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

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...

SHE GIVES BIRTH TO WISDOM! When Faith Tabernacle was under construction, it got to a point where they needed to move a forklift, a four-wheeled industrial machine, into the Tabernacle. But they could not, because the forklift was higher than the height of the Tabernacle's entrances. They thought about it and decided that they would break the upper part of the entrance so that the forklift can drive in easily. They went ahead to seek permission from Bishop David Oyedepo, who also is the president and founder of the church. But to their amazement, he asked them what the size of the tyres were. And when they told him, he suggested that they should deflate the four tires, tow the forklift inside the Tabernacle, then pump it. He said it would be far easier to pump a tire than to remould the entrance. That is the power of revelation! None of those professional contractors could think like that. But it made sense to them the moment they heard it. The Bible says the foolishness of ...

TIMELY NOTES! Revelation means having supernatural understanding about anything you do. I believe that Jesus expected His disciples to walk in this revelation when He told them to feed the five thousand people. But instead, they began to do some analysis; they said there was no way the food in the whole town would feed all those people. Ofcourse, there was a way, they just did not have understanding of what to do. But here was Jesus, the Bible says "He himself knew what He would do". He did not need to consult any book or professional chef, He just fed them. When I got an idea to start a food business, it took some days before I could draw out a business plan. I had the name of the company, but I just did not know how I would offer my services. So that made me go into deep thoughts for several days. If it took me days to figure out how to start a food business, just imagine how long it would take me to figure out how to feed those five thousand people. They would probably...

WHEN YOU CAN'T FIND A JOB! If you can not find a job with what you know, then train people with what you know till it becomes a job. It is upsetting to see highly skilled individuals sit at home all in the name of "no employment". As a skilled sports person, do not wait till an international club finds you; rather, find young people who are also interested in your kind of sport and train them. Training is actually the most paying job today. Asides sports, this principle applies to every field of endeavor. As a young writer, training other writers has fetched me some money. And presently, we run a documentation company called "In-spirited Writers Consult". My writing skill could not get me a salary job, but diligence has produced a company from it. There is a difference between "work" and "a job". A job puts you on a payroll, while work may not necessarily guarantee immediate or scheduled financial returns. Yet, it is your work that cr...

TIMELY NOTES! "By this time tomorrow, there will be cheap food in the market place". That was what Elisha said in 2 Kings 7:1. And in verse 18, the Bible says that what he spoke came to pass as he said it. But something amazing happened when he spoke those words; a highly esteemed counselor spoke doubting words, that "even if God opens the windows of heaven, can there be food by this time tomorrow?". He said that probably because he was in charge of food supplies to the people. And as at that time, it was impossible to get food from anywhere. I perceive that one of the ways that believers will overthrow the wicked is by their spoken words. In Job 22:29, the Bible says "when men are cast down, then you shall say, there is a lifting up". That counselor must have noticed and said there can not be food supply, but Elisha who also noticed said there shall be food supply. When the food supply came as Elisha said, the counselor died, he did not live to eat fr...

TIMELY NOTES! The Bible tells us that the earnest expectation of the creature is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. But really, how long are they expected to wait? When are the sons of God expected to begin their manifestations? Perhaps, there are things these sons should do that they have not done. In Prov 12:7, the Bible says that the wicked is overthrown, and the house of the righteous shall stand. This simply means that, for these sons to start manifesting, they would need to take over the positions of the wicked. They need to take over power and various business sectors. I recently got an idea to start a consulting firm, named "In-spirited Writers Consult". And one of the things we do is to write quality business proposals for individuals or organizations that have business ideas. When we got our first client, the manager mentioned that "he had gotten a contact of someone who could do the job, but he decided to contact us when he heard of us"...

GIVE HIM ROOM! "I have heard your request about Ishmael, so I will bless him. But I will keep my covenant with your son Isaac, who will be born to Sarah about this time next year". That was what God said to Abraham in Genesis 17:20-21. Abraham's thoughts were too limited. He was comfortable as a father to one son, when God wanted him to be a father to many nations. But even though his thoughts were limited, he was still open minded with God. He did not allow his desires to cloud his sense of judgment. He gave God room to do the things He also wanted. I hear God saying concerning someone, "I have heard your prayers about getting a new job, so I will give you a good job. But I will still keep my covenant to give you a major business breakthrough". "I have heard your prayers about finding a spouse who will take good care of you, and I will bless you with such spouse. But I will also keep my covenant to give you a spouse that will give you peace". ...

TIMELY NOTES! God does not delay, but our level or depth of revelation of how He works is what determines the time and speed of our accomplishment. From observation, I have discovered that an increase in revelation will definitely reduce time and increase the speed of accomplishment. For instance, A three thousand seat auditorium was built in 3 years, but when revelation increased, a fifty thousand seat auditorium was built in one year. An auditorium that should take about fifty years to build took only a year, because of revelation. Revelation reduces effort and terminates struggle. Revelation can give a student a double promotion in school. Revelation can qualify a person who is disqualified even among the unqualified for a promotion. Revelation means becoming aware of who and what God really is, and you can not have such awareness except God Himself reveals it to you. Our love for God is what increases our depth of revelation. The Bible tells us that no man has seen, heard, or t...

THIS MONTH! And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. Gen 8:5 You remember Noah, he was in the ark along with his people. Though he was not lacking so much but he could not accomplish great things either. The water that covered the land also covered mountains, so nothing much could be achieved for nine months. And then the bible tells us that "the top of the mountains were seen on the first day of the tenth month". I perceive that there are certain things you probably should have seen or achieved since January, but God covered them so that the devil will not steal them from you. But as I speak to you right now, God has removed the cover; and nothing will stop you from seeing what God wants you to see this month! Obviously, the reason why God put them in a ark for a long time was to keep them safe and prepare them for the glory ahead; because He could have easily d...