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Tag: knowledge

  • Dwelling according to knowledge (5)

    Dear Reader,

    I welcome you to this last edition of the teaching for the month.

    I like to conclude this teaching by showing you the Duties Of The Children.

    The injunction to dwell according to knowledge was specifically addressed to the men. However, children also need to know their responsibilities to their parents, in order to enjoy family success. Ephesians 6:1-3 clearly states: Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

    Honour for your parents is a commandment. In fact, this scripture says it is the first commandment with a promise attached to it. The reason we find a lot of people today, who can’t seem to make it in life, in spite of their hard work, is perhaps because they have dishonoured their parents. If you want to see good, then obedience to God’s command is required. Showing honour and respect to your parents is a commandment that is not negotiable. It does not have any given conditions when it may be disobeyed. That means whether your parents are good or bad, insensitive or irrational, born again or not, no matter their state, honour for them is a must.

    The American Heritage Dictionary defines honour as “esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence.” That means you are to give to your parents due respect and reverence, and esteem them highly under every circumstances of life.

    For failure to honour his father, Reuben lost his glorious place in destiny. The Bible records in Genesis 35:22: And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it…

    In Genesis 49:3-4, when Jacob was pronouncing blessings on his sons, what Reuben got was this: Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

    It is sad, because Reuben by destiny was the excellency of dignity. He was by destiny supposed to be a man of dignity. But he lost it for one singular act of dishonour and lack of respect for his father.

    Jesus further emphasized this point in Matthew 19:16-19: And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him … but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said … Honour thy father and thy mother…

    Longevity on earth and eternity with God are both tied to the honour given by children to their parents. This also is part of the 10 Commandments given to Moses in Exodus 20:12. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 4:12: …A threefold cord is not quickly broken.

    If you want to see many good and fulfilling days on the earth, then as a child in a family, respect for your parents is non-negotiable. You will make it, in Jesus’ name!

    Effectively handling your duties as children demands a life in Christ. This entails confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and personal Saviour. If you are ready to be born again, please say this simple prayer with me, in faith: Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I believe You died and rose again for my sake. Forgive me of my sins, take over my life, make me Your child and let Your peace reign over my life. Thank you for saving me. Now I know I am born again.

    Congratulations, you are now born again! I believe that you will begin to experience the reality of the price that Jesus paid for your sins at Calvary. All round rest and peace are guaranteed you in Jesus’ Name!

    Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through:

    E-mail: faithdavid@yahoo.com Tel. No: 08141320204; 07026385437; 07094254102

    For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Single With A Difference, Building A Successful Family, and Success In Marriage (Co-Authored with Bishop David Oyedepo).

  • Dwelling according to knowledge (4)

    Dear Reader,

    It is a good and great week! I’m glad to have you again on this column. Last week, I taught on duties of the women, the place of submission on the part of the woman. This week, I shall be showing you more duties of the women.

    In the Book of Titus, the woman has another responsibility, which is to love her husband and her children, to be sensible, to think right, to be pure, chaste, virtuous, and sexually faithful to her husband in every way. Also, the woman is to be preoccupied with who she is, not how she looks. First Timothy 2:9-10 says a woman is to dress modestly and discreetly, with godly fear, sobriety, and modesty. She is to be modest and discreet, demonstrating godly fear.

    Another responsibility of the woman in her family is to be a worker at home. Titus 2:5 describes her as a “keeper at home.” This doesn’t simply refer to her scrubbing floors, cleaning bathrooms, and all that. It simply connotes that the home is the sphere of her labours, whatever there might be. It is not that a woman is to keep busy all the time at home, or that she can never go out to work or do other things. It does not mean that she should always be doing menial tasks and home chores. What it simply means is that the home is the sphere of her divine assignment. The home is meant for keeping, and the one assigned by God to do that task is the woman. God will not do for you what you are meant to do.

    The woman is to be the home keeper. She is to take care of her husband, and to provide for him and their children all they need as they live in the home. Materially, she is to translate the resources her husband brings home into a comfortable and blessed life for her family. She is to take the spiritual things she knows and learns, and pass them on to her children. She is a keeper at home. She must accept the responsibility to pray for the family. If she does not, no one else will.

    You are expected to portray an exemplary lifestyle before your children. According to John Maxwell, “Your character is your most effective means of persuasion.” This assertion is more applicable in the lives of our children. It is important that you let these children under your care see you living out the Word of God on a daily basis. That way, you will create lasting positive notion on their lives like no preaching or lecturing can.

