The Importance Of The Presence Of God In Your Business & Work-life

Luke 5:1-7

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding round him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boats. 

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."

Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

Ecclesiastes 2:24-26

A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Ecclesiastes 5:19-20

Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work - this is a gift from God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.  

I bless God for another beautiful opportunity to share a piece of His truth on this blog, and I pray we are all blessed by it. I have heard and read of people and sometimes Christians who don't see the need to bring religious sentiments into their workplace or work-life. I have read of a debate on a Christian Business community where a question was asked if it was alright to pray before a business meeting. I do not intend to make a statement for or against that question but the focus of my message today is the importance and in fact the very important need for the presence and the hand of God in our business and work-life.

My previous post focused on the impact of the Presence of God in the life of a man and I appreciate and seek mostly for the presence of God in every area of my life because His presence in our lives brings with it an undeniable blessing. The kind of blessing that shouts and people around do not have a choice but to notice that in truth this person carries the presence of God in him or her.

In looking at the impact of God in our business or work-life, I found a very good example in the passage before us, the story of Peter and the catch of fish. When we do a research on the man called Simon Peter the disciple of Jesus, we will discover that he was a seasoned fisherman of his time. He was good at his trade and he understood the antics and technicalities of fishing. He knew the best times, areas of the sea and season to make the most catch. But his expertise sometimes fails him and his calculations might sometimes run on the negative. We all know for sure that nature is not static, we can try but cannot hold the waves of the sea or stop a tornado. 

The night in this passage was one of such nights that Peter toiled so hard but caught nothing. Peter and his colleagues had put all their fisherman expertise to test but caught absolutely nothing. In fact they had retired for the night and were watching their nets when they caught the attention of Jesus. So when the Lord Jesus had finished making use of their boat as a podium for His sermon, it was time to bless Peter, and so Jesus told him to launch into the deep for a catch. 

I am so very happy for Peter that he didn't by virtue of his knowledge of fishing argue with Jesus or disobey the instruction. He only made known his own limitations by telling Jesus that he had tried his best based on what he knew about fishing and caught nothing. But Jesus is He that has no limitations, everything about the existence of the earth is subject to His control. Nature is on attention to do the bidding of our Lord Jesus, remember that even the winds obey Him, so its not a surprise at all that the fish in the sea will obey Him. The result of the supremacy of Christ that night was that Peter the expert fisherman that was unable to catch any fish by himself caught two boats filled with fish to the points that the boats began to sink at the command of the Lord Jesus Christ.

With what we have read in the book of Luke chapter 5, I am not sure if there is still a need to argue the necessity of the presence of God in our business. When you have made God the number one director of your business and work-life and you do not rely on your ability to make things work, then I can assure you that your business does not have any association with failure, because all the elements that are involved are under the direct and express control of the Almighty God. 

I am learning a big lesson from the wisdom of Solomon in the book Ecclesiastes chapter 2 that the best thing for any man is to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work and this is a gift from God, because without God you cannot eat or find enjoyment. So in plain terms all your hard work and expertise in whatever trade you think you are good at is meaningless without God. 

Solomon went further to say that to the man who pleases God, He gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness. What this means to me is that when you please God He endows you with a talent, He gives you skill, knowledge and ability to excel in your trade and then grants you happiness in that trade. You are not just an expert in your field of trade, but you are a happy and fulfilled expert in what you do. That is what God gives. As a sinner you might have knowledge of the trade, but you will work hard to hand it over to the man who pleases the Lord. No wonder the Lord Jesus implored us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all other things will be added unto us. This includes the ability to make wealth that we will enjoy. Moses says it is God that teaches our hands to make wealth. 

