praise takes you closer to God. If you want to enjoy rich sea foods, then get to the bottom of the waters. Likewise, if you want to enjoy the best of God, then let praising God become a lifestyle for you. Prayer may send a few fishes to the surface of the waters, but praise takes you to the base of all the fishes. No wonder the Bible says there is fullness of joy in His presence, and in His right hand are

TIMELY NOTES! Confront your oppositions with praise to God. That was what David did against Goliath. I used to work with a man who would tell me not to talk about God whenever we discussed official issues. Ofcourse, his company has crashed today, and the last time I heard of him, he was having a mental problem. In 1 Sam 17:45, David said to Goliath, "you have come to me with a sword, spear, and a shield; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied". Anytime you acknowledge the greatness of God in the presence of an opposition, God takes praise for it. And when God takes praise, oppositions take a bow. Praise is not just about singing and dancing to God, it is also a display of confidence in God, even in the presence of your challenges. Praise is God's profile; Goliath introduced himself to David, and David did not hesitate to introduce his God to him. Just like David, when challenges introduce themselves to

TIMELY NOTES! Praise God! That is what you should do when it seems like there is nothing more to do about a situation. Everything may be failing or may have failed, but when you engage praise, even what has failed will work again. Habakkuk understood this principle; he explained that though all his source of living may fail and refuse to yield profit, yet he will praise the God of his salvation. Because God will increase his speed, and make him to work upon high places. That simply means that when you praise God, you become faster and placed higher than your oppositions. That also means that praise puts challenges below or behind you. The disciples of Jesus did not know what to do to feed those five thousand people, and so they advised Jesus to let the people go. But Jesus knew what to do; He praised God, and the five loaves and two fishes that was available multiplied and fed them all. The condition of things may compel you to release your clients, but praise has capacity to retai

TIMELY NOTES! In the pursuit of your dream, do not look for people who have strength, look for people who have a desire for your dream. Desire has explosive strength. A man with desire can explode with strength in the face of challenges. The strength in desire is atomic, it actually has no measure. That is why measuring the value of a man by his strength may limit your dream. Every man's purpose is too big to finish, Jesus has been the only person that ever finished His purpose on earth. Dependence on the resources that people have to pursue your dream would only depress the dream. Jesus was testing the desire of Peter when he said "Simon, do you love Me?". You may have people who have great financial strengths, but if they do not have desire for your dream, the money they have will be too small, and eventually become a weakness for you. After Jesus ascended, making money for the gospel was not a problem for the apostles, people were selling their properties for the g

TIMELY NOTES! "If you faint in the day of trouble, your strength is small". That is what Proverbs 24:10 says. But how does a Christian gather strength? Ps 84:7 tells us that "they go from strength to strength, every one of them in ziom, appearing before the Lord". In other words, the reason why they increased in strength was because they made it an habit to appear before the Lord. Unlike many believers today, they only attend Sunday services. Why will they not fall sick? My pastor once remarked that "if you do not attend mid-week services then you will be weak". I once struggled to pray at night. I did all I could to stop it, but the situation only became worse. I decided to engage in a fast, so I could find a way out. In the cause of the fast, God told me to be consistent in my church's early morning prayer hour. I rarely attended the prayer hour, because I would always want to beat the traffic on my way to work. But surprisingly, as I began to at

TIMELY NOTES! I use to think that serving God meant to go to church on Sundays, and maybe any other service day, to hear the word of the Lord from the pastor. Honestly, it was not my fault, my parents always said "let us go for service", except that they never mentioned who was benefiting from the service. Going to a restaurant to eat is also going for service; the difference is that the church offers a teaching service, while the restaurant offers a feeding service. The restaurant takes care of your physical being, while the church takes care of your spiritual being. This is probably why paying your offerings is as important as paying for your food in a restaurant. That does not mean you should not go to church if you do not have an offering. Serving God is far beyond that. Imagine washing the dishes after everybody in the restaurant have been fed, imagine cleaning the floor and the tables, imagine talking to people everywhere you go about the good meal the restaurant of

A miracle is landing in your hands this week! The God of the liberation mandate will give you a clear miracle! This week, whatever needs a miracle in your life will begin to experience diverse miracles! They will call you from home and abroad just to deliver your miracle to you! Those who cannot reach will need to book the next flight to meet you! Your miracle will not elude you this week! So shall it be! In Jesus precious name! Please do not miss this special Miracle Service for anything. God, through is servant, is set to release special miracles upon every participant! FGTG!

