Examine Your Fruit

My dearest teenagers, how has the year been for you? What lessons have you learnt? What mistakes did you make? What success did you achieve?

The best way to maximize your counting years is by sitting down to take account of your life from up until now. What areas did you fail woefully? Is it in your academics or in your personal relationship with God? I hope you know that having a personal relationship with God is different from being committed to church programs. Your personal relationship with God includes your personal prayer life, study life, devotion to God and obedience to His word.

How has been your moral life? Did you join your friends or schoolmates to engage in ungodly and unprofitable relationships? Did you engage in wayward activities that your parent weren’t even aware of? Have you lived in lies and deceit?

My beloved, if you were to rate your lifestyle and achievements in the last year on the scale of one to ten, what would you score? God is a God of many chances, but sometimes some people unfortunately run out of chance with him. What did you do wrong that you need to make right just before continuing your young life? What did you start and could not finish but you know you really should have finished it? What areas of your life need improvement and prayer?

Am I being too harsh? I do not want you to continue into your future with the same mistakes of the past. Rather learn from your errors, failures and mistake and make up your mind to be better off. In addition, for those areas you have done or/and doing greatly, I say kudos! Keep improving in such areas. Keep enjoying the mercies of God . Love you greatly.

The Joy Of Separation 3

Hi teens, how was the summer holiday? Hope you maximized it properly.

Let me digress a little. Time is life; never think it’s too early to start praying and planning for your future. Anytime you have such a long vacation, please try to use it to add value to yourself. It’s not all about family and friends visitation, neither is it a time for movies. Rather, acquiring a skill, going to a Bible School, spending time to pray and meditate on your future, etc. are better ways to spend your holidays.

I know this summer break is gone already, but I just want to challenge and provoke you not to always see your holidays as a leisure time, rather see it as a time to add more value to yourself and to prepare you for a glorious future. I hope you know that the future we are talking about here is closer than it was yesterday. Every day you step into draws you closer to your future. No wonder many people enter their future unprepared, they thought there was still time.

May I ask you, how would you love to spend your next holiday, especially the long summer holiday? Bare it in mind that you are not too young to start planning and preparing, it’s far better to start early than to start late. My dear, great future is not by accident. It involves prayer, hard work, discipline, sacrifice and determination. All of these I hope to discuss with you as time goes by.

Back to the topic of the day, let's look at the benefits of separation. I trust you have been following the teaching on separation. By now, you should know that you need to be separated unto God because you need God more than He needs you. He made us and He owns the key to our future, as the devil has no good plan or future for you. The more you waste your time pleasing the devil, the more you are far from the plan and purpose of God for your life. Both God and the devil are interested in you but it is left to you to decide who wins the race in your life. For God to win, you need to be separated unto Him. Let your lifestyle, communication, and character distinguish you from the people of the world.

See what the Word of God says about separation:
Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you." "I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 NKJV

What more can one asks for? Do you know what it means for God Almighty to refer to you as His son/ daughter? Will a father watch his child to be molested, denied of his/her entitlements, etc.? Do not let anybody deceive you, there are much more to gain when you decide to be separated unto God. Until you enter that realm, you will not know that there are more benefits than you can imagine.
In all, determine to be separated unto God. Do not let the devil waste you as he does to disobedient children. Rather, stand for God, be sold out to Him and see how He will make you a living wonder. It starts with you separating yourself unto Him. Are you ready?

The Joy Of Separation 2

Hi Teens!

Hope you enjoyed the last edition of grenepages, and I hope you have not forgotten that it pays to be separated unto God. The Holy Bible says that we should love not the world nor the things of the world. We live in a time where it is difficult to differentiate between a believer and an unbeliever because of the worldly lifestyle of many so- called believers. However, remember that God cannot be deceived; He knows those who belong to Him in truth and in deed.

So if I may ask you, does God know you belong to Him? If yes, can the people around you testify to it that you belong to God? Do you see why you have to be separated unto God? Being separated does not necessarily mean you will not talk to unbelievers. It simply means living a godly lifestyle in the midst of everyone around you. It’s the act of using the word of God as your standard of living, not using the opinions or ideologies of people.

Now, let us interact. How will your friends, neighbors and family know that you belong to God? After all, godliness is not written on people's faces. In the last edition, I said desisting from evil communication is one of the ways of being separated unto God. If I may ask you, what do you discus with your friends or people around you? Do you peak vulgar words (dirty language), words of hatred or that could cause enmity between people, words full of condemnation of yourself or others, etc.? Your communications tells a lot about you.

Another way of separating yourself is LIVING A LIFESTYLE OF SINCERITY AND TRUTHFULNESS.

The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness And speak no lies, Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; For they shall feed their flocks and lie down, And no one shall make them afraid." 
Zephaniah 3:13 NKJV

The world is full of lies; I am sure you aware of this. Unfortunately, many so-called believers are guilty of this. You will see ‘Christians’ reducing their age to get a job or admission and youths lie that they are in love in other to take advantage of one another amidst other instances of falsehood. Nevertheless, beloved, the word and standard of God does not change. God is not a politician that says ‘A’ but means ‘Z’. His word is the same forever.