Just try and make God the first CEO of that business and watch Him do what He alone can do best. And for those who are under another's employment or you have a boss you report to, this is what Paul says in Colossians 3:23-24 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as reward." What I understand Paul to be saying is that though you report to an earthly boss, but your attitude should be such that you report to God. When you have the mindset of one working for the Lord you tend to put your best to your work with reverence to God. And such will never go unrewarded both here on earth and in heaven. The Bible says promotion comes neither from the north nor from the south, but it comes from God. The desired promotion on that Job will be worked out effortlessly by God for you if you work at what you do as one working for God and not for men.    

   

The Presence Of God, The Distinguishing Factor

Exodus 24:9-11

Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.

Exodus 33:14-16

The Lord replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"

Exodus 34:29-35

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. Afterwards all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commandments the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

When Moses finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the Lord's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. 

Its the very early minutes into the month of September and I want to wish my readers a happy new month in Jesus Name, may all your desires and hopes in Christ for this month be fully met in Jesus Name. Its just about ten minutes into midnight and I am tired if I have to be truthful to myself. I just uploaded my forth book unto CreateSapce website for previewing before listing my book. It's been over 10 days since I have been editing the book to meet their publishing requirement and I bless God for His help and grace. 

But before I go to bed, I will like to launch into this month which happens to be my birth month, trusting God to open up our hearts to the importance of His Presence. I had wanted to title this message enjoying the presence of God, but when I read the words of Moses in Exodus 33:14-16, I decide to change to what I have there now. 

In the days of Moses God's Presence was always with His people as a pillar of cloud in the day and as a pillar of fire in the night and though they roamed round the desert for 40 years, the millions of God's people were never attacked or devoured unless the Lord Himself visited them with His wrath. They passed through towns and cities but instead of been devoured they were feared. They were an untouchable breed not because of their ability, number or strength, but simply because of the presence of God that moved around with them everywhere they had to move to. 

But before the days of Moses, I will like us to first consider Isaac, in Genesis 26:2-16 the Lord appeared to Issac and promised to always be with him, so Isaac carried in him the Presence of God as he moved from place to place. When he settled in the land of the Philistine, the Bible tells us that Isaac planted crops in the land and reaped a hundredfold because the Lord blessed him. He became so wealthy that the Philistines began to envy him. 

Jacob was another man who carried in him the Presence of God, Genesis 28:13-15 tells us how the Lord appeared to Jacob and said to him that He the Lord will not leave him, but will watch over him wherever he goes. The Lord promised never to leave Jacob until He has fulfilled the promise He made to him. Jacob was not just blessed, but the blessings of his life by virtue of the Presence of God in his life rubbed off on his master Laban. It was so hard for Laban to let go off Jacob as he had learned by divination that he was just been blessed because of Jacob who had the Presence of God in his life (Genesis 30:27). Then we take a look at Joseph, in Genesis 39:2 and 21 we will see that Joseph prospered by virtue of God's Presence in His life. The Presence of God in the life of Joseph also rubbed off on his master Potiphar. And so we can see that the Presence of  God makes a huge difference. 

But what really struck my heart about the issue of the Presence of God is the word of Moses in Genesis 33, he said "How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" These words cannot be more relevant than in the world we live in today, with the wickedness that looms over the face of the earth as we approach the end of time, there is a need to know and identify those who truly are the Lords' and that can only be ascertained by those who carry in them the presence of God in truth and not falsely. 

You do not have to cheat, steal, defraud others in order to be blessed, all that you need is to carry in you the Presence of God, it stands you out among those who are the heathens. It is the distinguishing factor that separates you from all the people of the earth. And the Presence of God carries an aroma of blessing with it. In every way you are bound to stand out from the crowd when you carry in you the Presence of God. 2 Samuel 6:12 tells us that Obed-Edom and his household were so blessed that people around had to run and tell David the news of Obed-Edom's blessing just because he had in his house the Ark of God which at that time signifies the Presence of God. 

Proverbs 10:22 tells us that the blessings of God makes rich and adds no trouble to it, so I ask; do you seek such blessings that brings wealth without trouble, then seek to have the abundance of the Presence of God in you. Jesus said to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all other things will be added unto you.

