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Christian
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Written by ola aroyehun
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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
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Christian
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Written by ola aroyehun
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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.
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.
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
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Christian
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Written by ola aroyehun
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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
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Christian
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Written by ola aroyehun
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Sunday, 03 May 2009 |
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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.
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Read more... [Have you been called?]
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Christian
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Written by olaaro
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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.
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Read more... [Who would you be listening to in 2009]
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Christian
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Written by ola aroyehun
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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.
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Read more... [Whatever happened to contentment]
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Christian
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Written by ola aroyehun
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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.
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Read more... [Christian Business is Not All About Hard Work]
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Christian Business
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Written by ola aroyehun
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Saturday, 31 January 2009 |
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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.
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Read more... [What has God said recently about your business?]
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Finances
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Written by ola aroyehun
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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.
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Read more... [A paradigm shift on giving]
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Motivation
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Written by ola aroyehun
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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.
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Read more... [What’s wrong with motivational teaching?]
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Uncategorized
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Written by ola aroyehun
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Sunday, 03 May 2009 |
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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.
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Read more... [Are you working from Him?]
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Uncategorized
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Written by ola aroyehun
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Wednesday, 29 October 2008 |
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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.
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Read more... [Wealth of the wicked for the believer?]
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Uncategorized
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Written by ola aroyehun
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Sunday, 31 August 2008 |
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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.
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Read more... [Don’t believe a lie - Christians can be trusted]
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Uncategorized
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Written by ola aroyehun
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Friday, 08 August 2008 |
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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.
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Read more... [Christian Business Is Not about Hard Work (2)]
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