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. 

Keeping Hope Alive

Every great man and woman on the planet earth today has a story to tell. It is easier to envy them and desire them after they are made, but nobody cares to know what they have been through. Dear friends, let nobody deceive you that life is easy and cheap, there will be good moments and there will be seriously bad moments, but here are some tips on how to overcome such moments. Remember that the economy on its own can add to the bad moments of an average person at this time where money is not easy to come by and even the little you are able to gather has lost value in the market. 
There is a saying that tough time do not last, but tough people do. Being tough is not just a thing of physical strength; it requires a very strong will to overcome any tough situation that comes your way.
Secondly, you need to stay in a positive atmosphere like the church. No matter how depressing your situation is, please do not stay away from the church, somehow God has a way of communicating hope to you during church services. Keep friends and association of positive people. Some people naturally are hope killers; their words can render you completely hopeless and fearful, identify such people and run far away from them. Rather, choose people who still see good in your situation.
Thirdly be in charge of your thoughts. There could be time that your mind may be playing pranks on you, making you feel miserable and hopeless. When such moments come, use the word of God to deal with it. Remember that the bible says that there is hope to them that are joined to the living and a living dog is better than a dead lion. This means that no matter how terrible your situation is, you are better than those millionaires and successful people who are dead. Therefore, do not allow your mind to cheat you, because when you have life, you have hope.
Lastly, never think your case is the worst. When you manage to listen to other people's stories, you will laugh over yours. Always tell yourself that someone, somewhere, has been through that thing you are going through and they are out of it. So comfort yourself and laugh over it that you too can overcome your own bad moments.
Allow me to round up with this, you need prayer, no matter how terrible your situation is, even though there are moments you are too burdened to pray, but please try to say something to God. No matter how short or uncoordinated your words are, just pour out your mind to him, he surely will understand and hear you because he loves you too much to lose you to hopelessness which is the bedrock of depression and suicide.
NO MATTER WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH, KEEP HOPE ALIVE.

Surviving A Difficult Time

God did not promise us a difficulty free life; he only promised us victory through Christ our Lord. So do not be too burdensome because of this difficult time nations are going through right now. God has a purpose in every situation, including a very bad one like the one we are in right now in this country.
How can we therefore survive this situation?
Be Prayerful
The word of God says that we should pray without ceasing. When you turn to God in prayer in a difficult time like this, He gives you strength to go on. You will also enjoy certain level of favor that will make things quite easier to for you. Through prayer, God gives you direction as per what to do, where to go and probably who to go to for certain assistance with a guarantee of favor.
Be Hopeful
Even when it seems that your prayer is not receiving a quick answer; just be hopeful and steadfast in doing good. God will surely answer when you do not give up too soon. Have assurance that things will be better.
Be Diligent
Bible says whatsoever your hands find to do, do it with all thy might.
Do not be too proud to find certain honorable but small jobs too low for you to do. Remember, the token that comes into your hand at the end of the day is better than nothing. At least it saves you from being totally dependent on people. Moreover, who knows maybe from that small job you will be promoted or you may meet a destiny helper. Despise not the days of little beginning. Do not be lazy.
Be Thankful
This is the will of God concerning us in Christ Jesus. Do not just thank God alone in prayer; let it be a lifestyle. After all, many people who are better and richer than you are dead. Therefore, for every little blessing you get, be thankful for it and see how God will come to your rescue.
Come to think of it, why does God allow us to go through difficult times?
To produce strength of character in us
If you haven't gone through a tough and rough time before, how do you know your strength level? By the time you come out of a difficult situation, there is no way you will not become better or stronger, except you refuse to learn because God will not force you to learn. How do you know if you can resist the temptation of stealing if you are not faced with a situation that will almost leave you with no choice but to steal? However, when you stand your ground not to steal no matter what happens, then you have become stronger in that area of your life.
To strengthen our faith in God
Difficult situations have a way of pushing even the worst sinners to God. Why will you have faith in God if all you want is available at the snap of your fingers? However, when you are faced with lack, disappointment, discouragement, failure, etc., then you surely would have no choice in most cases than to turn to the One who never fails.
To help us know our true friends
Your true friends are the ones that stand by you when the going gets tough, but when things are working out well, everybody is your friend. Difficult situations enable you know those that are worthy to be called friends.
So you now agree with me that God has you in mind in every situation of your life? See you next time!