    Learn to say words like “thank you, I appreciate you, I’m grateful,” and many more to them. Do not take it for granted that they are available to serve you, rather show gratitude to them for whatever they contribute to your life, family or your job.

    Endeavour to give these children listening ear, so as not to only be able to know what is happening to them, but also to be able to provide godly instruction and counsel. Another major thing in nurturing them spiritually is to always keep their confidence. Never make your discussions with them subject to any discussion with others, otherwise, they lose confidence in you.

    There is no one who can pray as passionately for your family like you would. You alone know the true state of your home, so you are in the best position to know what to do to keep it safe from all forms of wickedness. That is why my husband often testifies that he has not had the first concern over our home, because I have consistently stood in my place as a keeper of the home.

    I have always taken what my husband provides, including the vision of the ministry God has committed into his hands, and passed them unto the children and every other member of our household. No concern has ever risen, because everyone knows where to fit in per time. That shall also become your testimony, in Jesus’ name.

    Effectively handling the duties of a woman both to your husband and children demands a life in Christ. This entails confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and personal Saviour. If you are ready to be born again, please say this simple prayer with me, in faith: Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I believe You died and rose again for my sake. Forgive me of my sins, take over my life, make me Your child and let Your peace reign over my life. Thank you for saving me. Now I know I am born again.

     

    Congratulations, you are now born again! I believe that you will begin to experience the reality of the price that Jesus paid for your sins at Calvary. All round rest and peace are guaranteed you in Jesus’ Name!

    Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through:

    E-mail: faithdavid@yahoo.com Tel. No: 08141320204; 07026385437; 07094254102

    For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Single With A Difference, Building A Successful Family, and Success In Marriage (Co-Authored with Bishop David Oyedepo).

     

  • Dwelling according to knowledge

    Dear reader,

    With joy unspeakable full of glory, I sincerely welcome you to this life-changing and destiny-moulding column. I count it a very great privilege to be sharing God’s Word with you. I am full of excitement, because of the great and mighty things God has in store for you. It is so loaded and full of fat things. You will not miss your own portion in Jesus’ name!

    This month, via the Word of God, I will be sharing with you, Dwelling According To Knowledge. It is my prayer that as you open your heart to receive and act on God’s Word concerning your family today, your marriage and home will experience a positive transformation in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen!

    The major reason for crises in families, today, is because family members do not fully understand their God-given responsibilities in the family set-up. A person cannot do that which he does not know. If a person does not know his duties in the family set-up, he cannot fulfill his obligations. This month, I shall be examining one of the vital responsibilities necessary for achieving family success.

    In 1 Peter 3:7, the Bible records: Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

    The main emphasis here is the phrase, “Dwell with them according to knowledge.” The word “dwell” is translated from the Greek word “sunoikeo”, which is used to denote domestic association; this association is to be done according to knowledge. For any family to experience any degree of success, knowledge of the nature and duties of every member of the family is inevitable.

    What then is knowledge?

    The Oxford Dictionary defines knowledge as awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a person. Dictionary.com defines it as “the state or fact of knowing; familiarity, awareness, or understanding gained through experience or study; specific information about something.”

    When the Bible, therefore, enjoins us to dwell according to knowledge, it means there are certain facts that one must lay hold on, in order to enjoy family success. There are lots of family crises, when we have little or no knowledge of our duties in fulfilling God’s ultimate purpose for the family. That is why the Bible says in Hosea 4:6: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…

    Each member of the family has a certain God-given responsibility to fulfill in the family, in order for success to abound therein. My husband has often shared one of the secrets of our family success, which is the acquisition of knowledge. By reason of what he saw of the marriage institution in his growing up days, he began seeking to know from God His true purpose for the institution of marriage.

    It was in that state that God showed him the seven concepts of marriage, which has been practiced conscientiously in our family, causing us to enjoy a great deal of success. It took knowledge for us to know our individual placement in the family network, and that knowledge has set us free from every family crises.

    To enjoy family success, therefore, the place of knowledge cannot be over-emphasized. In Proverbs 24:3-4 the NIV Bible, enumerating the benefits of knowledge, says: By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

    If you must find families which are filled with rare and beautiful treasures of peace, love, joy, satisfaction, sunshine, fulfillment, etc, then knowledge is the key. It takes knowledge to enjoy family success.

    The prescription to dwell according to knowledge within the family network has its source in God. Therefore, I will be looking at His instruction on the subject, for the Bible has said in Proverbs 2:6: For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

    The scriptures often use the words wisdom, knowledge and understanding interchangeably. But they are occasionally spoken of as separate and distinct. Knowledge is the fact, understanding is the ability to lift the meaning out of the fact, and wisdom is knowing what next to do.

