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I lost my time!
Christian
Written by ola aroyehun   
Monday, 01 March 2010
This week I’d like to share a practical experience with you that I hope you’ll be able to learn from. 

Recently whilst the kids were on half term, I came back from work at the usual time and sat down and watched TV for 5 hours straight. I was watching a game of football, which took about 95 minutes, sat through the commentary;at the end of the match, saw highlights of the same programme on another channel and then listened to the commentary on the other channel. Before I knew it, 5 hours was gone. I know the scriptures in Ecclesiastes 11that there is a time for everything under the sun. I know that watching TV is not of itself a bad thing and I do enjoy watching TV programmes but I knew that this was not a time for leisure but time wasting. What’s interesting about this experience is the fact that I intermittently told myself to get up and do something more fruitful with my time. 

 I eventually got up, did a few things and headed straight to bed. Then something interesting happened. The following day I found it difficult to pray. To cut a long story short, before I knew it, I had to repent to God for wasting the time He had given me. I realised that time, resources and talents have been given to us to use wisely. We are custodians of time and time is one of the few things in life that once lost can never be regained. Of course, God can restore to us the things that should have been done (following repentance), but time as an entity (24 hour cycle) cannot be regained. It is not a resource that you can store and use later. Therefore cherish time. Sensitivity to God’s timing is crucial on a daily basis. 

For some of us, time wasting can involve social networking sites or just surfing the Internet for hours. For others it might be meaningless chatter on the telephone for hours or even watching endless hours of TV,

This post is not about you thinking of how you spend every moment of your time but to identify, through the guidance and sensitivity of the Holy Spirit (and this is the important thing)  - know when we are wasting time.
 I am praying for the grace to use my time more wisely and hope that this post has been a source of blessing to you to think about how you use your time. Where we have lost time, let’s ask God to help us redeem the time i.e. redeem what we would have achieved during that time. 

So until I appear again in your inbox, stay blessed Ola
www.purposeforchrist.com
www.christianbusinessmagazine.com
 
Have you made this connection?
Christian
Written by ola aroyehun   
Friday, 12 February 2010

Recently I asked myself a question ‘why do I want the anointing? At the time I was meditating on Numbers 13. After careful consideration of the question (you know when God gets your attention), my honest answer was that I wanted God’s power live an empowered and victorious life. Whilst this is a noble answer and indeed I  think that the answer is right but God wanted to show me another perspective, I believe that when we call out for God’s presence, His glory, anointing or even gifts of the Spirit, the primary purpose should be so that we can serve God.

 

Let’s consider a few scriptures to this effect. I have underlined the ‘connection’ in these scriptures.

 

Numbers 33:11-12.

 

12 Then Moses said to the LORD, "See, You say to me, 'Bring up this people.' But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.'   13 "Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation [is] Your people."   14 And He said, "My Presence will go [with you,] and I will give you rest."  

 

The conservation that took place between God and Moses which ended with Moses asking to see God’s glory, started with Moses wanting to serve God (verse 12 – i.e. leading God’s people into the Promised Land). Moses already had a good relationship with God but now he was asking for God’s empowerment so he could serve God better.

 

Second example: Mark 16:15-18

 

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they[b] will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

 

Here the Lord Jesus is giving last minute instructions to His disciples. Look again at the word at beginning of verse 17 ‘And’, Jesus is saying here that we an go out and preach the gospel by the power of God. This view is further reinforced in Acts 1:8

 

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me[a] in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

 

Coming back to the question that we started with, when you ask for God’s supernatural assistance, is it for the purpose of serving Him? What I have tried to show through these scriptures is that the anointing is for service. Basically God empowers us to serve Him.

Whatever the reason that you are seeking God’s presence, make sure that serving Him is one of them.

 

I trust that this post has also been a blessing to you, so until I appear again in your inbox, stay blessed

 

Ola

 

www.purposeforchrist.com

www.christianbusinessmagazine.com

 
The Moses' way to handling criticism
Christian
Written by ola aroyehun   
Wednesday, 03 February 2010

One of my favourite bible characters in recent years has been Moses. His knowledge and experience of God and His glory encourages me to know God more.

