The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Pursue

  • My sisters made me pursue career in music, says Spyz

    IMO Records artiste, Godwin Joseph Uchonu aka Spyz, who just released a new single, ‘Bless Me,’ has explained the role his sisters played in his life as a musician.

    In a chat with The Nation, the singer revealed that he started doing music in church at the age of eight and later discovered that music was part of him.

    “My sisters and I often stood before the television and gave renditions of songs from Lionel Richie, R. Kelly and Nigeria’s Plantashun  Boiz. My sisters felt I was really good; so they encouraged me to pursue a career in music. I started writing and composing songs at the age of 12,” he said.

    According to him, the journey to the top has not been easy. He performed at many street carnivals and was a “studio rat” for years before he was signed to a record company.

    “When I knew I could really do music was when I started performing at the festivals in December, in my neighbourhood. I was encouraged by some people and I was mocked too. But I didn’t give up.

    “I became a studio rat, which was how I got the name Spyz. I was always called to feature on the tracks of other people and the artistes admitted that I gave their songs spice,” he said.

    His new song, ‘Bless Me,’ is produced by Blaise Beatz and mixed and mastered by Swapmix.

  • Pursue your destiny (XXVII)

    “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

    As discussed last week, fear negates the spirit of God and thereby suppresses our spiritual connectivity. It could arise from an adversity and it could be unfounded. It not only distracts our spirit and hinders it from seeing God’s great plans for our lives, it also attracts negativity. This, of course, is a ladder for the devil to climb into such a life and steal from it. Today, I’ll be discussing some useful tips on how to overcome fear, especially in times of adversity. I welcome you all to school on Sunday!

    How to overcome fear

    1. Develop a winner’s attitude. A winner hates failure, disappointment, rejection and the likes and never wants to remain in such a situation. A winner sees adversity as a challenge that has to be overcome in spite of seeming odds.  True, not everyone has the much needed self-confidence to have this attitude but the earlier you find a way of developing that attitude the better, otherwise life will box you into a miserable corner. You must always have it in mind that God is looking out for you and will never wish you shame as long as you are living right. Remember He says:

    “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11

    If I were you, I’ll concentrate more on that expected end and ride there on God’s back.

    2. Reframe the way you see the adversity. Choose to look at the situation as training for developing the character you need for your life’s destiny and purpose. That is when you can come across the gold-mine and eventually be forever thankful for having gone through it all. The trials and tribulations we go through in life either make us better or bitter. The choice is in our hands. If we allow them make us bitter, we deny ourselves the goodness of life as the devil presents it to us as a dark abyss full of unending trouble.

    3. Have faith and let your mind see the silver lining behind the cloud. Let your soul begin to see your desired destination even when the battle is toughest and it seems it will never end. It will come rushing to you when you least expect.

    4. Fill your mind with courageous thoughts. When you fill your mind with only courageous thoughts, you leave no room for fears and you tend to make courageous decisions. Courage is not absence of fear but the overcoming of fear. Fear is all that lies between you and your dreams of getting the best out of life. You must braze up and fight your fears with all your might. Instead of seeing or feeling the fear, look at the further side of it towards your dreams. Move forward despite feeling the fear. Pretend it doesn’t exist. Just have faith and do what is needful to get out of your horrible situation. Your faith will never let you down. It will see you through.

    5. Cast your cares (and fears) on Him

    “Cast thy burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22

    Try writing out a list of things that make your knees shake and your heart rate increase unnecessarily. Then present them to God, one by one. Are you afraid of your parents getting a divorce because of their cold relationship or losing one of them to death? What’s the worst thing that could happen? You might be forced to trust God completely. Fling that fear on God. Fear of being alone? Fear of being rejected? Fear of dying? Fear of debilitating illness? Fear of failing your admission exam? Fear of marrying the wrong person? Fear of people? The list of phobias may grow as you begin to identify them. When your list is complete, give all those fears to God and then rip up your sheet.

    Or, do some research on your own. Find a promise in God’s Word that deals with each fear. Place the Scripture beside it, and keep it handy near your desk or mirror to refresh your mind that God will take care of them  and you.