The 70 elders of Israel ate and drank in the Presence of God and they were not consumed, they saw God yet they lived. Moses spoke with the Lord and he had a radiance of God on his face that was too much for the children of Israel to bear. The beautiful truth is that the Presence of God is not just about been materially rich, but you become one that demons will fear and run from, those who war against you need not be told that they are defeated without you having to fight. You are assured of peace on earth and an inheritance in heaven. In truth the Presence of God is the distinguishing factor.     

   

There Is A Gift In You

Exodus 31:1-6

Then the Lord said to Moses, "See I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts - to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftmanship. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you. 

1 Corinthians 12:4-6, 11

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 

All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. 

I am still very sorry for the long intervals between my blog post, I pray that those who have been blessed by the word of God that is shared on this blogsite will please bear with me. The message I pray the Lord will open up our hearts to in this post is the truth of the grace of God that has blessed and helped my life for some years now.

Since the 2005, I have lost my job and stopped work and as such I stopped earning meaningful income. Initially it was a painful process for me to go through and it got so bad that at some point I contemplated committing suicide. The loss of my job affected in no small measure the finances of the family and bills where mounting with very little means of meeting up with the financial challenges of the family. My husband was doing his best but the vacuum of my non-contribution to the upkeep of the family was really obvious. I prayed and cried to God and it just felt as though God had His attention somewhere else. 

But somehow I was able to hold on to my fiber of hope in the word of God. My challenges draw me closer to my Bible, and even though I didn't feel much of God's hands to my financial rescue at that time, still He held firm to my spirit and I continued to feed on His word, believing and hoping that His words will come through for me someday. I was convinced that since my challenges had a start date, it sure had an expiry date and all that I was facing will come to an end some day. 

But as I fed fat on the word of God, I began to make discoveries of a lot of truth about God that I never knew before. The revelation of God's word that He is blessing me with is mind blowing even to me. So as I began to apply these truth, I started experiencing changes in many of the troubled areas of my life and of such area was my marital life. And then I began to want to tell people of what I have learned and tested and certified to be effective from the word of God, this was the beginning of the discovery of my gift. In wanting to share the word of God, I began to write and I discovered that I enjoyed writing and felt a form of fulfillment doing so. And God always provides easy platform for me to carry on my new found passion, He has been by my side all through. Now I have discovered my gift and I am very grateful for it. 

Everyone that is created by God has a gift. But most especially those who are true children of God have the gift of God in them. There is no one created by God that has not been endowed with a gift. There is something that God has placed in us in form of talent designed to make room for us on the earth. You have a relevance to God for a specific purpose in a specific area of life. The proportion of your gift in form of skill, ability and knowledge in determined by God, but for us men and women that God created, there is the skill, ability and knowledge that each one possess that makes him/her relevant to God. No one is created redundant or without skill, ability and knowledge. 

There are some gifted to be doctors, some others are gifted to be architects, while some are gifted to be teachers, and yet some gifted to be lawyers, but in all everyone has a gift and a place for them in God's program for the world. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 tells us that there are different gifts, different service and different works all from the same One God. So we know for sure that we all have gifts, though different and diverse, but all from the same God. 

Proverbs 11:24-25

One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. 

Luke 6:38

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.     

When we have well understood and appreciated the truth that we all have a gift of God in us, and we know that we posses skill, ability and knowledge in a specific area of God's program for mankind, the next thing to know is what we are to do with this gift. 

When we consider the parable of Jesus in Matthew 25:14-28, the Lord spoke about the kingdom of God using the illustration of a man going on a journey and entrusting his property to his servants. The Bible said one servant was given 5 talents, while another was given 2 talents and the last was given one talent. Immediately the master embarked on his journey, the first two servants put their money to work. What I am learning here is that the gift of God in your life is meant to be put to work. Your talent, skill, ability and knowledge are meant to be put to work and not left idle or placed within you redundant. And you put that talent of yours to work by serving your gift in the form of skill, ability and knowledge to others. 