Vision: Step 2 To Planning Your Future

Now that you have started your journey of life with prayer, then you need to realize the power of vision. Vision is your foresight about your future, it simply means where and how you see yourself in the nearest future. So if I may ask, where do you see yourself in the nearest future? How do you see yourself in the future? What do you see yourself doing in the nearest future? 
Living without a vision equals to roaming about in darkness. Imagine if you have to walk within a house with your eyes closed?You may fall and fall very bad. You may be fortunate not to fall. Nothing guarantees your success in the house when your eyes are closed. That is what happens when you live without a vision, without a foresight of what, where and how you want to live your life in the future.
So have you got a vision? If no then lets discuss how vision can be birthed. You just don’t sit and birth a vision because you watch a movie and you like something about a character that touches you so much, and you want to be like him/her. Vision is an inspiration from God Almighty and when He gives you that inspiration about something you should do, He gives you peace of mind, enhances your level of confidence that enables you to do it. Then inside of you are potentials and talents that are needed to actualize the vision. Major benefits of God given vision are that you are sure that He will help you, give you grace to move on in the face of difficulties and He surely will prosper you at the end if you stay faithful to the vision.
We must know that some people develop their vision and stay true to it, but it is best when you wait on God to give you a vision to run with, because you may not have His support or grace to run a vision He didn’t give you. Sometimes you may be frustrated out of the vision when challenges come. A self-oriented vision is not likely to bring you fulfillment at the end, even when you have prospered and acquired wealth. That is why we have many unhappy millionaires today. 

I guess you will be thinking that how do you know when it is a God given vision? 
God speaks to us in diverse ways, through His word, prophets, dreams, visions or trance. He can even speak audibly to you. However, He speaks to those who have a relationship with Him, especially those who are passionately expecting to hear from Him. In addition, when He speaks to you, He gives you peace of mind that assures you that you are on the right track.
My dear friends, when you start your journey with God praying to Him, wait on Him for a vision to run with, you will never regret doing so in Jesus’ name.

PRAYER: STEP 1 TO PLANNING YOUR FUTURE

Prayer is the number one key to fulfilling your future. Money does not guarantee future, not even intelligence or connection. Remember that none of these can assure you of a long healthy life; after all it takes a living healthy person to enter into the future. Therefore, can you see why you need to pray? It is in the place of prayer you secure your future and tackle any obstacles that may want to hinder you.

You cannot afford not to include prayer in your lifestyle especially if you are from this part of the world where there are many spiritual forces that does not want you to excel. Some of these forces can be family members and they can be friends or people around you that just hate your success, especially when they see that your future is glorious. Therefore, you cannot afford to live a prayer-less life.

In case you are living a prayer-less life, let me tell you reasons why you need to see prayer as your number one key to a successful future.

a) Devil himself does not want you to enter into your future. Have you not been seeing the way young people are killing themselves these days, both home and abroad? It is the devil at work, making young people to kill themselves over nothing, and some times over trivial issues, that does not worth it. May God never allow us to be a victim of such wickedness in Jesus’ name.

b) Some wicked forces that do not want you to succeed. Like I said earlier, some of them can be from your household, some can be from your peers, and sometimes some parents have sown evil seed that will affect the future of their children in one way or the other.

c) Some bad habits are capable of ruining one’s future. Every man has one or two or more habits to deal with, and most times it takes the help of God through prayer to destroy such habits. Just look deep into your life, name those bad habits that can affect you and begin to table them in prayer before God before they hinder your future from becoming a reality.

Here are some issues you need to put in prayers often

ü  Pray for divine protection

ü  Pray against generational curses, iniquities and wickedness. Some families are extremely evil; they rarely allow their offspring succeed in life.

ü  Pray against bad influence.

ü  Pray for direction. Everyone needs direction in life. As per what course to study, whom to marry, what business to do, etc. it is better to be directed by God because you are assured of his protection and provisions when He leads you. 

Your Future Is Now

Many at times the future seems far, especially when we are still young. For instance, a 12-year-old child thinks it takes eternity to clock 30 years of age. Sooner than imagined, they celebrate 25^th birthday and become close to 30 years.