Those who tell lies do not belong to God, no matter your status in the church; be a Bishop's child or a prophet. Remember that Satan is the father of all lies and the father of everyone who tells lies irrespective of who you are.

Therefore, be separated unto God by living a life of truth and sincerity. No matter what it will cost you, say the truth always. The truth will always prevail; it is just a matter of time. Try to desist from any situation or action that will subject you to telling lies. Its pays in all things to be truthful because God will bless and reward you and sometimes men may reward you.

Let your life of sincerity and truthfulness separates you from others as a child of God that you are! Be truthful in all situations!

Bye! Until next time, let your lifestyle single you out for God.

The Joy Of Separation

Separation means to set apart or aside. If anyone will be used of God especially in a complicated and carnal world like this, such an individual must learn the principle of separation.

You cannot mingle with everyone that comes your way, live or imitate the life style of everyone around you, or pattern your life according to the pattern of this world and expect to be used by God.

I know you want to ask me what the pattern of this world is. Colossians chapter three verse five states them and they include fornication (sex before marriage), which has become a norm in our 21st Century. Girls no longer see virginity as a virtue. Unmarried people living together like husband and wife now looks normal. Girls getting pregnant and having child/ children for a guy they are not married to now call themselves ‘baby mamas’. This is sinful and unacceptable before God.

There is more listed in that verse:

• LUST: You see two people meeting for the first time, confessing ‘love’, and becoming sexually active or having erotic feelings towards each other; such is called ‘lust’.
• EVIL DESIRES: Isn’t it real these days? The manner in which people carry out an evil act towards each other is heart-breaking .Boys killing girls or damaging their lives because of unreasonable reasons and vice versa. Cultists hacking fellow human to death like a piece of paper all in the name of fight.
• GREED: You see girls selling their body because of money because of the desire to look good and sophisticated. Boys are dabbling into many evil deeds like stealing, internet fraud, money rituals, etc. just to make money and satisfy their material quest.

All these and many more are patterns of the world and sadly to say, ‘we’ are beginning to live with it. They are becoming part of our lifestyle. However, permit me to say, such lifestyles destroy great destines; it makes people who practices such to be vulnerable to the devil and his demons. Some of them die untimely and mysteriously, and often time such death might be avoidable if one decides to live rightly and be separated unto God.

So what am I saying here?

The principle of separation unto God makes you live a fulfilled life. Because when you separate yourself unto God, he orders your steps and empowers you to fulfill destiny; to do things you never could have imagined you can do. When you separate yourself unto God, He guides you from all evil and beautifies you with glory. There are many more benefits you stand to gain when you separate yourself unto God.

Now the next question is how do I separate myself unto God?

• Desist from evil communications. Bible says that evil communications corrupt good manners (1 Corinthians 15: 33). So who are your friends and what do you discuss when you are together?

If you know your clique of friends are bad, wayward, greedy, immoral, etc., separate yourself from them and do it prayerfully.

To be continued...

Doctrines Or God

Many believers these days have replaced God with doctrines. The moment they are observing their church’s doctrines, they think God is happy with them. Am I against doctrines? No! Is bible against doctrines? No!. However, for a believer to think all that makes him/her a true child of God is by strictly following the doctrines of his/her church, is the most self-deceiving thing that could happen to such a Christian.

Doctrines are good, they help us to understand the law of moderation and help us to be self-conscious which of cause is good. However, many believers these days are carried away by the doctrines than being carried away by the God of the doctrines. So many believers believe that as far as they can follow their church’s doctrine, God is pleased with them. Though some of those doctrines were born out of godliness and passion for God, you can be following them without your heart following God.

I have seen the ‘ideal Christian’ with no earrings, no attachment on their hair, in fact no powder of any kind, but yet they can tell lies even to a higher authority, they can comfortably sit and gossip with no fear. I meant what I just said, I have them around.

So where am I driving at? Because of such people, many non-believers have seen us as hypocrites. Instead of the church or Christian leaders or parents, paying all of their attention to those outward doctrines, why not let us start paying a larger percent of the attention to emphasizing on loving god and having the fear of God. The more a believer loves and fears God, the more of God’s nature he/she begins to share. Moreover, you cannot love God and not want to spend quality time with Him. You cannot be spending quality time with God and not be transformed over the time. Your transformation will start from within (the heart) and reflect on the outside as time goes on.

At this stage of transformation, there are some clothing you will be not be able to put on again and there are some places you will not be able to go again. In fact, without anybody telling you, you will cut off from certain friends, habits, lifestyle, etc. As a lover of God, you will then realize that you need to represent Him well even with your looks. When you get to this level, nothing becomes too difficult to do away with because of your love for God. You do not feel compelled or obligated; rather you do those things for love’s sake.

This is the level we all should aspire and encourage others as well to get to that level; enough of people having the form of godliness but denying the power thereof. Do not teach your children, members, friends, staff, etc. ordinary doctrines that do not equal salvation, rather teach them to love and fear God and see if such people will not be transformed even to the outside and even beyond your imagination.