The more you serve your gift to other people, the more the gift will yield it returns to you. Solomon in Proverbs 11:24-25 says one man gives freely and gains more; so as much as you are able to give out of the gift of God in your life, the more you get in return. When you serve your gift to others, it does not stay out of your life but rather goes to work on your behalf and comes back to you multiplied. A man who has been gifted with skill, ability and knowledge as a doctor is not yet a doctor if he is unable to treat patients and make them well. He needs to put his gift to work, and when paid for services rendered, the gift and returns to him multiplied. So the more he gives of his gift to others the more he get in return and the more he withholds unduly, the more poverty stares him in the face. 

Jesus said give and it will be given back in a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. This giving is not restricted to giving of money freely to people, but it also applies to your ability to serve your gift to others. By so doing you put your gift to work and it sure will yield it returns to you. When it comes to the issue and discuss of your skill, talent and ability, know for a truth that the more you serve others with your gift, the more it yields to you.

This principle I am also applying in my life. Like I said earlier I discovered that I have a gift of sharing with others the truth of the word of God and I am running with my gift. I didn't know anything about blogging until started pursuing the burning desire within me to share of what I learned in the word of God and without any foreknowledge of blogging, just by touring and making discoveries on the internet the Lord opened up this platform for me and the responses I have enjoyed by those who view my blog and read the messages has overwhelming. I have been so fulfilled serving my gift to others. And though I am still not earning financial returns from it, I still find the desire to write on, the comfort and encouragement the Lord has provided for many through this blog has been food for my soul. 

I will encourage you not to withhold the gift of God in your life, put it to work and it will open the doors of prosperity in your life. 

Lessons I Learned On Prosperity

Exodus 35:4-9, 21-23, 29

Moses said to the whole Israelite community, "This is what the Lord has commanded: From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

And everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewellery of all kinds; brooches, ear-rings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord. Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or hides of sea cows brought them.  

All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do. 

Exodus 36:3-7

They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. So all the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left their work and said to Moses, "The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done."

Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: "No man or woman is to make anything else as offering for the sanctuary." And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.

Its been a while since I shared a post, please bear with me for the break. I am just trying to work on my fourth book and prepare it for publishing. Its a self-publish project so it takes a lot of effort and time. Though I am not done yet, but I miss sharing a post. 

What I will like to share with my readers today is about what I am learning as I am trusting God for breakthroughs in my financial life. Quite a lot of people are struggle with one financial need or the other. There are people who so strongly need the intervention of God on their finances and if I have to be truthful I am one of such people, but I am confident God will definitely come through for us all in Jesus Name.

But just as I am seeking the intervention of God in my finances, I have decided to search the word of God on the principles and the things I need to apply in my life to activate the release of heaven's resources on my finances. One of such things I learned in my search is the secret of investing in God. The secret in this approach is that God never owes, and you can never trade with God and arrive at a loss. And so whatever investment you have made in God is one that is bound to yield return in multiples of what has been invested. No investment made in anything else or anyone else yields nearly as much as that made in God. 

Considering the passage above, Moses declared a command made by God to the people of Israel, it was a command that required that they bring an offering for the construction of the Lord's sanctuary. This command was not for everybody, but just for those whose heart moved them to give, for the men and women that were willing to give. So the Lord gave the children of Israel the freewill to make a choice of investment. So the wise ones among the Israelites began to make investment, they began to give of the substance they had in gold, silver and all that Moses asked them to bring. The women put themselves to work and began to spine yarns and fine linen and brought all to Moses. This set of people did not stop giving until all the craftsmen left their work and went to Moses to instruct the people to stop bringing more supplies because what they had brought was more than enough to do the work.

One thing that caught my attention in the story above is that the Israelite gave and didn't stop giving until they were forced to stop. The situation was such that the entire workforce of the craftsmen and not just a delegate had to leave their work to meet Moses to tell the people to stop giving. So I wondered that what was it that kept compelling the people to give? There must be a return of yield for the children of Israel that motivated them to continue to give to the point that the entire workforce of the craftsmen had to leave work to tell Moses to instruct the people to stop bringing in more supplies. 

