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

You really can not pray effectively about something you do not understand. Many people are still suffering, not because they are not praying, but because they do not have a clear understanding of what is happening to them. Many eligible singles are not married, not because they do not pray about getting married, but because they do not understand the cause of their marital delay. Understanding is what gives us a right stand in prayer. The prayer altar is like a court room, the quality of your evidence would determine the kind of verdict that would be passed. Paul said he would pray in the spirit, and he will also pray in his understanding. He further said that if he prays in tongues, then his spirit is praying, but his understanding is unfruitful. Romans 8:26 tells us that the Holy Spirit helps our lack of understanding in prayers, especially when we really can not pray as we should. I was praying for my friend that was moved to another state due to some challenges; but I could not r

When challenges take a major part of you, just move them aside, and focus on the parts that you still have left. That is what God did in Genesis chapter one, after He created light. The Bible tells us that a raging ocean covered everything that God created in the beginning. After He created light to clear the darkness, He discovered that everything He created had been covered with water. That was a problem; but the Bible records that He separated the waters from the land. Though the waters had taking a major part of the universe He created, but He did not bother Himself over it; He used the land that that was remaining. God does not need the presence of what you have lost to bless you, He is okay with what remains. God is not bothered about what you have lost, He is a God of what remains. You may have lost relationships, jobs, businesses, or your health, but if you focus on what you still have, then you are sure to emerge victorious. Keep your worries aside, just as God kept the

Don't worry! One of the things that worry does is to worsen the situation. Prov 17:22 tells us that a joyful heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bone. That literally means that joy brings good out of bad situations, but worry and sorrow only worsens them. This is probably why Jesus did not like it when people mourned the dead. Be of good cheer! That is what God told the people of Israel to do whenever they were faced with an opposition. You may be facing a challenge, but you would face even more challenges if you allow your joy to phase out. Joel 1:12 tells us that "the vine is dried up, all the trees are dried up, because joy is withered away from the sons of men". And according to scriptures, Jesus is the Vine, who also happens to be The Way to God. If the vine is dried up, then God cannot help you. Habakkuk understood this principle when he said "though nothing may be working for him, but he would rejoice in the Lord, because God is able

TIMELY NOTES! Don't worry! One of the things that worry does is to worsen the situation. Prov 17:22 tells us that a joyful heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bone. That literally means that joy brings good out of bad situations, but worry and sorrow only worsens them. This is probably why Jesus did not like it when people mourned the dead. Be of good cheer! That is what God told the people of Israel to do whenever they were faced with an opposition. You may be facing a challenge, but you would face even more challenges if you allow your joy to phase out. Joel 1:12 tells us that "the vine is dried up, all the trees are dried up, because joy is withered away from the sons of men". And according to scriptures, Jesus is the Vine, who also happens to be The Way to God. If the vine is dried up, then God cannot help you. Habakkuk understood this principle when he said "though nothing may be working for him, but he would rejoice in the Lord, bec

TIMELY NOTES! Marry God! Marriage is a way of sealing the love and commitment between two people. A man may have an undying love and affection for a woman, but the woman would not be entitled to all that he has until she commits herself in marriage. He may give her things, but he can not give her everything. It is not the wedding vows or rings that really seals marriage, it is the commitment to one another that does. This is why if you are not ready to commit yourself to the demands of marriage, then do not get married. Couples should practice commitment before they exchange rings. However, you do not have to put a ring in God's hand, just commit yourself to His interests. God has an everlasting love for us; and that means He is willing to give us everything He has. But the fact that He is willing does not mean we will have it. I once had a very deep affection for a lady - which lasted for very long. I was always willing to give her things; sometimes I gave, and some other time

TIMELY NOTES! John the baptist had acrophobia; he was afraid of the "high position" that God put him. Not because he could not baptize the people, but because he felt unworthy to baptize Jesus, the Saviour of the world. John had been baptizing the people for so long, which means he was quite experienced in it. But the appearance of Jesus destabilized his baptizing skill. Jesus had to encourage him to do it, because that is how God wanted it to be. What makes you think you cannot handle bigger clients or bigger tasks? The moment John baptized Jesus, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus. And that simply means that John did a great job. Do not be too comfortable with small tasks, projects, or clients; because the truth is, God wants you to handle bigger and greater things. Didn't your bible tell you that a man that is diligent in his business will stand before kings? As long as you know your job, then expect big shots and big clients to come t

TIMELY NOTES! In Ezekiel 37:10, the Bible tells us that "as Ezekiel prophesied as God commanded him, the breath came into those bones, and they lived, stood up upon on their feet, and became an exceeding great army". God's word carries the breath of life; anytime you speak His word to a situation, He breaths life into that situation. No wonder Proverbs 4:20-22 tells us that if we attend to God's word, we would add life to our flesh. We would recall that during creation, it was the same breath that God put into the lifeless man. It hurts me to see Christians live without a proof of their redemption. They have received eternal life, yet they live like people who have no life. When would believers understand that the word of God is what breaths life into their endeavors? The life of our business, jobs, career, education, marriage, relationships, and family; they are all tied to God's word. I often pity congregations that gather to hear manipulated preach