TIMELY NOTES! Fast! That is what you should do when you start feeling spiritually weak or vulnerable. Fasting is like a self-diagnostic tool for a believer, it has capacity to discover your challenges and also undo them. Isaiah 58:6 tells us that fasting is prescribed to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that every yoke should be broken. Sometimes we just want to do what we like. The only problem with that is; doing what we like may not be what is right. Many believers would be surprised how much they have gone astray when they eventually deprive themselves of the things they like. Isaiah says that fasting is a time when a man afflicts his soul; which means it empowers you to subject what you like to what is right. King David understood this principle, he fasted to humble himself before the Lord. In 1 Cor 10:23, Paul said "all things are lawful to me, but not all things edify me". Certain things may be generall

THIS MONTH! And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? - Matt 20:6 Let me begin by saying; it may have looked like God has not done anything tangible for you since the year began, but you can be sure that this is the month when tangible things will happen to you. In the earlier verses of Matthew chapter 20, the master went out after every 3 hours to check for labourers he could hire to work in his vineyard. He went out after 3 hours, after 6 hours, and after 9 hours. And each of these times, he found labourers waiting. But for some reason, he could not wait till the twelfth hour, probably because it would be the time to pay all the labourers. So he went out at the eleventh hour, found other labourers, who were obviously only going to work for an hour, and employed them. There was a big chaos on pay day, because the master made equal payment to all the labourers. Actually, there was an agree

TIMELY NOTES! A certain woman had an accident that landed her in a very narrow drainage. The motorbike that conveyed her was resting on her, while the vehicle that hit them was resting on the motorbike. Yes, every body thought she had died, because there was no way anyone would survive that kind of accident. But here was the woman, she could not feel any other part of her body except her mouth. She kept on saying "I shall not die but live to declare the goodness of God". And mysteriously, when they lifted the car and the motorbike, they found her alive and well, there was not even a scratch on her body. When I woke up to pray this morning, I suddenly developed a stomach ache that made it very uncomfortable for me to pray. But I heard the Spirit of the Lord say "I have given you a mouth that none of your adversaries shall be able to resist nor gainsay". That woman should have died, but obviously, God has made our mouth more powerful than any situation or circumst

TIMELY NOTES! Forgiveness is like an access key to God. Any time you carry unforgiveness in your heart, you unknowingly drop your access key to God's blessing. In Matt 5:23-24, the Bible explains to us that if we bring an offering to the altar, and suddenly remember that our brother has hurt against us, we should drop the offering and quickly go and make peace with our brother. That is more like saying "when you get to your door post, and remember that you left the key somewhere, drop everything you are carrying and rush quickly to get your key. Oftentimes, our key to God's blessing is with those people we refuse to forgive. Mark 11:25 tells us that "when we stand praying, we should forgive, otherwise God will not forgive us". How will God answer the prayers of a person He will not forgive? Many believers know these things, but they just choose to be obstinate about it. They think once they ask God for forgiveness, God will ignore the hurt that someone else h

TIMELY NOTES! Forgiveness is a blessing. It blots out the offence and sees the offender as a new person. That is probably why the Bible says "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away, and all things become new". Why do you think many sinners who had struggled so hard to get a job suddenly gains employment the moment they gave their lives to Christ? Before they were forgiven, their sins disqualified them from getting a job. Proverbs 15:29 tells us that God is far from the wicked, probably because He does not want to see their iniquities. Really, how will God help a person He can not see? But when they confessed their sins and received Jesus, God began to see them as another person, a person who is qualified to have a job. I have heard people say "I forgive him, but I am not sure I can trust him now"; well, that is not God's principle of forgiveness. When you forgive, then be ready to reinstate. However, it is okay to make logi

