2011, I Promise

This year I will not pursue success, I will pursue peace
I will not make money my goal, I will cultivate God’s grace
I will not avoid failure, I will trust God’s mercy
I will not seek fame, I will pursue rightness
I will not have to win, I will have to build my faith, live by faith
I will not seek respect, I will choose humility
I will not compete, I will run my race
I will not hold on to any strategy, I will walk in Wisdom
I will not seek opportunities, I will find inspiration
I will not have to be a leader, but I must be led
I will not pursue happiness, I will be content
I will not crave pleasure, I will cultivate discipline
I will not be fashionable, I will be visionary
I will not impress you, I will inspire my offspring
I will be angry, I will not sin
I will sin, and I will always repent
I will live to love, I will not insist on being loved
This year, I will not focus on getting what I deserve, I will expect what I don’t deserve.
This year I WILL ENFORCE MY RIGHT TO CHOOSE. To choose life. To live.
This year, 2011.


Thursday, 09 December 2010

THE FAITH OF THE CENTURION

[Mathew 8:5-13]

One crucial attribute of Faith is that if you have it, it will show. True faith always expresses itself. Living faith works!

In the course of Jesus’ ministry on earth, He encountered a man whose faith astonished him. Jesus’ conclusion was: “I have not found anyone in Israel with such a great faith” Mathew 8:10b The Centurion’s expression of faith astonished Jesus especially because the man in question was not a Jew, yet he understood how faith works. If Jesus commended him, we all need to understand the principles that drove his manifestation of faith.

1. The Centurion understood the Message of Jesus: Jesus did so many things, and said so many things, but He preached only one message. His message was the Good News of the Kingdom of God. The message of Jesus was about a kingdom and not a religion. The centurion, being a trained officer of the Roman kingdom understood the kingdom protocol and he applied this understanding in approaching Jesus. Probably, that is why the Bible does not state his name, but states his role in the Roman Empire

2. The Centurion approached Jesus as Lord: He knew that Jesus was more than a prophet or a Rabbi. He called him by the title of a king; he called Him “Lord”. What you call a thing determines your expectations from that thing. The title “Lord” depicts kingdom authority, ownership, influence and power.

3. Faith works by grace: It is of faith that it might be according to grace (see Romans 4;16). The Centurion did not approach the Lord with a sense of entitlement. The throne of God is a throne of grace and mercy. He knew that self-righteousness would not help his cause. He told the Lord: “I do not deserve to have you come under my roof” Mathew 8:8

4. The Centurion humbled himself: Pride, most times, prevents us from asking for help when we need to. Powerful people are not always willing to expose their vulnerability. The centurion, a captain of 100 soldiers came to Jesus “asking for help”.

5. Faith that works by love: The faith of the centurion was great because the faith was not applied for personal benefit. He approached Jesus in order to get some relief for his servant who was “paralyzed and in terrible suffering”. His faith was special because it was in the interest of others, especially someone “under” him, someone beneath him. His faith was special because it fulfilled the Law and Prophets: “In everything do unto others what you would have them do unto you” (Mathew 7:12)

6. Faith is operative through words: There is a Yoruba adage that translates as “by your words we know whether you are wicked or not”. What you say proves what you believe. What you believe determines how you behave. Your behaviour reinforces your faith. The accurate words of the Centurion showed his understanding and faith.

7. Authority is exercised through words: It is important to speak as authorized. When we speak contrary to the programmes of God, we speak to our condemnation. When we speak in line with God’s mind, we speak to our justification.

8. Faith is a legal tender; the currency of God’s kingdom: The centurion exchanged his faith for his desire. The Lord of the Kingdom said to the Centurion: “It will be done just as you believed it would”

Will the Son of man find faith on earth when he returns?

Rules of Life from Luke 4

Luke 4 is a narration of the paradigms, principles and values that must govern our ACTIONS AND REACTIONS, if we would gain a chance of becoming successful in the sight of God.

The first rule is that you cannot succeed by accident. There must be a season of life where you separate yourself to discover, define, refine and crystallize your purpose. A season of life when you disengage socially, deny comfort and defy death. You need a season when you lose your life in order to gain it; you impoverish yourself in order to attain glory. You must learn to create a defining moment of quietness and confidence in order to gain the strength to succeed.