 

Reading through the book of Numbers recently, I was struck by how Moses reacted to the constant complaints and criticism by the children of the children of Israel. What I found particularly interesting was that whether the criticism was justified or not, Moses’ response was always the same. He would take it to God in prayer.  When the people were wrong and God wanted to judge them, he would stand in the place of intercession for them. He always prayed to get a Godly perspective and in some cases Godly instructions. He never acted alone.

 

Let’s consider a few examples:

 

Numbers 12:1Here his own brother and sister rose up against him because of the Ethiopian woman he had married. So angry was God at this revolt that he caused Miriam to have leprosy. To have leprosy in those days was to be an outcast. So you can imagine Miriam the prophetess being an outcast in the house of God. So what did Moses do? He prayed ( Numbers 12:3) and God removed the leprosy. Remember, Moses was the guy who was wronged.

 

So on to Numbers 14 – this time the turn of the leaders. The Israelites in disbelief, because of the bad report of the spies, had refused to proceed into the Promised Land. So the people complained against Moses as if it was Moses’ idea in the first place to take them out of Egypt. The people then decided to turn their backs on God, return to Egypt and before they went, decided to stone Moses and his brother ( Numbers 14:4). Stoning Moses could well had resulted in Moses death, if they had gone ahead. Moses’ reaction is exemplary. In response to this, Moses and Aaron prayed and bowed before the Lord ( Numbers 14:5, 11-20)

 

Moses prayed a prayer of intercession: “Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of your mercy, just as you have forgiven this people from Egypt until now”. How often do we pray for those that have wronged us, especially when we are in the right?

 

Fast forward to Numbers 16:1-3 – the sons of Korah were now up against Moses. The sons of Korah were responsible for the tabernacle, the house of God. Remember the ark of covenant, representing the presence of God, was in the tabernacle. The sons of Korah stated that Moses had exalted himself above the people The people responsible for ensuring ‘God’s presence’ was carried in the right manner ,were fighting for more position. They did not realise what an honourable position they actually had.

 

So they complained against Moses and what did Moses do? Yes, you guessed, he prayed to God ( Numbers 16:4). This did not avert the judgement of God as the ground opened and swallowed them up.

 

You would have thought that by now, the people would be in awe of God and Moses and stop their complaining, but after seeing what happened to the sons of Korah, they complained against Moses, stating that Moses had killed their leaders ( Numbers 14:41)., As was his custom, Moses turned to God in prayer.

 

Unfortunately the people’s criticism and complaints were too much for Moses, so much so that  he acted in anger when God told him to speak to the rock. Instead he struck it, thus leading to him disrespecting and dishonouring God before the people. As a result, he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.

 

Moses is a great example to us today. We need to examine our reaction to criticism. The question is whether we pray before we do anything? And when the people who criticise us are wrong, do we stand in a place of intercession for them? This is what it means to be partakers of the divine nature.

 

May the Lord cause and enable us to walk according to these truths. Let’s learn from Moses and ensure that people’s constant criticism does not wear us down or get us to the point where we jeopardise the best that God has for us. I pray that the Lord will help us in Jesus’ name.

 

Just a thought for another day, but until I appear again in your inbox, stay blessed and feel free to share this with anyone that might be blessed by it

 

Ola

 
Have you been called?
Christian
Written by ola aroyehun   
Sunday, 03 May 2009
The focus of our recent posts has centred on examining ourselves from a spiritual viewpoint and examining the resources of heaven available for us. In particular, we have examined how to be full of God and how to work from God. Increasingly, I am aware that God’s ways are not our ways.
Read more... [Have you been called?]
 
Who would you be listening to in 2009
Christian
Written by olaaro   
Sunday, 11 January 2009
A very happy and blessed New year to you. I hope that you are looking forward to all that God has for you this year

This is my first post of the year and I hope that it contributes in some way to some of the things that you want to achieve in 2009.

