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BIBLE AND WEALTH

THE HUMAN SPIRIT CAN BE DECEIVED!

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Romans 16.18 states that “For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple”

The good book makes it clear that human beings are spiritual entities living in a physical body. Therefore, what you are today and will be in future is dependent on the condition of your spirit. Any change we desire in the physical has to originate in our spirits before it can manifest in the physical. Great scientific discoveries originated from the spirits of the inventors. That is not to say that the mind did not play a role; the mind always has a relation with the spirit. 

Since the human spirit is the primary source of invention or creativity or destruction, it matters so much how we condition our spirits. Some people have grown up with the mindset that nothing good can come from them. As growing children, their parents or loved ones may have kept on speaking demoralising statements to them and as a result they have come to accept for a fact that they are no good for society. And because these children grow up with a ‘good for nothing’ mindset, they actually experience this in their lives- because their spirits have been poisoned. The law of repetition is so powerful and operates all the time. If a child is abused several times by a loved one and or parents, this child grows up with low self esteem and the gift of God in him or her for the world becomes dormant.

There are also people who think that a particular chronic disease in their lives was put there by God and therefore, they can do nothing about it. This mindset emanates from a poisoned spirit. God never punishes His children with disease(s) otherwise Jesus wouldn’t have come and healed all diseases He came across (Acts 10:38). Jesus never attributed the presence of any disease condition to the will of God. As children of God, we have the power to heal and cast out diseases.

Some people also have the mindset that, a child of God should not be wealthy and they liken their selves to poor Lazarus in the bible who went to heaven. This is another kind of poisoning of the human spirit. Lazarus could have been rich and still entered heaven! When a child of God is rich, God is happy about it because the propagation of the gospel can be accelerated. Secondly, other children of God are blessed through the riches of some.

Several other examples of poisoning of the human spirit exist, however, the few examples given above are critical in explaining the point. In conclusion, any strongly held mindset that is not consistent with the revealed word of God is as a result of a poisoned spirit.

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BUSINESS

CONSIDER CREATING A BUSINESS!

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When I was growing up, the system around me taught me that, I have to go to school and learn hard; complete a university or a tertiary institution; look for a job from existing companies or institutions and start working. I thought the process of getting an employment with companies was so easy until I continuously submitted applications to fill job vacancies of many companies for close to two years before being called for an interview by one of the companies I had applied to. Several mates of mine also had to wait for some number of years before landing on their first job even though some others were employed earlier than expected.   

Many youths have associated themselves with the ideology of getting a job from already existing companies after school. I have come across several graduates of tertiary institutions moving from offices to offices to drop ‘application for employment letters’. Usually, the demeanour of such persons show how desperate they are for jobs and one can easily guess the number of years they may have been waiting to get employment. For how long can one wait to fill vacancies that may not exist?

Creativity is an innate and precious characteristic of man. God created Adam and Eve to dominate the earth. This implies that man has the ability to create using resources that God has already provided and even create out of nothing. Employers have been creative enough to establish businesses that provide good(s) or service(s) to members of the society. These employers located a need of society and have provided solutions to these need(s) in the form of businesses.

Each and every one of us is unique. What one person can do, another person may not be able to do. Each and every one of us has a unique style of creativity. Some of us can write songs; some are good in the arts; some are good in discovering new recipes; others are good in cleaning of clothes etc. What is important is to locate your style of creativity and develop it. The purpose of education is to sharpen our style of creativity for us to start unique activities including setting up of new businesses. All other necessities such as initial capital, logistics, human resource etc. come after locating your style of creativity.

To conclude, if you are a graduate who has been home for several years and looking for job and not getting one, then reconsider starting one. You may already be employed by existing companies but you can start a business of your own. Joseph, King Solomon, Isaac etc. were all businessmen and their businesses contributed to their prosperity. For King Solomon, he even traded in gold.

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BIBLE AND WEALTH

SERVICE TO MANKIND LEADS TO GREATNESS!