    “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” Psalm 56:3

    “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.”  Psalm 112:7

    Remember life is a battle where survival belongs to the fittest. In every unpleasant situation you find yourself, face it with the skills of a warrior while meditating on scriptures of God’s promises and stories of children of God who had to conquer fear and face fierce battles which they eventually conquered. Your fear belittles God and drives Him away from your heart. You need Him now to accomplish that great task that will announce you in the world which the devil has been fighting. Stop that fear, before it stops you!

    Assignment

    After asking God to forgive you for not having confidence in Him, praise Him from the bottom of your heart for that which He’s going to do, including a restoration of your wasted and lost opportunities. Then pray the following prayer aggressively for at least 15 minutes before you sleep tonight:

    “Every root of fear in my life be uprooted by the power in the blood of Jesus.”

  • Pursue your destiny (XXIII)

    Pursue your destiny (XXIII)

    Dear Temilolu,

    Thank you for the good work you are doing for the body of Christ by raising a new generation of women through your work. You are a gift to motherhood. May God bless and enlarge your coast.

    Pastor Favour Onoja

    Dear Temilolu,

    I’ve just read your piece on “Pride,” keep up the good service to God and humanity.

    Anonymous

    Wonderful Nigerians,

    What a wonderful God we serve! What a covenant-keeping God we have! With all the predictions and hullaballoo about the country splitting into two, bloodshed during and after the elections, aren’t you living peacefully in your houses today? No doubt, the devil wanted just that but our God answers prayers and I believe He has given us a whole new happy life. Congratulations to us all as we begin the journey into the best days of our lives. Please note, no matter what we think, God’s choice is always the best for us. Let’s accept it gratefully and imagine every dream of a good life coming true. And it shall be so in Jesus name. AMEN!

    I welcome you all to school on Sunday. We’ve been on the topic  Rebrand Your Spirit and the crux is recognising the negative elements in our spirit and getting rid of them to enhance our spiritual connectivity with God and make the most of Him.

    Pride (Contd.)

    As discussed last week, proud people have the tendency to and in fact more often than not oppress the poor. And the Goodnews bible says.

    “If you oppress poor people, you insult the God who made them; but kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship.”  Proverbs 14:31

    God expects we deal with the poor mercifully. No wonder the psalmist said:

    “Happy are those who are concerned for the poor; the Lord will help

    them when they are in trouble. The Lord will protect them and preserve their lives;

    he will make them happy in the land; he will not abandon them to the power of their enemies.”  Psalm 41:1-2

    When we hear of the sudden death of wealthy people who probably had to deal with terminal illnesses and who conspicuously donated generously to their churches in their life time, one begins to wonder why God didn’t save them from death. Perhaps all the generous donations were a show-off and to oppress those around them. Perhaps, God would have been happier with them if they had sown such money into the lives of so many poor people who could not afford a 3-square meal or school fees. We need to be very wise with our dealings with God.

    I am afraid for girls who have parents who show-off their wealth and act like they own all the riches on earth. They are unconsciously planting an evil seed in the lives of these girls. The result is their entire life reeks of pride and as we all know pride is a satanic spirit, it gives the devil room in their lives and opens them up to demonic invasion. I pray you are able to deal with it and shut the devil away.

    How to deal with pride

    •Recognise God’s position on pride

    “The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.”  Proverbs 16:5 (NIV)

    Now, why would you want to get yourself into trouble with God? Remember He gave you everything that makes you proud- your good looks, intellect, riches, pedigree and everything that makes you think so highly of yourself and could strip you of it within a second. Don’t make Him sorry for choosing to bless you. If I were you, I’ll quit being proud so He can give me more.

    •Change your false beliefs

    Do you think you are better than others? Do you think that you are indispensable?

    Do you think that your accomplishments entitle you to a special position?

    By the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Romans 12:3 NIV

    Such self-centred and self-appreciating belief went wild in Lucifer and destroyed him. We must learn to allow the Scripture to inform our views of ourselves, other people, and life in general so that we don’t end up being proud in a sinful way.