Malachi 3:10-12

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruits," says the Lord Almighty. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the Lord Almighty.  

In this passage above I have found the reason why the children of Israel could not stop giving, it was because they had learned the secret of investing in the house of God and as they continued to invest, their supplies never went dry. They triggered the opening of the floodgates of heaven with their giving and as such they had the outpouring of God's blessing on their lives such that their storehouses could not hold. The more they gave the more they were replenished, and so I will refer to this people as wise investors. They invested in the storehouse of God knowing fully well that their investment was secured as a bountiful returns on investment was guaranteed. 

Proverbs 3:9-10

Honour the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruit of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.  

When investing in God in your giving, you also honour the Lord when you make your wealth available for His use. Know this for sure that whoever honours God, to them He will repay with honour. So with your investment also comes honour. The more you learn to honour God, the more the Lord will ensure that you are honoured in return. Nothing gives you a sense of fulfillment as to be honoured by the Lord, because when God honours you man has no choice to follow in same line. 

1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your Labour in the Lord is not in vain. 

One more thing we need to know and appreciate is that our investment in God is not limited to our wealth or money. Our investment  in God is also seen in our work for Him and this investment Paul says is not in vain, it is bound to yield positive returns on investment because God never owes anyone. 

To conclude this, whether you invest in God with your wealth or with your works, I congratulate you because you have made a very wise investment. You have sown a seed in the right place that is bound to yield it returns to you. When you give God your substance or you give God your time, you trigger the opening of the floodgates of heaven that results in the out pouring of God's blessing on your life that you don't have room enough for. That is the standard of God and it is not about to change in your life, you just test the Lord in this and watch Him do what He alone is best at doing.

Please get ready for my next book titled "Stressless Toil," I was blessed writing it and I am positive you will be more blessed reading it.

Promo on the other books are still on, details available on my previous blog post.

The Praying Father

Judges 13:2-10

A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, "You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines."

Then the woman went to her husband and told him, "A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn't ask him where he came from, and he didn't tell me his name. But he said to me, 'You will conceive and give birth to a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from birth until the day of his death.'" 

Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, "O Lord, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born."

God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. The woman hurried to tell her husband, "He's here! The man who appeared to me the other day"! 

It is the common thing that wives and mothers tends to worry more about their children. The Lord has equipped their hearts such that they are able to carry so much emotions in them which in turn aids them as they take care of the home and the children as a suitable help for their husbands. The huge emotional capabilities of the mothers pushes them on their knees in prayer and supplication to God on behalf of their husbands and children. And that is why we see Hannah worry more about her childless situation than her husband Elkanah. 

But when we look into the Bible and observe the pattern of God properly we will notice that it is the father who is the head of the home that has been saddled with the responsibility to train his children after the Lord. It is the father's responsibility to impress the word of God on his children while his wife who is the suitable help is assigned to help and assist in this task as in all the other task that the Lord has assigned to the man. 

Genesis 18:19

For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised. 

Ephesians 6:4

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. 

There are so many other Bible passages where we see things like this in the Bible, but from the passages above we will observe that God didn't call Sarah but Abraham, and one of the major reasons for this call was because God wanted him to train and direct his children and household after him to follow the Lord. The father is the head of the home, he holds the staff of authority of the home in his hands, he calls the shots while the rest of the family follow in his line of authority. And so in line with this order the Lord says the father who is the head is to lead his children and household in the direction of the Lord. 