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Our heavenly Father is always happy to see His children help each other on this earth. Interestingly, the service(s) we offer to our fellow men is the source of greatness or wealth! Stated in another way, the secret behind the attainment of greatness or wealth generation is providing service(s) to our fellow men.

Matthew 25: 35, 40 states that “For I was hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:…. then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?…… and the King shall answer and say unto them, verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me”. The direct service(s) we offer to our fellow men are the service(s) we offer to God indirectly. We may or may not charge some fees for offering those service(s) depending on several factors, however, whichever among the two definitely comes with reward from our heavenly Father.

The Bible also says in Acts 20: 35 that “….it is more blessed to give than to receive”.  This statement is a profound truth. Can you imagine how the world would be like if everybody tries to provide service(s) to each other? Several benefits would have resulted. For instance, competition would have increased in all the service and manufacturing sectors resulting in premium quality provision. Secondly, unemployment would have been almost zero if not zero because most people in the world would have been gainfully employed. Thirdly, all of us would have been making some good income.

The quality of service(s) you provide to fellow men is a function of the wealth that you can generate. Mention can be made of Bill Gate’s invention of softwares which have solved several problems of mankind and in effect transformed the lives of people including the manufacturer. Nelson Mandela became famous because of the service he provided to the people of South Africa. Being a waiter in a coffee shop is equally great service to mankind. The service(s) we provide irrespective of the ‘magnitude’ as perceived by men must emanate from our hearts because that is what makes the difference in generating wealth. I have come across many people providing service(s) perceived by some others as irrelevant but have generated enormous wealth.

I conclude with Mark 10; 43-44 “But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all”. To be great and generate wealth, one has to become the chief servant; in other words, provide quality service(s) based on the area or sector of your conviction. Demand for your service(s) will grow after you have delivered quality service(s). 

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BIBLE AND WEALTH

HE HAS MADE US KINGS!

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Traveling with an entourage is a conspicuous characteristic of kings and queens in the world. In the entourage, the king or queen has several services at his/her disposal. Mention can be made of security, telecommunication services, food, aids etc.  Whatever the king says is what will be and this is so important. 

Interestingly, Revelation 1:6, an awesome scripture in the bible, refers to the born again person as a king (or queen).  “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen”. As a king or a queen, the born again person does not move alone because God has given us angels to move with us as stated in Luke 4:10 “For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash they foot against a stone”.  Sometimes, because of the challenges we are going through in life, we are forced to think that God has neglected us or that we are alone in whatever situation we find ourselves. The child of God has the Holy Spirit always indwelling in him or her and in addition we have a company of angels around us.

Secondly, these angels are not idle around us- they minister to us as stated in the above scripture and in Hebrew 1: 14 “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” These angels do much more than we can imagine in our minds. Whatever we do, these angels aid us. If you are a writer, the angels can help you get access to the right writing materials and develop something beautiful out of them. An angel provided food to Elijah under the Juniper tree (1 Kings 19:5). Angels ministered to Jesus after the temptation of the devil. 

Kings reign in a domain called kingdom. The child of God has not been called to reign over men but to reign over nature and the powers of darkness. The child of God serves in his/her domain. The secret of reigning is receiving all that Jesus Christ has accomplished on the cross and after His resurrection. In the old testament, the child of God takes by ‘stepping into’ but in the new testament, the child of God ‘speaks to possess’. Ecclesiastes 8:4 states that “where the word of a king is, there is power…” The words of the child of God are full of power and therefore it matters very much what you confess every now and then. If your confessions are always full of degrading words, you will reap them and if your confessions are full of uplifting words, you will likewise reap them.

For a king to be successful in reigning, discipline is very necessary. The child of God has to discipline the body and bring it under subjection to the Holy Spirit. Your spirit and mind should always yearn for the word of God and excellence. We must always aim at bring development to our kingdom, that is, we must serve people in our environment and bring about improvement. Today must be better than yesterday and tomorrow must be better than today.

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