      •Ask for the fullness of the Holy Spirit

    “But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23

    You may search the Scriptures for truths about pride and humility, then memorise the verses that you think can best help you to resist pride. Before you know it, that dark veil of pride in your inner man would disappear.

    • Consider the great gains of humility

    Jesus Christ was rewarded for his humility. The Scripture says:

    “The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had: He always had the nature of God, but he did not think that by force he should try to remain[b] equal with God. Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant. He became like a human being and appeared in human likeness. He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death his death on the cross. For this reason God raised him to the highest place above and gave him the name that is greater than any other name.” Phillipians 2:5-9

  • Pursue your destiny (XXII)

    Dear Temilolu,

    Congratulations to you for keeping faith with the call of God. In just one year, you have impacted and imparted lives you may never even meet here on earth. You are God’s response to a need in the world. You are the answer to a question that God knew would be asked in your generation. Every Sunday, your write-ups cause celebrations and joy in heaven. The lord will increase and strengthen you in Jesus name. You will not fail in Jesus name. Amen.

    Pastor Muyiwa

     

    Dear Temi,

    I could hardly believe your write-up on your ministry. You must be pro-life. I pray God’s spirit will continue to abide in you. May God bless you and keep you for the salvation of souls. Amen.

    S Pat-Natson (Kaduna)

     

    Dear Aunty Temilolu,

    I am a 300 level student of the University of Ibadan. I am writing to encourage you ma. I am thrilled at how much you love God and reverence Him in your articles without caring whose ox is gored. You are a role model to me as I see myself running a ministry similar to yours. Please I want you to be my mentor.

    Folakemi J.

     

    Wonderful Nigerians,

    I am happy to be with you again today. And I welcome you all to school on Sunday. A few weeks back just before I published Fatima’s story I began a topic titled   REBRAND YOUR SPIRIT and explained that just as the spirit of God wishes to dwell in us, illuminate our inner man and give us the best things in life so also the devil competes to have our mind and soul so he can make a mess of God’s wonderful plans for us. One of his ways of gaining entry is through certain negative elements in us which we could also call bad spirits. So far I have discussed one of these bad spirits which is Anger and also gave tips on how to get rid of it before it rids us of what rightfully belongs to us. Today, I’ll be discussing Pride.

    Pride is a satanic spirit. I call it satanic because it was what fell Lucifer. God said, “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee” Ezekiel 28:15. This beautiful, powerful, intelligent, and gifted cherub fell from his perfect estate when his heart was lifted up because of his own beauty and brightness (v. 17). No longer was he willing to be subservient to his Creator-God. No wonder the saying goes “pride goes before a fall.”

    Pride is a sin and clearly an anti-God spirit which defiles the soul and one’s entire existence.

    “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”  Mark 7:21-23

    We all fall prey to it because of the natural respect we have for ourselves as individuals. No wonder Solomon advises us in Proverbs 4:23 to guard our heart as out of it flows the course of our life.

    When Solomon refers to guarding the heart, he really means the inner core of a person, the thoughts, feelings, desires, will, and choices that make that person who he/she is. The Bible tells us that our thoughts often dictate who we become (Proverbs 23:7; 27:19). The mind of a man reflects who he really is, not simply his actions or words. That is why God examines the heart of a man, not simply his outward appearance and what he appears to be (1 Samuel 16:7).

    “   The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.” Proverbs 8:13 (KJV)

    “Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.”  Proverbs 16:5 (KJV)

    God hates it when we are proud. Now, how can God dwell in such a heart? It casts a dark shadow and evil weight over our souls.

    A proud man thinks of himself as higher than someone else. Are you one of those who would rather mingle with the rich even in your church than the poor? Are you one of those who give the lowly in your church a wide berth and a haughty look? Are you one of those who make them wish they were never born? Funny thing is that this so-called wealthy people get the attention of the leadership of the church more than the poor and lowly even when they are obviously thieves. Is your car too clean to give a fellow church member a ride? Have you ever considered the fact that you could be very poor? But by God’s grace you have what you have. Is your attitude to the common promoting the kingdom of God or giving God’s children pain? What’s the use of being proud anyway? It only reduces God’s presence in your life and allows the devil in. Period!