    Knowledge is the ability to collate and access information. This alone may not be beneficial, except the information gathered is understood, leading you to the next line of action. Understanding, on the other hand, is the ability to extract meaning out of information, which produces principles, while wisdom is the ability to decipher which principles to apply now.

    The injunction to dwell according to knowledge will not be beneficial without an understanding of what one’s responsibilities are, and a decision to put them to work. To enjoy the knowledge of God knowing what to do per time, being born again is the only sure foundation. To be born again, you have to confess your sins and accept Jesus as your Lord and personal Saviour.

    If you are ready to be born again, please say this simple prayer with me, in faith: Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I believe You died and rose again for my sake. Forgive me of my sins, take over my life, make me Your child and let Your peace reign over my life. Thank you for saving me. Now I know I am born again.

    Congratulations, you are now born again! I believe that you will begin to experience the reality of the price that Jesus paid for your sins at Calvary. All-round rest and peace are guaranteed you, in Jesus’ Name!

    Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through:

    E-mail: faithdavid@yahoo.com Tel. No: 08141320204; 07026385437; 07094254102

    For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Single With A Difference, Building A Successful Family, and Success In Marriage (Co-Authored with Bishop David Oyedepo).

  • Appraising Osun’s tablet of knowledge

    […] It is only when the minds of men have been properly and rigorously cultivated and garnished, that they can be safely entrusted with public affairs with a certainty and assuredness that they will make the best of their unique opportunity and assignment. —Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

     

     

    Anyone who conscientiously observes the policy initiatives of the current administration in the State of Osun since inception may not be hard-pressed to aver that it is increasingly working its fingers to the bone in order to make the effects of governance felt in all households in the state. Through many of its “O’projects”, the Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola administration is unusually raising the bar of governance. Indeed, here is a governor who with uncommon hardihood and ideas is making life more meaningful for the generality of Osun citizens.

    What I personally find incredible is that in less than three years of assuming office, this O’Governor (as some people warm-heartedly brand him) has initiated a highly comprehensive reform that the Philistinic and rapacious PDP administration deemed impossible in the education sector of the state for an unbelievably uninterrupted seven years! In various aspects of the education sector of Osun today is striking evidence of how structured thinking and judicious use of resources can make a huge invaluable difference in the life of a people. As clearly stated in the epigraph to this piece, only rigorously cultivated and garnished minds can make the best of the opportunity availed them to serve the public.

    One of those beneficial projects Governor Aregbesola’s government will be forever remembered for is the newly launched computer tablet, an I-pad-like learning device christened Opon Imo. It was reported that about 150,000 units of the device would be given free of charge to both students and teachers in the state’s public schools – 20,000 for teachers and 130,000 for students in the high schools. With the introduction of this learning device, there is no doubt that the lacuna between teaching and learning, and access to requisite materials will be greatly reduced.

    It is noteworthy that the tablet is preloaded with different tutorial notes, past questions, and textbooks on 17 subjects that students register for in the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE), the National Examination Council (NECO), and the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). This is a potent elixir for students; they will be motivated to settle down for business as the tuneless music of lack and dearth of necessary learning materials would have been taken care of. Experience has shown that where students are availed of the required learning materials, their capacity to excel is greatly enhanced. I am confident that the use of this device will greatly increase the capacity of our students for remarkable performances in their studies. Also, with Opon Imo, it is certain that public schools in the state will no longer produce students who are happily alien to the use of computer, which every young adult in current time can only neglect to their own disadvantage.

    For the government, parents, and teachers, it is all the way a win-win situation. In other words, while government saves money from buying textbooks (each computer tablet has about 65 textbooks), the teachers as well will no longer be tortured with teaching students who know nothing about the unsullied joy of possessing textbooks. Let me observe here that those who whoop and whine about the substantial billions of naira that the government will save from not having to buy textbooks because students can now access them on the tablets are only being mischievous. Only asinine kind of opposition politics would inspire anyone to condemn and howl negatively against a prudent government, which has even demonstrated in more ways than one, that it is committed to allocating resources across the various sectors of the state astutely. I think it is a sensible and laudable move for the Aregbesola government to even recognise in the first place that it can make savings from the huge investment it is making in the education sector. What is more, even parents, especially those with financial challenges, now have their burdens significantly crashed as they may not have to worry about how to buy textbooks for their children. Whether the nagging nabobs of notorious negativities in Osun find it palatable or not, the different households in the state are firmly convinced that they have a government which adds lasting values to their lives.

