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

TIMELY NOTES!  It's been said that "we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give". In other words, converting what we get into what to give is how to make a life. A friend once asked me "who is a great man?". I responded with what Jesus said, that "every one who desires to be great must be a servant". He didn't seem to be convinced at the response because he later asked me if that was the only way to be great.  Whatever Jesus says is genuine. The bible says "let God be true and all men liars". If God has said something about anything, then any other theory about that thing is inferior. It is not your huge income that will make you great; rather, it's the dimension of your outcomes that will. Greatness is not in the eyes of the beholder, but in the eyes of the beneficiaries. Jesus is a great King, but His greatness needed to be proven by the people. He had to go about doing good and healing all that were oppresse...

TIMELY NOTES!  God does not only save us from something, He saves us for something. Salvation is not only a move to deliver us from going to hell; it's also the platform where we can secure the posterity of many generations. Salvation is not a one-time confession, it's a long-term profession. The bible says we should work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.  Every believer is supposed to be known for a good work. In Eph 2:10, the bible says we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. I feel very sad whenever I meet idle believers, because there's no room for idleness in God's salvation agenda. John 15:16 also makes it clear that God saved us so that we can be fruitful in life. Many believers don't work only because they've not found what they like; well, before you find what you like, do what you find. It's not really about the kind of work you do, but about the glory of God tha...

TIMELY NOTES!  The thing about joy is that you have to have it, whether situations are pleasant or not. A large percentage of people who are sick today are people who go the mile just to live a happy life. Happiness feeds on what you have, joy feeds on who you are. That means you really don't need to have anything to live a joyful life. People who just want to be happy become broken when they don't have enough to make them happy; and like we know, a broken spirit makes our body vulnerable to all kinds of sicknesses and diseases. Abraham didn't have anything to show for his life. But the Bible recorded that he staggered not at the promise of God, but he was strong in faith, joyfully glorifying God. The difference between joy and happiness is that; while happiness would have something to show, joy only needs a promise to show. Abraham had joy because of the promise of God, Jesus held on to the cross because of the promise of God. Hab 3:17-18 says that "although the fig t...

TIMELY NOTES! Do you sometimes feel like 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 were great people, and that he assigned a small portion of land to them. But then he told them that "they were not only entitled to that small land, but all the lands on the mountains can also be possessed by them, if they defeat the oppositions". In other words, they had bigger land space than any other family, except that they had to contend with the enemy in battle. Personally, I have discovered tha...

TIMELY NOTES! Patience carries a reward for its bearer. Patience is the distance between faith and the manifestation of your expectations. Patience is not just waiting for something, it is preparing yourself to meet the demands of what you're waiting for. Waiting for God to give you what you'd waste is the same as wasting your time; because God hates waste, and He will never give you what you will waste.  Many students have not gotten admission into school probably because they're not prepared for school. They may be waiting for admission, but God only gives admission to those who use their waiting-time to prepare for what is coming. If you're looking for a job, prepare for one. God is never far from a prepared man. Many eligible singles are not married because they're still thinking like a single person; and giving a wife to such a person will only bring suffering to the woman.  That's how far we'd go on today's Timely Note. But take these last words; P...

TIMELY NOTES!  The life of a christian shouldn't be a normal life. It's a normal thing to suspend or park a boat until the storm is calm, but Jesus saw it differently when He rebuked the storm. Normally, we should go to the bank or a personal safe to get money when it is required, but Jesus saw it differently when He instructed His disciple to get money from the mouth of a fish. If a tree is yet to bare fruits, you should wait till it does or go to another tree - if you really want to eat the fruit. But Jesus cursed the tree instead; perhaps He believed that the tree was supposed to produce fruits at His appearance.  Right from the days of John the Baptist, Satan put a mental barrier within believers, so that we'd be compelled to live a normal life. Jesus proved to His disciples that it is normal for the storm to arise, but abnormal for believers to run away from the storm. He cursed the fig tree and got money from the mouth of the fish only to prove that a committed believ...

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 or challenges is what keeps your place. Challenges may shake you, but faith is what you need to stand. Physical things are temporal, while spiritual things are eternal. 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 government m...