The second rule is that you have an adversary who is committed to working against your success. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). The devil is looking for vulnerabilities to exploit. When he can't find one, he tries to create one (see Isaiah 14:12).

The third rule is that the devil is in command and control of the airwaves, and he is fully engaged in information warfare. The Bible describes him as "the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient" (Ephesians 2:2). The devil rules, he is a spirit and he is at work to make people disobedient. This spirit is a speaking spirit. Every time he is at work he communicates. Don’t be surprised, he uses information and communication technologies too.

The fourth rule is that the devil is a liar. Every time his lips, move he lies. "There is NO truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44). If the devil offers you a cup of water, be sure it contains some poison; a truth becomes a lie when spoken by the devil. No matter the volume of water of truth, it is dangerous to taste water that has mingled with the minutest quantity of poison.

The fifth rule is that the devil poses no risk until he finds a vulnerability he can exploit. Jesus said “the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me”(John 14:30). The devil found a thief in Judas Iscariot, and entered him. He found hypocrisy in the marriage of Ananias and Sapphires, and killed the couple. He found greed in Ahab and destroyed him. He found pride in Pharaoh and ruined him. He found ignorance in Eve and deceived her.

The sixth rule is that your greatest threat is not the devil but your lust—“craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world”.(I John 2:16) That is why we must not forget that " every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed" (James 1:14) Let us read further: "Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death”(James 1:15)

To be continued...

Life's Greatest Challenges

What makes a fulfilled man? I think it is the ability of the man to effectively address three challenges:

1. Knowing the right things to do
2. Having the ability to do the right things
3. Doing the right things the right way

May the grace of God abound towards you so that you will have the spiritual, physical, emotional and mental energy to actualize your fulfillment.

AND HIS NAME IS OBAFERANMI

We do not know of anyone bearing the name “Obaferanmi” until the birth of our child. It’s likely you may not remember ever hearing it too. So why would we name our first son “The-King-is-in-Love-with-me”?

The continual experience of God’s love is most cherished in our family (The Ope-Onifade Nation). As a matter of fact, on Dec 9 2006, we declared before hundreds of witnesses that our purpose for getting married is “to build a successful family and a strong nation by leveraging on the love of God….” Our experiences in the course of conception of our son through his delivery reaffirms our belief and knowledge of the love that God has for us (I John 4:16). God is love; we are constrained by His love and we are kept and preserved by His love. The core value of our family is that we live to love.

We have also come to know God not just as a Spirit, and more than our Father: He is a Governmental Authority, Our King! He reigns over our entire households, members of Ope-Onifade nation are citizens of His kingdom, and we are subject to His will. As for me and my house, we serve the Lord.

Our God is King and our God is love and our son lives to reaffirm that the King is in love with us. We will never doubt his love for us.

In our native culture, there is the tendency for people to abridge names. So, would he be called Oba (King) or ‘Feranmi (loves me)?

You may call him “Oba” because he is born to reign and rule as a king and a priest unto our God. God is King of kings and our son, like us, is one of the kings under the rule of God.

You may also call him ‘Feranmi because it creates an atmosphere of love around him and around you. He is born and bound to have favour before God and before man.

The seed of the righteous shall be mighty upon the face of the earth.

OBAFERANMI…..

7 years of Relationship

Today, I received an SMS from my wife. It reads:

Jst wnt 2sy tnx 2u 4living up 2d promises u made arnd ds time 7 yrs ago. I've not regretted nodding 2 ur proposal. I kp loving u & hope to continue 2do so.
Baby1

The gist is this: On May 8 2001, I asked her to marry me. We were in courtship for 51/2 years and got marrried on December 8 2006. On February 16 2008, I was with her in the labour room to welcome our son into the world he was born to dominate. Today, I would like to share with you a picture of our growing family. I wish to thank my wife for her uncompromising love, care and pleasant personality. Not to love you is to die. I love you!!!!!
Regards to readers from 'DeNike and ObaFeranmi

I am back

My family and I have been experiencing God's loving-kindness in the last one year; but that is not the reason for being "offline" in the last one year. Some weeks after my last post, I got married, and also began to adjust to a new job...and these influenced my focus.

One of my major goals in 2008 is to consistently post information that will reinforce the quality of life that Jesus Christ delivered to us. The highest degree of quality of life that you could ever experience is called "eternal life". And Jesus defined eternal life as "to know God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent".


Please check regularly and also share your thoughts with me.