No believer is self sufficient; no matter his anointing. The Bible wasn't joking when it said "woe unto him that is alone". I have come to discover that the reason why many "strong believers" fall is because they do not get enough strength on the day of battle. Peter, who Jesus called the rock of the church, could not do anything when Herod captured him. With all his anointing, the Bible records that he was sleeping in the midst of prison guards when an angel came to save him. Sleeping in that kind of situation is a sign of weakness. He was the most anointed, but all his anointing could not deliver him from Herod. Your pastors and ministers may have all the anointing to make things happen, but they also need all the prayers they can get to keep things happening. If those believers did not gather to pray at Mary's house, Peter would not have received that angelic intervention. My friend recently had a mental challenge; and one of the things he said

Angels are the militia of heaven. They are specially trained to protect the interest of anything that relates with the kingdom of God. The fiery furnace couldn't hurt those three Hebrew boys because an angel was there to cool the fire. Daniel told king Nebuchadnezzar that "God had sent an angel to shot the mouth of the lion". When three cities were coming to destroy Jehosaphat and his people, God sent an angel to destroy those three cities. Angels are the hosts of heaven, and God is the Lord of hosts. It is naturally impossible for the son of the "Chief of Army Staff" to move around without at least one security guard. And that is because protection has to begin from his home. A man who is not fully protected can not protect someone else. Also, it is supernaturally impossible for a child of God to move around this world without an angel. The bible says "He shall give His angels command over us to protect us in all our ways". That also means that "

BORN FROM MISTAKE! Something may be wrong with how you were born, but nothing can go wrong with God's plan for you. The Bible tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God. This means that your current situation can not separate you from God's ultimate plan. God may not have been responsible for how you came into this world, but He took responsibility for you since you came. The wisest king that ever lived was born from a mistake. His mother was Bathseba, who was the wife to Uriah - a soldier who King David killed just to have his wife. David got Bathseba pregnant, and she gave birth to Solomon. Though Solomon was born from a costly mistake, but God's love for Him still made him fulfill destiny. The Saviour of the world was born from a mistake. Jesus is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah, which means He has His root in the tribe of Judah. But Judah was the son of Leah, who Jacob married by mistake. He wanted to marry Racheal, but Laban tricked him int

TIMELY NOTES! The blood of Jesus has capacity to enforce any change we desire in life. In Zech 9:11, God explained how he delivered the prisoners of hope. He said "by the blood of the covenant, He has sent forth the prisoners out of the pit where there is no water". He further explained in Verse 12 that "they should turn to their strong hold - which is the blood of the covenant, because it is able to restore a double portion of everything they had lost". God does not restrict His acts when the blood of Jesus is involved. When the blood of Jesus is engaged, there is no limit to what God can do. He will not allow any opposition to stand in the way of the blood of Jesus. Anytime you engage the blood, whether through prayers, through the communion, or through sprinkling, God responds immediately. Challenges do not hang around for long when the blood of Jesus is involved. The blood of Jesus is the finishing move of God. If you want any situation to come to a perfect

TIMELY NOTES! You need a backup! Someone or something that can contain your present capacity; someone or something you can run back to when everything is lost. Information on a computer without a backup will soon become a deformation. Having a backup is so important because; many people have terminated their lives because they were terminated from their beautiful job. Many others are now mentally paralyzed, not because they were sick, but because they lost something of great value - and they have no means to get it restored. As Christians, we have an everlasting and ever reliable backup drive. In Ps 35:7, the bible says we should commit our ways unto God, and also trust in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. That means if we would backup our life events in God, He would not hesitate to restore us whenever we need restoration. You would care less about the information on your computer when you have a backup. Likewise, you would worry less about your life when you commit your ways un

TIMELY NOTES! Don't stop! People may complain about the good things you do, but many more would complain when you stop doing those things. Whenever God wants to deliver the oppressed, He sends a vision or an idea to someone, just like He did to Moses in order to deliver Israel from Pharaoh. This means that every vision or idea is for the rising and falling of men. Those who embrace it would certainly rise, while those who despise it would become victims of it. Pharaoh despised it, and he and his people became victims of the vision. No man is strong enough to fight against a vision or an idea, because Habakkuk 2:3 makes it clear that visions won't fail as long as somebody is pursuing it. People may be fighting your ideas or vision, but if you will not stop pursuing it, it will not fail. Failure won't come because people are complaining, failure would only come when you stop pursuing. I remember how people warned me to stop sending them messages; but today, the same peopl