And so we are now understanding and appreciating that the assignment to train and discipline the children is that primarily given by God to the father and not the mothers. So unlike the assumption that it is the mother's duty to train the children, based on Bible principle, it is the other way round. The father trains the children with the assistance and help of his wife. The father is the commanding officer in the family unit while the wife is the second in command. In the Nigerian Army the Commanding Officer of any unit is refereed to as the CO while the Second In Command is refereed to as the 2IC. So the father is the CO while the mother is the 2IC in the unit of the home. The father gives the commands, gives the instructions and leads the family in the direction they should go while the mother implement the instructions and commands of the father and takes over the leadership mantel in the absence of the father. This is God's pattern for the home. And that is why the fathers are mostly held responsible by God for the misdeeds of their children unless they have proven to God that they lead the family well.

Going back to the passage theme of this message we will notice some things there, but the highlight for me in that passage was the reaction of Manoah the father-to-be over the news of him going to be a father of not just any child, but the child that would deliver the whole nation of Israel from the hands of the Philipines. The Bible said immediately he heard the news he prayed that the angel of the Lord will come again and teach him how to be bring up the boy to be born. 

It's no mistake that the angel of the Lord appeared first to Manoah's wife, this had to happen because the Lord needed her to prepare adequately for the task ahead, she needed to purify herself and abstain from certain unclean things so as not to contaminate the Nazirite in her womb. Just in like manner the Lord appeared to Mary the mother of Jesus so that she might be prepared for the task ahead. But when Manoah received the news from his wife, he didn't throw it off as nonsense, he didn't assume that since God didn't deem it fit to appear to him also then his wife should just carry on as she was told or as she wished. 

But instead the Bible said immediately Manoah began to pray. He sought clarification from God not as to whether what his wife said was true or not, but he wanted God's guidiance on how to bring up the child. Manoah understood the huge responsibility being laid on him. The child to be born is to bring about the deliverance of his nation from the bondage of the Philistines and if he failed to train this child well to fulfill his God given assignment to delivery the nation from bondage, he will not just fail God as a father, but will also deprive the nation of the one who is to deliver them from bondage. He knew he could not afford to get it wrong, so the Bible said he prayed. He sought help from God, he didn't assume he knew what to do. 

As fathers do you just assume that you know how to raise children or you are daily seeking the face of God on His help to teach you how to raise His generals for Him, knowing fully well that the generals of God under your care are the ones to bring down the kingdom of God here on earth as it is in heaven. Those generals of God under your care are the ones to crush the head of satan and fulfill the words of God in Genesis 3:15. The children under your care are the seed you planted in the woman that the Lord has said will crush the head of satan and so they need to be trained and equipped for this task. Are you praying to God for help to teach you to train and prepare these children for their God given assignment or you are prepared to forfeit on potential general assigned to crush the head of satan? 

Every child is unique in himself or herself, no two people created by God are created exactly alike, and that is the awesomeness of God. And so there is the need to handle and treat each child according to their uniqueness and in this you need the help of God. There are some disciplinary measures that can be generalized, but definitely not all and in this regard you need to always pray to God for help as you carry on your divine assignment as a father. Are you a praying father?  

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The Effective Discipline

Proverbs 23:13-14

Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die.

Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death.

Proverbs 29:17

Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul.

Proverbs 19:18

Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be willing party to his death.

Proverbs 13:24

He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him. 

I believe by the special grace of God my readers had a very restful and beautiful weekend, and they are alive and on alert to receive the abundance of God's blessings for their lives this new week. If there is any book on the face of the earth that is rich and full and not lacking in content, it's this wonderful Bible, the life Manual that the Lord God Almighty has blessed us with. 

In today's post we will continue how search of God's word as we strive to be better parents approved of God . As I take time to read through the news on a daily basis, there is always something of concern about the children, and it's been more on the negative than positive. I am not sure if I am the only one observing this trend, but this tells there is a need for a major awakening for us as parents. There are major cases of evidence of lack of training and proper discipline in the home as much as there are cases of child abuse. In Nigeria of today, I am beginning to read of cases of little children been beaten to death for cases as flimsy as been unable to count 1 to 10 or a 3 year old girl beaten and pushed to her death for vomiting and passing stool on her body while burning up with fever and high temperature and overwhelmed with diarrhea. 