    Every Christian is locked in a constant, intense war with demonic forces. Many of us become so intent on fighting the external spiritual war that we forget that much of our battle is not with external forces, but with our own mind and thoughts.

    Pride is a device that can be so easily woven into anyone’s life.  It is an abomination to God and it must be kept in check.

  • Pursue your destiny (XXI)

    Pursue your destiny (XXI)

    The God of Abra’am praise

    Who reigns enthroned above:

    Ancient of everlasting days,

    And God of love:

    Jehovah, Great I AM,

    By earth and heaven confess’d

    I bow and bless the sacred name

    For ever bless’d.

    The whole triumphant host

    Give thanks to God on high;

    Hail father, Son, and Holy Ghost,

    They ever cry.

    Hail Abra’am’s God and mine,

    I join the heavenly lays:

    All might and majesty are Thine,

    And endless praise.

    –  J. Stainer

     

    Dear Sisters and every fan of this column,

    What shall we say unto the Lord, all we have to say is thank you Lord!

    Our column, God’s column – The Girls Club – is a year old today. I hear you say “really?” How time flies! It’s been an awesome 52 weeks of sharing with you all what God breathes upon me and while I’m grateful that so many lives of both males and females, young and old have been positively touched, I am most grateful to God because it has also been a learning process for me as well. Your constant text messages have encouraged me immensely and I pray for you with all my heart that God will make you a greater weapon, bless the work of your hands and make your children very great. And for my sisters all over the world, I can only wish them the very best in life and a quick manifestation of their beautiful dreams. Indeed, with God ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. A life without the spirit of God is a life in total darkness and a devil’s play ground. It’s a waste of time on earth. We are all entitled to more than we can ever imagine. All we need do is to concentrate on Him at a young age so He can direct us on the way to go. Unfortunately, a lot of parents, especially mothers, have for one reason or the other ignored their responsibilities in bringing up their daughters while others practically push their daughters towards the wrong direction just to satisfy their financial needs. This brought about the Chastity Campaign in the markets where mothers are enlightened on the importance of encouraging their daughters to stay chaste and protect the virtues God has given them to be productive and enjoy their divine entitlements.

    It is a well-known fact that this generation has lost its senses to ungodly sex and the devil has cashed in on that to truncate uncountable destinies the world over. Millions of stars which were created to be weapons in the hands of God have been shut down such that a lot of females never discover their purpose in life till they die.

    The Girls Club is geared towards raising girls who would thirst for righteousness even under severe hardship and practice holiness within and without. It is set to assist girls in discovering their stars and thereby become global icons/leaders while enjoying all God has promised in the bible. It is also set to raise girls to become giants in the supernatural by encouraging them to constantly rub minds with God by reading the bible day and night and by fasting and praying without ceasing. It is poised to push girls all over the world into having dominion over their lives by engaging in spiritual warfare.

    We thank God for this divine mandate and pray that His mighty power continues to be with us till eternity.

    Our School on Sunday continues next week. May God bless The Nation news paper and make it very great. AMEN!

  • Pursue your destiny (XX)

    Pursue your destiny (XX)

    DEAR Sisters and every fan of this column, I am happy to announce to you “The sun will no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness will the moon shine on you by night  for the LORD will be your everlasting light and your God will be your glory.

    Last week, I shared the story of Fatima who was put in the family way by her lover only for him to refuse the pregnancy though quite frankly there was no agreement between them to have a baby. Fatima whose world came crashing at her lover’s unprecedented cold shoulder didn’t have the heart to terminate the pregnancy even when she lacked all the love and support she needed from her family. Her father who refused to re-marry for the period of the 20 years he had to single-handedly raise Fatima has disowned her and she’s been living in severe hardship and at a time she had to put garri and water in her baby’s feeding bottle to save her from starving to death.