Remember, what goes inside a man does not defile a man; rather it is what comes out from the inside. Selah!

Responding To Controversies

At one time or the other, different debates surfaces and becomes controversial. One of such is the issue about tithing. Please my brethren, do not let us be carried away by the wind of doctrines. Rather, let the Holy Spirit teach and guide you. Do not just follow a man simply because of his eloquence. The things of God are spiritually discerned not with the wisdom of man. We are in the perilous time as the Bible said. So be careful, we are in the days of scarcity of the true word of God. Even demons now quote the scripture and twist it to deceive believers who do not have a solid foundation in Christ.

Here is my counsel 

• Know God for yourself; carry the bible, study and compare scriptures, and pray to the Holy Spirit to open the eye of your understanding, by doing these, you will become  grounded in the word and ways of God.
• Do not join them to judge and castigate the anointed of God. IT IS UNSCRIPTURAL AND UNSPIRITUAL. Remember how God punished Miriam for speaking against Moses. Please take your time to read the following scriptures:

Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. "Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn’t he also spoken through us?" And the LORD heard this. (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.) At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you." So the three of them came out. Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, he said, "Listen to my words: "When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions,  I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them. When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam leprous, like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy; and he said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. Numbers 12:1-11 (NIV)

Be wise! Let God in whose name we pay tithe be the judge of those whom He has put in charge of tithe collection. Please save you soul and that of your generation.
Mind you, some churches are still into charity work, just that they do not make it public. So be careful of passing wrong judgment on the men of God. Do not join them to say what you do not know to avoid God’s anger.
In conclusion, we are in the end time. Try to stay connected to God and do away with sin.
Byeeeeeeeee

Facts About Storms Of Life

Christ never promised us a life free of storms, even His disciples encountered storm while Christ was with them. In the last edition I talked about keeping hope alive, and now I want you my beloved readers to know that the ugly situation you may be going through is not
strange in human history, in fact, somebody somewhere has a more terrible situation. So get up and stop pitying yourself. Stop thinking that God has forgotten you or that He is unfaithful to you. 
I need you to know that no matter what happens to you in life, God is God and He is good. So stop judging God unfaithful over your circumstances. You are not the first to go through it and you won't be the last. 
No storm is meant to kill you. The way you handle them will determine the outcome. For instance, someone is going through a very difficult time in marriage or finance, and such a person stops praying because he or she thinks God does not hear prayers anymore. In fact, maybe the person thinks going to church is a waste of time. At that moment, such an individual has opened the door of his or her life to the devil to take charge of the situation that is bad already, and when the devil does take charge, I tell you, he is without mercy, and will finish such a person. 
Storms of life are meant to polish your view about life, situations and your view about how God works in ways beyond our imagination. For instance, it might take somebody somewhere having an ailment to appreciate know that God is indeed able to heal and restore him or her. Such a person would appreciate LIFE by the time they recover from it. You know sometimes we take life for granted, we think it is our rights to live and live healthy, but by the time you fall ill and you almost lose your life, then you will learn to appreciate God better for the gift of life. 
You need to know that storms of life are meant to make you stronger, better and tougher. All these are values or virtues we all need to survive in this world. For instance, if everything you ever desired get to you so cheaply and effortlessly, how would you develop the virtue of patience and endurance? If you have never in your life been grieved before, how would you develop the virtue of forgiveness? Some of these virtues or values are developed through one difficult experience or the other. 
The last thing I want you to know about storms of life is that it make you a coach to others who will go through the same or similar situation later in life. For instance, if you don't know what it is to be homeless and helpless, how would you comfort someone who is going
through such situation? To be frank and sincere with you, it is easier for people who have been through certain situations to comfort or help others that are going through the same situation. Someone who has lived fifty years of healthy life may not feel the real pain of someone who has been living for 30 years in pain and illness. Therefore, the 50-year-old healthy person may not be able to help emotionally, or psychologically, even though he or she may say, "I feel your pain" but that is not exactly true because they are in two different worlds, the 50-year-old has never fallen ill before so he or she cannot really feel such pain except by mouth. However, by the time a man with similar health history comes, he knows what words to use to comfort the sick because he's been through it. 
Dear beloved, going through storms of life is not funny. Sometimes it can be a health challenge, academic failure, loss of a loved one, failed relationship, joblessness, rejection, abuse of any kind, disappointment, bareness, sickness or terminal diseases and the likes. No matter what the storm is, just remember that God is faithful and He does not want you to die in that situation, so don't give up on Him in prayers, fasting, worship and even praising Him. Remember the story of Paul and Silas in the prison and how they praised God and they were miraculously delivered. So please don't let the devil deceive you into thinking that God has forgotten you or that He doesn't answer prayers anymore. Just hold tight your confession, keep your hope alive, lean on the grace of God to see you through and always remind yourself that God is too faithful to fail you. Be full of assurance that He will come to your rescue. 
Also, bear it in mind that it's for a reason, always imagine yourself triumphing over the situation, and don't forget that when you come out of it, you too will help others
come out of their own storms too. Love you all.