Read more... [Who would you be listening to in 2009]
 
Whatever happened to contentment
Christian
Written by ola aroyehun   
Tuesday, 09 December 2008
A number of people have asked for my opinion about the recent and ongoing credit or economic crunch, and quite frankly, I did not feel that I had the knowledge (to make an informed economic case) or that I had anything to add to what other Christians had said.

However, the more I think about the subject, the more I realise the importance of personal responsibility. The scriptures make us understand that everything that can be shaken will be shaken. The only enduring thing will be the kingdom of God (the rule and reign of God in our lives and society). In the same breath, the scriptures make us understand that judgement begins in the house of God. In other words, we should examine ourselves first.
Read more... [Whatever happened to contentment]
 
Christian Business is Not All About Hard Work
Christian
Written by ola aroyehun   
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
Ask people about the key to success and amongst the many answers that one will receive is the need for hard work. The Bible is not short on exhortations for us to work hard. As Christian professionals and entrepreneurs, hard work is something we should not shy away from. In fact it should be right alongside other virtues like persistence and perseverance. 

However, we need to be careful that we don’t take on the world’s definition, thoughts and actions at the expense of what our Heavenly Father says through His Word about work.
Read more... [Christian Business is Not All About Hard Work]
 
What has God said recently about your business?
Christian Business
Written by ola aroyehun   
Saturday, 31 January 2009
In my last post, I encouraged you to listen out for God on a daily basis, so He can give you instructions for your business. I continue the theme in this post by discussing one of the ways that God can speak to us. Many of you might actually be familiar with today’s topic, but can I encourage you to still take time to read through the whole article and ask yourself, whether you are hearing God in this way. It is important to continually remind ourselves of the truth and also make sure that we are working on it.
Read more... [What has God said recently about your business?]
 
A paradigm shift on giving
Finances
Written by ola aroyehun   
Thursday, 26 March 2009
I am sorry I could not get a post out to you last week. I promised in my last post to write about getting rid of small compromises. I will still do that but I was asked to share something recently on giving for a small group. The subject blessed me so much that I just had to share it with you. Enjoy. 
Read more... [A paradigm shift on giving]
 
What’s wrong with motivational teaching?
Motivation
Written by ola aroyehun   
Monday, 06 October 2008
Motivational speakers seem to surround us, whether in the church or in the secular world, there seems to be an abundance of motivational speakers. Motivational speaking is a multi-billion pound industry. Looking on the bookshelves at Christian bookstores, a lot of the books can be described as motivational.  Some people are fascinated, some switch off and sometimes apart from a few scriptures, there appears to be little difference between secular motivational teachers and Christian ones.

So is there anything wrong with motivational teachings? Before we answer the question, let’s define the work motivation.
Read more... [What’s wrong with motivational teaching?]
 
Are you really anointed for the workplace?
Work
Written by ola aroyehun   
Monday, 19 September 2011

The holiday season is over and I took a well-deserved break, so unfortunately, I was not able to post as much as I would have liked to, they should become a bit more frequent now.

Oh! By the way, if you have never been to the wonderful Island of Crete, off the Greece mainland, it is thoroughly recommended.

For the past few weeks, there has been a thought at the back of my mind. It’s one of those thoughts that wouldn’t go away and has also informed the directions of my prayers. The thought centres on the anointing.

Many of us are very familiar with this word. Many times in church, we sing about the anointing and invariably end up asking the Holy Spirit to anoint us. However, the thought that I want to share with you in this post is quite simple. The anointing does not come in isolation. It is given for a purpose.

The anointing simply means a supernatural endowment from God to fulfil a particular task. It is God’s supernatural empowerment or enabling. From the Old Testament, we are familiar with the Priest, Prophets and Kings being anointed before they could function in their posts.

The same principle is illustrated in the New Testament. Perhaps the one that stands out the most is Acts 10:38where it is recorded that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and He went about doing good and healing people.