    The Opon Imo device is also said to contain six extra-curricular subjects, to wit Sexuality Education, Entrepreneurship, Yoruba Proverbs, Civic Education, Yoruba History and the Yoruba Traditional Religion. This is a welcome development as it will go a long way in equipping the minds of the students with knowledge in other useful areas other than their school subjects. The fact that the students may not be examined on these areas suggests to me that the government is directly awakening the consciousness of the students to the inexorable need for them to stuff their minds with knowledge not purposely for the sake of examination. Their capacity for dialectical thinking will be developed and they will not suffer from the malaise of insular and shallow thinking mostly favoured by charlatans and pedestrian souls. Surely, as they furnish their minds with the knowledge from those diverse subjects, they will know something about everything and everything about something. That is how to produce sound and round students. Precisely, the aspect on Yoruba, history, traditional religion, and proverbs are part of the effective ways of imbuing these students with the understanding of their culture.

    Surely, with its manifold brilliant and remarkable initiatives in the various sectors of the State of Osun, especially the education sector, the Aregbesola government is not unmindful of the tested and true view that the extent to which a government accords attention to its educational system will determine the level of the socio-economic development of the state or country, after all it has been proven again and again that there is a direct relationship between education and development. As the computer tablet affirms, the State Government of Osun knows what is at stake if it does not modernise its learning system.

    I can only cheer parents, teachers, and other stakeholders to help in ensuring that the students make valuable use of the device. The government must also continue to deepen this ICT-compliant learning system, even as it allows the worrywarts to keep clutching their permanent crutches of baseless bellyaches.

     

    • Alawode, a retired secondary school teacher, lives in Ile-Ife, Osun State.

  • Knowledge-sharing today

    Today at 9pm, FUTA will host a Technology Knowledge Sharing Programme (TKSP). The event tagged: “Geology and mineral deposits in the Nigerian flank of the Chad Basin: Implication for hydrocarbon potential for sustainable development”, is an initiative of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), the event will feature experts delivering papers on related key issues.

  • In search of knowledge

    In search of knowledge

    Education students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, went on an excursion to two historical sites in Osun State. OLUWAFEMI OGUNJOBI and WILBERFORCE AREVORE (400-Level Language Arts) write.

     

    It was an expedition that will linger in the memories of participants, who visited historical sites of Osun State.

    Students in the Faculty of Education, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, last Friday, converged on the Humanities car park, for a journey to Osun-Osogbo grove, a sacred forest, which forms the history of the people of Osogbo.

    Dr. Babatunde Adeyemi and Dr. Adesina Adegbenro, lecturers in the faculty, joined in the expedition.

    The students also visited Erin-Ijesha Waterfall, which is also known as Olumirin Waterfall. Olumirin is a mysterious cascade that is appreciated for its nature essence and warmth with several mountain tops, which stand at elevated feet.

    Osun-Osogbo grove, a dense forest, on the outskirts of the city of Osogbo, has endured since time immemorial. It is regarded as the abode of the goddess of fertility, Osun, one of the pantheons of Yoruba gods. The landscape of the grove and its river are dotted with sanctuaries and shrines, sculptures and artworks in honour of the Osun goddess and other deities such as Ogun (god of iron), Sopona (god of thunder) and Yemoja (mermaid) among others.

    At the Osun-Osogbo grove, the students were received by Mr Emmanuel Adesiyan, who narrated how the sacred forest came to be. He told the students: “The Osun-Osogbo grove is among the surviving heritage of the sacred forests, which adjoined the edges of Yoruba cities before extensive urbanisation. The sacred grove, which is being seen as a symbol of identity for all Yoruba people, is probably the last in Yoruba culture. It testifies to the once widespread practice of establishing sacred groves outside all settlements.”

    The tour guide, Mr Yomi Afongbomoja, conducted the students round the locations littered with frightening objects. He explained the myths surrounded the scary statues found in the groove. The interior of the groove contains deposit of statues of various shapes and sizes. There is also a shrine where Osun deity is being worshipped by its devotees.

    The students left the groove to Erin-Ijesha Waterfall. Located two kilometres east of Erin Ijesha town along Ilesha-Akure road, the cascade is a beautiful scenery stationed in between mountains.

    Excitement suffused the air as the bus that conveyed the students stopped at the tourist site. The students embarked on climbing the mountains, but a few managed to get to the top. Many of them stopped half-way as they could proceed to the zenith of the seven layered summit. After several hours of climbing, the students came down to play under the waterfall.