    Here’s the concluding part of her story.

    One day, my friend told me to start looking for somewhere else to stay with my child that she could no longer afford to pay the rent and that she had decided to move into her boy friend’s apartment. My heart almost jumped into my mouth because I had nowhere to go. My folks do not want to have anything to do with me again and I was homeless. I started roaming the street with no particular destination. A former neighbour saw me and took us in. He prayed with me and asked me to give my life to Christ, which I did. But I wish I had found Christ earlier. If I did, I am sure I wouldn’t have ended up this way and now I am struggling to coast through life with my child in one hand and my dreams in the other.

    When I read your article of November 23 where you discussed evil family pattern, I felt somewhere, somehow, someone knows me. You said something about mothers who couldn’t stay married and have children for different men. We are three from my mother but all from different fathers. You also said something about pre-destination. I am not one of those people who believe in such even though on my maternal side, the first-borns hardly stay married to one man but I have found Christ and with him the bible says old things shall pass away and all things shall become new.

    My Darling Fatima,

    In spite of your travails, I am so proud of you and your courage and can’t help but marvel at what God has in plans for you. What a good girl! God is about to turn your shame and pain to great fame and gain. Your father who did his best to raise you has every reason to be mad at you and shouldn’t be blamed but please expect that glorious day that he will come looking for you and will carry you on his head because

    “Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”   Isaiah 49:23 RSV

    God is not going to let you suffer after deciding not to take the life of an innocent unborn baby. Perhaps that would be your ticket to a super-glorification. Who knows what your beautiful child is destined to be in this world? Perhaps she’s one of God’s weapons to transform her generation and save them from ruin. You just never can tell. God will surely reward you and provide everything you both need. Now, at this time of your life, you MUST really sit tight with God and ignore every form of distraction. Your life must be God-centred and scripture-controlled because the devil has succeeded in pushing you on your mother’s path. Having three children for three different men is not uncommon but it is CERTAINLY not God’s plan for us and whatever isn’t God’s plan for us is full of trouble and strife which ends one in pain and disappointment. I pray for every sister who is reading that this or any evil family pattern will not be your portion in the name of Jesus. We have just one life to live and have to be very careful not to miss the best things in life out of sheer ignorance of God.

    Fatima, please make an effort to grow spiritually each day as you constantly study the word of God and invariably rub minds with Him. And you have to be EXTREMELY patient with Him. Do you know you can wake up one day with so much joy and gratitude in your heart for all this pain and regret you are dealing with right now? Hmm…my God will daze you. Patience, patience, patience and a life of holiness soaked in prayers is all you need to turn your situation to a gold mine.

    “But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him,” God has revealed to us through the Spirit.” 1 Cor. 2:9-10

    Please meditate on this and ask for the fullness of the spirit of God so you can pursue your destiny and in the course of this year God will catapult you to greatness. God loves you!

  • PURSUE YOUR DESTINY (XII)

    Good day ma’am,

    I just read your piece on the “Mystery of Godliness” and I absolutely love it. Thank you for your inspirational and educative articles. May almighty God continue to bless and enrich you with knowledge.

    Adebola Adeyemi

    Dear Temilolu,

    I appreciate your spirituality, sense of dedication and commitment to our girls. Please keep the fire burning.

    Engr. Bayode

    Spiritual Intelligence (Contd.)

    Spirituality is a personal experience and it stems from a deep connection with a higher force which is our source. When we recognise and understand our source, we then develop a direct and dynamic relationship which would make life easier for us to live and in fact be our guide in the wilderness of life. You’d recall I gave an example of David who boasted of being more intelligent than his teachers because he constantly meditated on the word of God.  Now, I ask again – if you constantly feed on your source and rub minds with God, who or what can rule your world or drive your destiny? No one but you! Therefore, the first key to developing spiritual intelligence is meditation. Through this, you not only have knowledge of your source, you are able to understand it, comprehend it and apply it in your journey through life. In the meditative process you learn about yourself and the power you can harness. Meditation helps you control your thoughts and feelings, sharpens your ability to discern truth from illusion, and thereby make more intelligent choices. It is the torch light of your soul in a dark, dark world as this. Now tell me, how can darkness overshadow a life that is filled with light? A mind without God is the devil’s play ground. If you can master the lyrics of the latest hip-hop songs word for word and still have fantastic grades, then you should be able to memorise hundreds of verses in the scripture which will keep the devil away and catapult your destiny.