In fact in Luke 4:18-19, Jesus talks about the Spirit of the Lord being upon Him as He was anointed to….and He goes on to list why the anointing was necessary. The anointing was present to:

  • Preach the gospel to the poor
  • Heal and restore people
  • Proclaim freedom to the captives
  • Open blind eyes
  • Set people free

 

So fast forward to our present world. There can be no doubt that we need the anointing. Remember, the key is – What do we need it for?  As Christians in the marketplace, we need the anointing to stand out. The anointing can be given to us to live Christ-led lives and function as kings in the marketplace, whether we are in business or working as an employee. To excel in these arenas, we need the anointing as it portrays our reliance on God. It is the anointing that will set us apart from other people.

To get the anointing, we simply need to ask for it. Prayer or in this case asking is a basic principle that ensures our lifeline with God. To succeed in whatever God has put in your hand, you need to have the anointing of God for it to be successful and stress-free.

So whether these truths are new to you or whether you have heard it before but have not asked for the anointing for a while, why not join me in going before God and asking for His supernatural empowerment to succeed in the marketplace.

I believe that He will give us what we request as long as our motives are right i.e.  to build His Kingdom.

Today’s post is short but I trust a blessing to you, so until I appear again in your inbox, stay anointed

 

Ola

 
Father keep me from.....................
Uncategorized
Written by ola aroyehun   
Saturday, 13 November 2010
Sinning against you. I had yet another experience recently that I simply must share with you. The details of the incident are perhaps not as important as the lesson to be learned from it.  

As a family, we were relocating to another city. It was important that we moved before the new school term started. As the weeks went by, we quickly realised that it was going to be too late to buy and settle into our new property. So we decided to rent temporarily, whilst we took our time to buy. 
 

We soon discovered that renting was not an easy affair. You had to give so much detailed and personal information about yourself – an experience we had not been accustomed to. In addition, there was a shortage of rental property, and particularly the size that we needed. Sometimes for a property we were competing with 10 other people.
 

So we decided to develop a strategy, we would simply withhold important information i.e. provide just enough information to get by. In some cases, we did not answer questions in a straightforward way. We took on the attitude of the world. There are times of course when you don’t and should not divulge information about yourself but this was not one of those occasions. 
 

Guess what! It became almost impossible to get a place and things became more difficult. I used to lay on my bed wrestling with God. My conscience was not clear because I was withholding information and feeling guilty about it. So, the next time around, we decided to give them all the information that was requested. Immediately I felt at peace and in fact, we were actually able to rent a property.
 

However, that’s not the end of the story. I went back to the Lord to ask why all that had happened and his words startled me. He said ‘I kept you from sinning against me’. The Bible encourages us to keep away from the appearance of evil and many times; we try our best not to sin against God. But it is a different story when God keeps you from sinning against him.
 There is a precedent in the Bible when God prevented a man from sinning against him. The story is recorded in Genesis 20:1-18 and particularly verse 6.  

6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.
 

The direct intervention of God to stop us from sinning against Him is still available today.

The Lord further told me that that incident that would have caused embarrassment to me and more importantly to the body of Christ in the future. We all know how it is, sometimes as we spend time trying to do what we think may be ‘an easy way out’ in a difficult situation, knowing that in our hearts of hearts God’s word would be put into disrepute, not to talk of the accompanying stress this may have on us. 

 
I learned something else through this experience, it is not enough to want to keep away from sin, we need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Why not pray a simple prayer with me  .. ‘Lord, keep me from sinning against you’.  How lovely when God Himself stops you from sinning against Him. I know because I have recently been there. 

Trust that this post has been a blessing to you; so until I appear again in your inbox, stay blessed
 

Ola

 
No man indeed is an island
Uncategorized
Written by ola aroyehun   
Friday, 30 April 2010
Two things have informed this week’s post – one is a revelation from the word of God and the other is a personal experience. 

Recording through the book of Luke, we come across the following statement. Luke 1:39
  Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 

Have you ever wondered why Mary got up immediately and went to Elizabeth her cousin?