    As they were catching fun, music blared from a high-sound speaker set-up by a Disc Jockey (DJ) brought to the site by the students.

    Speaking to CAMPUS LIFE, John Adetola, 300-Level Language Arts, said: “This is certainly more than a excursion; it is pure fun. Although, I have gained a lot of things and I have just added to my travelling experience. The two places we visited are not just historical places; the classrooms for me to learn many things about my culture.”

  • ‘There’s knowledge in reading’

    A young author, Femi Onasanya, says in this interaction with Remi Adelowo that the more you read, the more you know. This forms the focus of his two new books, Soul Refreshers and Pleasant Dreams

     

    On Soul Refreshers Over the years, I’ve realised the importance of using jokes and riddles to get the attention of my audience, particularly the youth. At a forum in London, I talked about the benefits of rumour and I cracked four jokes. That was why I decided to add humour and riddles to this poetry. And I also added smart questions, because I used to be a Bible teacher and youth worker. That was how the book ‘Soul Refreshers’ came about.

    The story behind Pleasant Dreams

    The idea behind it started far back in 2007 when I came to Nigeria from the U.K. I was working then with Chemical and Allied Products Plc in Ikeja and something happened, which compelled me to leave the job. So, I thought of what to do next. With so much free time I had, I decided to put together a new book which I first titled ‘Sweet Dreams.’

    So, I merged some things that happened about 10, 20 years ago. I was on this for months, which rolled into years but I never gave up. Later, I realised ‘Sweet Dreams’ is a common cliché and I wanted to be different. That was why I changed the title to ‘Pleasant Dreams.’ But then over the years, I said I don’t want to be too traditional, just following the regular pattern. I wanted to be a little bit eccentric, the book is all about some personal pleasant dreams and experiences just to make people know that it’s not only nightmare that occur when we sleep; that it’s not only nightmare they should pay attention to; that sometimes, we have dreams that are very crucial, but we don’t take note of them.

    Personal experiences and my books

    These two new books are all about my journey through life. Although when I’m writing, I try as much as possible to be impersonal. For instance, if you go through my first book, ‘One Missing Ingredient,’ you’ll find out that it’s very impersonal; it’s not about my personal experience. It’s more academic or better still personal development or inspiration. But for the new books, they are about my personal experiences.

    Objectives for writing books

    I’ve always had the desire to be a writer since I was a teenager, but there was nobody to push me. Most times, I’ll start writing a book and would not complete it and at times. I would finish a book, but it would not get published. There were quite a number of books I wrote that were turned down by publishers. But two years ago, I was encouraged by some people to forge ahead. My books is basically to motivate people; the young and the old, on the importance of persistence in anything one does. Persistence is one major key to success in life.

    Thoughts on poor reading culture in Nigeria

    When we say people don’t read in Nigeria, we may be right and wrong at the same time. This is because first, most of the people who motivated me to write are Nigerians. One of them is not based in Italy. He studied at the then University of Ife and made a First Class. He was an ardent reader. When he talks, you’ll know he is a man of books. When I write books, of course I don’t expect that 150 million Nigerians would read it. My book is for anybody who wants to learn. At the early period of my life, I was not an avid reader, but if I could change, then others too can change as well. My philosophy of life is that ‘readers would always be leaders.’

    Mentoring is key to success

    To succeed in life, everyone aspiring to succeed must have a mentor. You can be absolutely brilliant, but you are not free from making mistakes. A person may not be brilliant, but if he or she has a mentor, he or she would be guided properly.

    My wish

    I hope these books would spread wide and change lives. Then my advice to youth is to be persistent.

     

     

     

     

  • ‘40% of Nigerians lack insurance knowledge’

    The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Riskguard Africa, Nigeria Limited, a pension and insurance consulting firm, Yemi Soladoye, has said 40 per cent of Nigerians lack any knowledge about what insurance is all about.

    Soladoye said this was discovered from a research work that was carried out under the development of microinsurance, which was made available to the National Insurance Commission.

    “According to a report submitted to NAICOM, at the end of the feasibility study for sales of microinsurance, the report revealed that 40 per cent of Nigerians don’t have any opinion about what insurance is all about, whether positive or negative.”

    According to the findings, most of those interviewed did not know what insurance does to individuals, or the society, while some saw insurance as a means to borrow money to buy assets.

    The insurance expert said that when the industry commenced campaign on the benefits of compulsory insurance, many people were excited about it and showed their readiness to obtain some of the insurance policies.

    He said the mortgage industry which should maximise the potentials of insurance, was not well developed to utilise insurance effectively.