Although in most of the cases (and that is to say nearly all of the cases) I have read about on such things as this, the children in question are not the biological children of those who abused them to the point of their death, but all the same these so called care givers did what they did in the name of disciplining or training the children. It was always in the name of correction, discipline and training. But this said, do we now do away with training our children and just let them pick up their values their own way and form? In the light of this we will want to know and understand what the take of God is on this matter.

The Bible said when you discipline your child with the rod you save his soul from death. Based on what the Bible tells us in the passages above punishment and even punishment with the rod on our children is suppose to give life and not death. And this makes me wonder that the rod that produced the death that we read about happening in some communities is actually suppose to produce life based on Bible standard. So we are now to know and understand that there is a difference between children abuse and child discipline and more so child discipline with the rod.

The Bible recommends so strongly that we discipline are children, in fact Solomon said once we train them in the way they should go, when they grow up they will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). The wise Solomon said the your future peace that spring up from the life of your child rest in your ability to discipline him. In fact he will delight your soul is what Solomon said.

Some major lesson I have learned from this subject of disciplining our children from the passages above are that: 1)It saves their lives and soul from death, 2) It guarantees peace of mind for us as the child becomes a delight to our souls, 3) In the act of discipline there is hope, 4) It expresses our love for our child when the discipline is carried out with care.

The last point mentioned above highlights for us the difference between child abuse and discipline. The one factor that draws the line between child abuse and careful discipline is the substance called love. Once you remove love from discipline you arrive at child abuse. 

To now remove the act of discipline from a society or term it wrong to discipline a child as we are beginning to experience in today's world is writing a welcoming heart warming letter to the future destruction of our children. The absence of discipline in a home, community, society or nation is a big invitation to chaos and disorder. 

Unlike what we have made ourselves to believe, the Bible says when you truly love your child, you will discipline that child, and when we wish for peace in your mind and soul when you are old and grey, then make it a priority task to discipline and train your child now that you can. There is no other way to gain so much peace when you have not invested in it when you have the strength to do so. 

Hebrews 12:11

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.      

I still can't fathom how complete this Bible can be, but there is no book like it on the face of the earth. In the passage above, the writer of the book of Hebrews says "No form of discipline is pleasant at the time but painful." To now understand that what will produce the preciousness in the lives of your children and bring out the great value that they carry within them is a painful process, but this though painful process needs to take its course to birth the preciousness in your child.
As a parent you never want your child to experience any form of pain and as a parent myself I understand what that means, even God has a parent never wants us to go through any form of pain, but in truth the pain of good and careful discipline is required to produce for us the godly children the Lord seeks. The experience they go through and learn from endows them with wisdom that no money on the face of the earth can buy for them. Pain is indeed painful (Lol), but it brings forth a matchless glow and shine in the lives of those who have been trained by it. From what we are learning in the book of Hebrews, the pains of discipline produces in us the righteousness and peace that the Lord seeks in us and that is needful for our smooth ride on the face of the earth.
In conclusion I will say this to all parents seeking peace in old age, take the pains to discipline and train your children even though its painful for you as a parent and also for the child as one been trained. Look beyond the lies of the society you live in, the government will not be as injured emotionally over the moral death of your child as much as you would. The peace and righteousness of your child and your joy and delight in old age over that child hangs on the fact that you discipline him now that you have the strength.

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Gleanings From The Throne of God. Price $24.99 - Now $11.99. Available on all Amazon online stores and on Createspace.com via this link https://www.createspace.com/4330620. Promo Kindle Price is $9.99 - Now $5.99

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The Father In Job

Job 1:1-5

In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and there daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. 

His sons used to take turns holding feast in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom. 

This post will still talk about parenting, and I think we need to get some examples of fathers or maybe I should just say parents in the Bible and learn from their experiences. I have heard a quote that says "a wise man is one who learns from the experiences of others," so we will do ourselves a lot of good by learning from the experiences of those in the Bible. 