    Advantages of Spiritual Intelligence

    1.    The presence of God

    You’d recall I mentioned that constantly meditating on the word of God is one of the keys of spiritual intelligence. One single verse in the scripture is more powerful than the combined anointing of all the powerful men of God in the world. Reading the scriptures is reading God and rubbing minds with Him and when you get used to Him and you carry His spirit, you automatically carry His presence. His presence lights your path and guides you all the way, shields you from every evil, opens doors, shatters obstacles and grants you uncommon favour etc. Your words not only carry fire and power, as you speak, the heavens stamp and authorise it. What more? You imagine a thing and even without sweating it is established! Whoa!

    2.    Accurate dreams and visions

    When you get yourself acquainted with God through the scriptures, holiness becomes your lifestyle and you would love to communicate with Him by praying ceaselessly and fasting. This not only ignites your inner man, it daily increases your spiritual connectivity such that before long, by the time you wake up every morning, you already know what would happen to you in the course of the day. These revelations come naturally and if there’s any evil coming, you are quick to disperse it. Though the devil also manipulates through fake dreams and visions, with time, you can discern the real from the fake. You constantly get a lot of information not only about your future but about people around you, people far away from you, people you don’t even talk to, and in fact revelations of what would happen in the polity and expos of your exams-WITHOUT ASKING. Amazing!

    3.    Divine directives

    No matter the level of anointing the world’s greatest G.O. carries, the battle of your destiny is strictly between you and God. Of course, your pastor can support you with prayers; however, he may never be able to give you the key to unlock your greatness. The key is more often than not God’s divine directive. Also, one divine instruction can save you and your entire generation from ruin that would have been caused by an evil diversion caused by your carelessness and too much dependence on others. Concentrate more on God, learn to carry Him on your head and let Him constantly talk to you! You will turn out a wonderful wonder – even you will be dazed. I know what I’m talking about o!

    4.    Angelic assistance

    When you are saturated with the spirit of God, you will always be surrounded by angels. In fact, I dare say, they will love you to pieces especially when you love God with all your heart. They will be so protective of you, be your spies, arrange for your needs to be met, make a way for you where it seems impossible and even stretch their love and provision to those who make you happy! Now, can you imagine what they’d do to those who are poised to make a mess of your life? Please permit me to stop here (smiles).

    Do you have a star that must shine or a dream that must come true? Do you want to get back at life for kicking you in the teeth? Do you want to be right where you are destined to be? Acquaint yourself with God and let Him place you on the chariots of fire that will carry you to your promised land!

  • Pursue your destiny (III)

    Pursue your destiny (III)

    WOW! Madam Temilolu, you stand out and just in a jiffy you’ve become my role model as I am an aspiring barrister, hoping to defend the defenceless in the nearest future and a writer. I am a wife and mother and I read your column in the Nation on Sunday. It would be nice to have you as a sister. Thanks.

    Amina Jibril Dukugi, Kaduna

    Thank you woman of God. It’s a great work you are doing for the Lord. We must stop the devil from preying upon the destinies of our youth. I am standing with you in prayer and I know that God will take the glory ultimately. Remain blessed.

    Pst. Stephen A., P/H

    Dear Temilolu,

    I never knew you are single and gifted as such. Keep it up please!

    Anonymous

    Dear Nigerians,

    I hope you all had a great week? I must not fail to thank you for your text messages, a few of which are published. And I must emphasise that we are all gifted as God has invested one unique gift or the other in us to affect other lives positively. We just need to discover our purpose in life and like I’ve been discussing this topic in the last two weeks, today we’ll be going into a series on how we can pursue our original destinies and get them to manifest. I welcome you to school on Sunday and remain a sister to all Nigerians!