TIMELY NOTES! God calls people alone, but He doesn't expect us to work alone. You may be alone when God delivers a vision to you, but it doesn't mean you must accomplish it alone. Eccl 4:10 tells us that it is foolishness unto him that is alone. God called Abraham alone, but Abraham didn't go alone; the Bible says "Lot went with him". Though Lot later disagreed with the vision, probably because he thought he could start his own ministry, but it didn't change the fact that he assisted Abraham until his ego took over him completely. Don't be scared or too proud to share your vision or ideas with people. Pro 15:22 tells us that "plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed". Many ideas and visions have been buried because the people who discovered them never shared them. It's important to mention that the gifts and callings of God are without repentance, they don't end with a man. Visions and ideas, if w

TIMELY NOTES! God is a professional Actor. He'd hardly do anything outside His script. Whatever He does differently would only be to fine-tune His script, and not to abate it. God is the first movie Director, and the very first One to produce a season movie which has continued for thousands of years and still hasn't lost value nor ended. Whether it makes sense or not, we are in God's movie titled "God's Creation". According to His script, there is a season for everything in God's creation; a time to be wealthy, a time to give, a time to cry, a time to rejoice, a time to scale new heights, and so on. However, He's never forceful when it comes to assigning roles and scripts to individuals; He is the only movie Director that gives freewill to people to pick the role and script they like from His scriptures. That means you can choose which season to feature-in and act accordingly. For instance, if you want to be wealthy or healthy, just act according t

TIMELY NOTES! Have you ever wondered how your situation would change? Especially when you've had faith about the change for so long? Well, I have. But I recently realized that it's not my duty to know how God will bless me, or how God will deliver me, or how He'd fix the things around me. When God turned the captivity of Israel, it was like a dream to them, it wasn't the way they expected it to happen. When God delivered Peter from prison, it was like a dream to him as well, he didn't even know he was out until he saw himself outside. All I need to do is continue in faith, while Jesus finishes the work. Faith is like a computer system; Jesus is the input - because faith comes by hearing the word of God; what we do with the input is the process, and Jesus again is the output. That's why the Bible refers to Him as the Author and Finisher of our faith. As long as our faith is still processing the word received, then we can be sure that He'd finis

TIMELY NOTES! Power is essentially for productive work. God won't give you power just because you want to cast out evil; rather, He'd give you power to overcome any evil that tries to stop your good works. In Luke 10:19, Jesus gave His disciples power to thread upon all the wickedness of the devil, such that nothing shall by any means hurt them. But earlier in Luke 10:1, He appointed 70 other disciples and gave them assignments. This literally means that He didn't give them power until He gave them an assignment. I believe this is why many Christians are still powerless. They are wasting power on the devil, instead of investing it on good works. Jesus used the phrase "thread upon" to explain to us that we can actually walk through the valley and the shadow of death without stopping our work. A speed bump doesn't determine the destination of a moving car, it only reduces the speed for a moment. Satan may be a speed bump to destiny, but he can't

TIMELY NOTES! Our God is big, and He doesn't give small things. Psalms 118:23 says "this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes". That means, whatever God gives to you is big enough for you per time. Ingratitude is seeing the acts of God as small, while gratitude is seeing the acts of God as God sees them. You'd underrate God if you ever think that what He has given to you is small for you. In Matt 25, the bible describes how the kingdom of God operates. It says it's like a man traveling to a far country, and decides to share his treasure among his servants so that they can make profit with it. The amazing thing is; he didn't share his treasure equally, he gave one 5, and the second he gave 2, and 1 to the third. According to scriptures, he gave to them according to their various abilities. By that parable we'd understand that God gives us things according to our abilities. However, if you think what God gives to you is small, you ca

TIMELY NOTES! Never underestimate or overestimate anyone. I've come to discover that those who make enviable impact in life are people who were hidden and forgotten in life, while those who make us victims are those who we ignorantly publish on the web as headline news. I don't have confidence in any man; instead, I develop confidence in their faith in God. This is why you'd have issues with me when you don't operate in faith. You really can't do beyond what you can't do. So instead of trying to impress people, make them know you can't, then develop yourself afterwards. I don't live by other people's expectations of me, because I've discovered that their expectations usually grow faster and even overrule mine. And that means I'd eventually disappoint everyone, including myself. If I can't reach my expectation, what makes you think I can reach yours? That's how far we'd go on today's Timely Note. But take these last words

TIMELY NOTES! His word is the bright life of man; that's what John chapter 1 tells us. I've come to discover that there's a difference between a right life and a bright life. Scripture makes it clear that there is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end is destructive. This means you can live a right life but still be in the dark. And since you can't see in the dark, you can collide with dangerous obstacles at any moment. This explains why many unbelievers are doing well, despite the fact that they've not received the glorious gospel of Jesus. Believers who rarely study or practice God's word ignorantly live a right life. They live in bondage, and would often think that it's God's will for them. Their businesses are not moving, their salaries are not getting paid, their marriages and relationships are crawling, their health is unstable. And all that is happening because they're living right. God hasn't called us to live a right life, r