From the intro given in the Bible about the man called Job, there are several interesting characteristics of this wonderful man of God. He was a very wealthy man, in fact the Bible calls him the greatest man among the people of the East in his lifetime. So he was very rich and great and that most likely will make him a very busy man. For him to be able to attain and retain greatness it really takes diligence and consistence in his work. His schedule must have been a very tight one owing to his riches, greatness and influence. 

He was also a righteous man, he was a man who was very God conscious. He was godly to the point that God Himself made a proud declaration of this man saying there was none like him on the face of the earth. For God to make such a declaration, Job must have been assessed inside out by God and not found wanting in anyway. 

But for the purpose of this message we will look at the life of Job as a father. The Bible said Job will wait till the feasting period of his sons were over and will send for them to have them purified. He had to make sure that his sons did not sin against God even as they feasted and this was his regular custom. 

Owing to Job's status as a rich, great and busy man one would have assumed that he had every reason to overlook the deeds of his children and their attitude towards the things of God, but Job understood better. He knew that in order to have an excellent score card before the Lord, the lives, attitudes and deeds of his children was of great importance and in his very busy lifestyle his children's life took center stage. It was not just his own personal life that he needed to watch over but that of his ten children and Job did this as a regular custom.
Another thing to note about Job and his children was that his children were not young. In fact they were already living in their individual home as the Bible records that they took turns to hold feasts in their homes. So each one in his home would hold a feast and after the feast, Job will send for them from their individual homes in order to be purified.
Noting all that we have seen from the life of Job and his children, we will notice that his wealth, affluence, busy schedule and even his righteous walk with God did not affect or disturb or hinder his role as a father. And also the age of his children did not stop him from purifying them after each feasting period. Job did not assume that since his children were old they could take care of themselves and develop their own relationship with God with no contribution from him. But instead he ensured that he still did what was needful as a father whether or not his children were old enough to show restrain towards sinning against the Lord or not. This was the life and regular practice of Job as a father.
In my last post we saw that no ministerial call of God on our lives is more important to God than the ministry of home management and children management. In addition to that, we are learning from the life of Job as a father that our wealth, riches, greatness, work-life, busy schedule and whatever reason we might come up with is good enough reason for us to fail as parents. In fact the age of our children no matter how they may have grown to be is not enough reason for us not to purify them before God in good counselling, training and even discipline. And just like Job, the Lord expects that to be our regular custom and not a one-off habit. Your task as a parent ends the day your exit the face of the earth. But as long as you are still living you owe God the responsibility to produce for Him the godly offspring that He seeks from your marriage union.
Looking at the life of Job, was there any gray area of his life that will make not God say to satan "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no-one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil"? Job was not just a blameless man in his walk with God, he was also a blameless man as a father.
If we seek such testimony as that of Job's coming from the mouth of God and not man, then we need to start emulating the life of Job and seek perfection not just in our personal relationship with God, but also in our responsibility as parents. Our work-life and pursuit of wealth, our political life and our ministerial calls are no reasons at all to fail God as parents.

There is sales promo on all my books for less than half the original price for the next 500 copies of each book sold. Take advantage of this opportunity to get copies for yourself and loved ones.  Minister into someone's life by sowing a copy of any of these life changing books into their lives. It will really make a difference. When you feel you can't preach, purchase a book that speaks about the changes that needs to be made and into the life needing it and watch God cause your seed to germinate and grow and produce fruits to His glory. All books are available on any amazon online store. Details below.

Gleanings From The Throne of God. Price $24.99 - Now $11.99. Available on all Amazon online stores and on Createspace.com via this link https://www.createspace.com/4330620. Promo Kindle Price is $9.99 - Now $5.99


  

   

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Because the Lord Seeks Godly Offspring. Price $15.99 - Now $7.99. Available on all Amazon online stores and on Createspace.com via this link https://www.createspace.com/4352171

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