    SEPARATE YOURSELF

    As the world daily advances, you will agree with me that most of our thoughts, behaviour, attitude to God and life generally is more often than not influenced by people around us even when it is obviously wrong. And according to the Yorubas- “aiye nse ‘ru e.” That means the world does same. Even clerics who know what the scriptures say about what God expects from us and are meant to ensure we strictly follow the rules encourage people to go against the rules. We hear people saying it’s not possible to live a holy life. Who says? It is very possible if you are determined. God cannot give rules we can’t abide by. All we need is some determination and a consecration of our lives. If you want your original to manifest, the first thing you must learn to do is to decide that in spite of any combination of adverse circumstances and the pollution of the world, your glory must shine. You must always bear in mind that we have a common enemy whose only mission on earth is to “kill, steal and destroy” us, our dreams and every good thing God has planned for our lives. However, isn’t it so nice that the scriptures say he roams round the world looking for whom to devour. What this means is that he knows he can’t destroy everyone and that there are some untouchables. Who says you can’t become an untouchable – the apple of God’s eye? It’s up to you. If you’ve been making the devil happy by flouting God’s rules, your life is automatically his play ground and he would find it too easy to becloud your senses and divert you from your path of glory.

    Hence, the first step to discovering yourself is separating yourself from the world. However, this doesn’t mean you should be in solitary confinement or snob people around you. Well, I must add that you are permitted to run away from people you know would always get you in trouble with God. The scriptures say: “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” I Cor.15:33. When you continue hanging around friends who sleep with their boyfriends, talk dirty, wear seductive clothes, form all sorts of lies to acquire money from their parents etc. you will definitely be influenced. Bad company corrupts good morals, period! And besides, show me your friend and I’ll tell you who you are!

    Also, you must note that there are those who would influence you to do things that will keep you in the firm grip of the devil, there are some whose mindset would keep you in the valley of life because they don’t think great and can’t imagine you shinning and will always discourage you even when they mean no harm while there are some who are the devil’s tools, who have seen your potential and have the power to destroy it! I want you to look back at your life in the last 10 years and your friends/associates and those you are closely related to. In what way did they influence your life? Positive or negative? Are you happy you ever met them? What did they contribute to your life? Did they lift you high or pull you down? Even when you thought you were chopping life, have they added to your success? You need to analyse this and decide what you want to make out of life. Time is running fast and what will make you shine in your youth may never make you shine in your middle age and that is if it is ever discovered. Do you know the more we grow, the lesser the energy we have to pursue our dreams? Besides, when we start taking care of our husbands, children, coping with in-laws etc. we want to give them our maximum concentration. Even if they will be appreciative, their wife and mum are special breed and a shining star they are mightily proud of and who they love to discuss with their friends (who also can’t stop talking about her intelligence and prowess) and not just one of the people out there. So, ladies, please you need to get your priorities right, fast, fast, fast!

  • Pursue cassava bread initiative with vigour, govt urged

    Honest implementation of the cassava bread initiative by the Federal Government will encourage massive production of cassava, Chairman, Fortunate Buttered Bread, Ilorin, Alhaji Hakeem Adejumo, has said.

    He said the initiative would improve farmers’ income.

    Adejumo spoke after receiving a certificate of Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MACAP) from the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

    Hr said the cassava bread initiative would provide jobs to millions of “our teeming youths.”

    Adejumo, however, added: “The government needs to do more to improve power supply. As it is now, the company relies on diesel powered generating set for its production. This is not good enough as it is negatively affecting production cost. Security is also worthy of the government’s serious attention. Indeed, security is the bedrock of economic and political development of any country. A lot should be done to ensure security of lives and property.

    “The relative stability in the price of baking materials has impacted well on bread making business. This, in turn, has stabilised the prices of bread thus, making bread affordable. We urge the government to do more as bread is the food of the common man.”

    Presenting the MANCAP certificate, the state Director of SON, Popoola Adesina, said the award was informed by the firm’s compliance with the minimum industry regulations.