TIMELY NOTES! Taking offences is almost like creating invisible fences around your life. When you get offended, the person who caused the offence knows that he can not reach out to you until the dispute is resolved. This also means that if the offender has an opportunity for the offended, he will not have enough courage to pass the message. Forgiveness gives courage and confidence to the offender; not necessarily to offend you again, but to approach you whenever he wants, the offense notwithstanding. Romans 4:25 tells us that Jesus was crucified because of our offences, and yet, He was raised again for our justification. We offended God, He took the consequences upon Himself, and after all the sufferings and torture He went through, He came back to us to say "I love you". And that is the confidence we have in Him, that anytime we go to Him, He hears us. How many offended "Christians" would do that today? But Christ left that example so that we can follow the sam

TIMELY NOTES! Practice peace; most of the virtues we struggle to get are virtues that God has freely put in us. For instance, the Holy Spirit has already deposited the love of God into our hearts, all we need to do is practice how to walk in love. The power is available, the practice is what is inadequate. And this is really affecting the Christian race. What is the use of a virtue if it can not be put to work? What is the use of a big sized light generator if no one can operate it? What is the use of knowledge if you can not put it to work? Education is not about knowing everything, it is about knowing something that can save people from life's struggles. A colleague called me to help her fix a problem in her computer. And when I got to her office, I discovered and told her that all her documents had somehow wiped off from her computer. I knew what to do to fix the problem, and to be candid, I was already fixing the problem. But here was my colleague, she was already getting w

TIMELY NOTES! Economic recession can not affect God; and those who truly serve God should not be affected either. One of the things I have observed about this season is that God is giving "seasoned" ideas to His children. Ideas that can not be affected by any famine nor recession, ideas that would still produce profit despite the low economy. Isaac did his business during famine, and the Bible records that he made profit the same year. It was an idea that Elijah gave to the widow of Zarephath. She was supposed to eat her last meal with her child and die, but that idea kept her through the famine period. Jesus would have lost those five thousand followers if he took the advice of His disciples. But the Bible says "He himself knew what to do"; and whatever He did retained His followers, and even added more followers. Many companies have lost major clients to this recession, and that is because they lack the idea required to retain or even increase them. Who would

TIMELY NOTES! Grace is an extra tool for greatness. It is essentially given by God for more work. Paul was trying to explain how he achieved great heights when he said "I am what I am by the grace of God, nevertheless, I labour more than them all". He was simply saying that the same grace was available to all the other disciples of Jesus, but he worked more than all of them. Have you not noticed, that people often pray for grace when they need to confront or do something? Grace is cheaply given to all, but it is only evident by work. The reason why we sometimes get tired of working may be because grace is insufficient. Elisha knew that he could not face the challenges ahead with a single portion of the grace upon Elijah, that was why he requested for a double portion. Paul had an affliction that was affecting his ministry, and he fervently prayed to God for healing. But surprisingly, God told him that His grace was sufficient for him, and that he can still do great things

TIMELY NOTES! "There would be traffic as usual"; that was what I thought when I was preparing for work on Monday morning. But God reproved me immediately by saying "what usually happens is subject to what you expect to happen". Then I remembered that in Prov 23:18 the Bible says "for surely there is an end, and your expectation shall not be cut off". That could also mean that, expectation puts an end to any form of procedures, regularities, or protocols. If you will not cut of your expectation then those protocols will soon be cut of for you. Normally, there was no way a prisoner in Egypt would become a prime minister in Egypt - overnight, but expectation made it so. Everybody knew that the wall of Jericho could not be brought down, but expectation brought it down. Protocols would always bow to the strong expectation of a believer. Do not think you will not get married because people rarely get married in your family. Do not think you will not complete