TIMELY NOTES! The fact that you've laid a solid foundation for your house doesn't mean you've built a house. No matter how firm your foundation is, it won't be useful to anybody - except weeds and animals. Many Christians are still on the ground because they've not built anything on the solid foundation that God already laid through Jesus Christ. Jesus is our firm foundation. But the strength of our foundation will not matter if we're not building on it. We must consciously build on our foundation so that weeds and animals will stop eating our resources. Many Christians are already choked up with life issues, just like weeds occupy a land over time. Weeds are unwanted and uninvited plants on a land; and one way you can eradicate them is to build what you want on the land. That's how far we'd go on today's Timely Note. But take these last words; THE WORD OF GOD IS THE BUILDER OF A CHRISTIAN LIFE. IF YOU ACQUAINT YOURSELF WITH GOD'S WORD, YOU

TIMELY NOTES! Ps 145:16 tells us that "God opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing. God has a program to satisfy every living thing, not just human beings. The only time God closes His hand is when there is no desire to satisfy. The currency to satisfaction is desire; if your desire is not in place, your satisfaction is not in view. God will not go beyond your desire to bless you; He won't give you what you don't need. If you truly need something, it will show in your desire. As potent as desire is, people who are desirous for something hardly wait until God supplies the big thing; they start with the small things they have. If your desire does not make you start off with the resources you have, then it's not a desire to God. When you start-off with your resources, God stamps the release of what He has for you. Starting with your resources simply makes God to start supplying the resources required to maximize your desire. This is more like say

TIMELY NOTES! Don't get upset when people rebuke you for the insensitive things you do; especially when their observation is true. Come to think of it, the reason why people try to rebuke your flaws is mostly because they've seen a better side of you. An honest rebuke will most definitely enforce a change. But unfortunately, many people don't like to be corrected. If you don't have people who have audacity to rebuke you when you go wrong, then it won't be long before you loose everybody else. To be candid, I cherish people who react to my wrongs more than those who love my works. This is because, a minute wrong act can stab memories of the good years. Practically speaking, when you do wrong as a person, you'd discover that everything else will naturally lose relevance until you get over it. That's how far we'd go on today's Timely Note. But take these last words; THE WORLD IS SURROUNDED WITH LIARS. SO HOLD ON TIGHT TO THOSE WHO WILL NEVER LIE T

TIMELY NOTES! The devil sees, but only in the dark. That's why the Bible refers to him as "ruler of the darkness of this world". There are only two things you can do in darkness; you either remain where you are, or follow someone who can see in the dark. In other words, it's either you remain stagnated, or you follow the devil's lead. Both choices have great negative effects. While one keeps you stagnated, the other worsens your situation. Because the sorrow of those that hasten after other gods shall be greatly multiplied. This darkness doesn't affect your physical sight, and that's why many people still see light even while they live in darkness. This darkness manifests as a result of one's lack of knowledge of what to do. You're already in this darkness when you don't know what to do to be free from any situation. The devil prefers to blind the mind than the eyes. And this is probably why a full grown, able bodied, and clear sighted man

TIMELY NOTES! The Bible talks about people who "having sights, but they cannot see". God gave us eyes for sighting, but He gives vision for seeing. Your eyes may sight what is within, but it is vision that sees what is beyond. God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, more than we can ever ask or think. But the fact that He's able doesn't mean He'd do it without our permission. Many people know what they lack, but they don't know what they need. And this is why many people suffer endlessly. Many graduates lack a good job, and they consciously pray for one. They've stayed so long in the low salary job with the same prayer point, "Lord, change my job". It's time to stop sighting and start seeing. God asked Jeremiah "what do you see?", and what he saw wasn't something he could sight naturally. God told Abraham to "look towards...", and the things that God was showing him are not things that the natural eye could sigh

TIMELY NOTES! You don't have a friend until you have someone who will pray day and night just to see you excel in life. You'd be unwise to think you have a friend because he sponsors your material and financial needs. What many people have are acquaintances, people who are either for what they are for, or against what they are against. The fact that I gave you a thousand dollar doesn't make me your friend. I may be your help, but I've not become your friend until I take spiritual responsibility for certain issues around your life. God called Abraham His friend because Abraham was ready to give anything to fulfill the plan of God, including sacrificing his only son. Job was very sick, but he couldn't imagine his healthy friends facing the wrought of God, so he quickly prayed for them. Friendship is being dead to self for the purpose of another. Friendship is not something you confess with your mouth, it's something you profess with your acts. It's not a b