Well let’s backtrack a bit and look at Elizabeth’s experience in Luke 1:36
 

Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
For a start, there were differences between the two women. Mary was a young unmarried woman from the tribe of Judah whilst Elizabeth was an old married lady from the Aaronic priesthood 

However, they both had supernatural encounters of God that they could each relate to. Mary could share her story about the visitation of the Lord in a way that Elizabeth could relate to. What God was doing in both Mary and Elizabeth’s lives was so precious that they could not share it with just anybody.
 Elizabeth had gone through a period of reproach ( Luke 1:26) because to be barren In Israel in those days was a sign of reproach. Mary on the other hand, was to go through a similar time or period of reproach. An unmarried woman, who was engaged to Joseph, is being suddenly found to be pregnant. 

No doubt Mary would have been greatly blessed by Elizabeth’s situation and vice versa. Remember that Zechariah, Elizabeth’s husband had been made mute by God and so communication was limited!  Though Mary would have found some encouragement from her cousin Mary, it was now time for Elizabeth to give birth and for Mary to go back home.
  

But returned to what? Return to another source of encouragement. 
 

Well again God had stepped in and Joseph in the meantime had an encounter with an angel of God. ( Matthew 1:20-24). Joseph, we know had wanted to divorce Mary privately  but changed his mind because he had a supernatural experience with God and now he could relate to Mary and somehow now they were in this together.
 Mary found encouragement with Elizabeth and Joseph.

We all need encouragement and God will always connect us to people that will understand what we are going through.
 

Now to my personal experience. For the past 2/3 years, I have subscribed to a number of internet marketing newsletters – most of which have provided content and a source of encouragement. I used their tactics to develop an action plan to reach as many people as I could through my writing.
 

However, at the beginning of the year, every time a newsletter appeared in my inbox, it was deleted even before it was read. Recently, I realised that my subscriber list had not grown as I had anticipated and then I realised that because I was not as encouraged as I used to be and therefore was not acting much.
 

Reflecting on both of these occurrences, I realised that no man is an island. God would put you in touch with people who will compliment and encourage you. We all need encouragement, particularly from people who have been where we are going or have experienced what we are about to experience. 

 
I pray that God would bring people alongside us along the journey of life that will encourage us. 

So until I appear again in your inbox with some more insight into the scriptures, stayblessed
 
Ola
www.christianbusinessmagazine.com
www.purposeforchrist.com
 
Are you working from Him?
Uncategorized
Written by ola aroyehun   
Sunday, 03 May 2009
I read something recently that challenged my thinking about work. The author was asking the question ‘Are you working for Him or from Him?’ This is not a play on words but a serious question that we all need to ask ourselves. In this post, I want to focus on the concept of working from God. Work is anything that we are currently putting our hands towards.
Read more... [Are you working from Him?]
 
Wealth of the wicked for the believer?
Uncategorized
Written by ola aroyehun   
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
I hear so many believers make reference to the fact that God would transfer the wealth of the wicked into their laps. Therefore, though the title of the article might sound like a rhetoric question, there is an important truth that we need to be aware of.
Read more... [Wealth of the wicked for the believer?]
 
Don’t believe a lie - Christians can be trusted
Uncategorized
Written by ola aroyehun   
Sunday, 31 August 2008
I have written this article in response to comments I have heard repeated recently within Christian circles. The statement goes along seems the lines; “Christians cannot be trusted”.  And some people would even advocate that they’d rather do business with non-Christians than Christians.
Read more... [Don’t believe a lie - Christians can be trusted]
 
Christian Business Is Not about Hard Work (2)
Uncategorized
Written by ola aroyehun   
Friday, 08 August 2008
In the last post, we examined how Adam was given the task of maintaining the Garden of Eden. Adam was expected to tend and keep the garden. The book of Genesis records how Adam disobeyed God and as a result, sin entered the world.
Read more... [Christian Business Is Not about Hard Work (2)]
 

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