TIMELY NOTES! "Nothing can separate me from the love of God". That is something we should remember when challenges try to separate us from the blessings of God. Your family, business, job, academics, career, and everything you enjoy are evidences of God's love for you. We may have family challenges, but we must not allow those challenges to separate us from our family. We may have health issues, but we must not allow them to separate us from the job that God blessed us with. Bishop David Oyedepo has often remarked that; it is not a sin for a believer to be challenged, but it is unscriptural for him to be defeated. This is why the just man may fall seven times and still have opportunity to rise again. God will not allow Satan to keep your blessings if you refuse to give up on the fight. Satan may defeat you seven times, but God is up there, waiting for you to win. The blessings of the Lord makes rich, and it does not come with sorrow. So when you see things like sorrow

TIMELY NOTES! Anything you focus on will surely expand. Focus on your small talent, skill, business, career, or family, then be ready for expansion. This principle works with character too; do not worry about the negative reports people give about your character flaws, if you can focus on your character strengths, then you would soon overpower your character flaws. Focus is an all-purpose development virtue, everything can be developed through it. I used to be very authoritative, and people really complained about it. But now, the same people who complained see me as a likeable person, and that is because I consciously developed strength to respect people. If you want to see a change in your family, then focus on them. Focus has a large percentage of every virtue. You can not tell me you are focused on a thing and not have a good knowledge of that thing. Focus has love, faith, joy, peace, hope, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and everything that makes a man successful. Come to th

TIMELY NOTES! When you eventually start a business venture or you decide to advance your career, and you see competitors who have gone far ahead of you, you see people who seem to be more intelligent, people who have gained the favour of almost everybody, you may even see companies that have all the facilities that you are still dreaming to have, do not be afraid nor discouraged, because God will be with you. The Bible said something similar concerning the children of Israel in Deut 20:1; it says "When you go out to battle against the enemy, and you see horses, and chariots, and a people more than you, do not be afraid of them: for God is with you". Courage is the battle axe of God; without it, God can not fight for you. Many ideas never see the light of day because of the absence of courage. A man with courage will rarely experience shortage of blessing. David understood this principle when he confronted Goliath. Goliath came with a sword and a shield, but David came wit

TIMELY NOTES! Do you sometimes feel that what you get from God is too small, and that you deserve more? Well, you are not the first. In Joshua 17:14-18, after Joshua had distributed inheritances among the people, the family of Joseph came to him and complained that the portion of the land that was given to them was too small, considering the fact that they are great people. Great people? Someone would have thought that Joshua made a mistake, and would assign another land to them. But surprisingly, the response was different. Joshua acknowledged that indeed the family of Joseph are great people, and that he assigned a small portion of land to them. But then he said "they are not only entitled to that small land, because all the lands on the mountains can be possessed by them, if they defeat the oppositions". So, they had bigger land space than any other family, except that they had to contend with the enemy in battle. Personally, I have discovered that God does not have pr

TIMELY NOTES! My pastor recently remarked that "if the only thing you have is love for God, you would still enjoy the best things in life". And I have thought about it and discovered that; love is not just a qualifier, but also a dignifier. Love can place a man in a position where no qualification or virtue can place him. Daniel and those three Hebrew boys were in the same class with other students; but the Bible records that God gave them wisdom and understanding in everything they learnt. And because of what He gave them, they were ten times better than their peers. Solomon was the greatest king that ever lived; and that was because God gave him wisdom. He was the son of King David, and that means he must have enjoyed teachings from the best teachers. But none of those qualifications could get him such a dignified position. Ofcourse, he would have become the king, since he was the heir of King David; but without the wisdom that God gave to him, he would have been just l

TIMELY NOTES! Everybody wants to get to the Promiseland, but nobody wants to go through the wilderness. The people of Isreal prefered to remain slaves in Egypt than to suffer hardness through their journey to the Promiseland. The reason why many potential employers of labour have remained an employee is probably because they do not want to go through the hard times of running a business. If there was a better route to the Promiseland, God would have taken them through that route. Ofcourse, there were shorter routes; but most times, people who take shortcuts miss the lasting experiences. There were also other ways that would have led them to other lands, but it is not every land that is your promiseland. You need to rise up and take your journey. God did a lot of miracles in Egypt. He preserved them and provided for them, just as He has been preserving and providing for you. But all those miracles could not be compared to what He had prepared for them in the promiseland. God could h