A wise child therefore starts planning now, having realized that the future is nearer than we are thinking. Serious commitment into today guarantees a better tomorrow. Wealth, success and affluence are not accidents, neither are they destined for special set of people. Anybody anywhere can be successful, wealthy or become affluent, if only they can pay the price.

Do you want to become an employer of labor in the future? On the other hand, you want a good marriage, you want to break a record, or you want to be a successful business tycoon, just name it, anything you want to become all starts NOW, not tomorrow. Tomorrow is only a manifestation of yesterday input. Do not think it is too early to start planning, preparing and praying about future NOW. Do not spend your teenage hood or youthful days playing, partying or catching fun. Your future is right at your doorstep, waiting to enter. Remember, early preparation equals early arrival in most cases.

You want to be a medical doctor at 22 years; then start planning NOW. You want to be a PHD holder before 30 years of age, then start preparing for it NOW. Time waits for no man. Time is equivalent to life, so please spend it well so that your future will not be gloomy and full of regrets.

This is just to charge you up. In our subsequent articles, we will discuss keys to planning your future. Until then, remain blessed and be charged up in your spirit to take your future in your hands by planning NOW.

THE POWER OF CHOICE

The word of God says in Deuteronomy 30: 19,

‘I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life that both thou and thy seed may live: (KJV)

So if God can give you the power to make choices then who can stop you or take that power from you?

Life is a product of many choices, the gradual accumulation of your choices. So where ever or however you find yourself in future, don’t blame God or people, it’s the accumulation of your choices that take you there.  For instance, your choice to be educated, your choice of friends, your choice of life style , your choice of eating habits, etc. all these and many other choices equal your future.

Do not let people choose for you; never let society determine your choices, because if you refuse to make deliberate choices about your life, people will make it for you. That’s why you have to take your life in your hands and make deliberate choices that will give you the kind of future you desire, remember we have talked about desire in this blog.

There are major areas of your life that you most make deliberate choices, they are;

a)     Spirituality  you most choose to serve God and live a godly life, because you will find it rewarding later in life

b)     Education you most go to school and study hard to have a good result, this will help your chance of getting a good job or in pursuit of your career later in future

c)      Moral  you most choose to stay away from immorality, it has both spiritual and healthy benefits

d)     Health your choice of food and lifestyle will help you to live longer and healthy

e)     Friendship you must choose good friends who have the same beliefs with you, friends that will help you to actualize your vision

Always remind yourself that God has given you the power to make choices, and the choices you make today, determine your tomorrow. So choose wisely!

MAXIMIZING DESIRE

 Dear teenagers, hope the previous article blessed you. Remember that the things you expose your mind to either through sight or ears play a major role in shaping your life, either positively or negatively. Your exposure affects your choice or decision, and your choice and decision determine your Future. So be careful of what you expose yourself to.

This stage of your life is very crucial to your future because at this stage of your life, your mind becomes more active than before;  you gradually begin to build up your own ideas, views and attitudes about life. Such ideas and views gradually build up a new attitude in you, either good or bad, and they determine your sense of choice and decision.

Let me tell you about 'DESIRE' and how it affects your Life.  The word of God in Psalms 145:16 says;

‘Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.’ (KJV)

If God decides to grant you your heart desires now, what will be your lot? Do not think Desire is for old people. As a teenager, you need to start desiring the kind of life you want to live, the kind of career, home, social and spiritual life you want. One thing to possess always is desire, a longing to grow and be better. Where desire is lacking, experience will be lacking. Therefore, if you do not desire to improve in an area or long for positive experiences, it is quite unlikely to live it. The word unlikely is being used as against impossible because there might still be some filter of experiences that might come your way. They might occur one way or the other; it is still possible due to the factor of time and chance.

Life is too short to be lived by chance!

Do not leave your Future to chances or trial and error. Rather, start building your Future now from your mind and that's ‘DESIRE’.

Your life has a way of attracting the things you desire. Therefore, you need to be careful of what you desire. Let your desire be positive and consistent. I'll give you an example of the power of desire. I have a sister that has always desired a baby girl as her first Child even before she was married. Lo and behold, she delivered a baby girl first after she got married. As for me, I've always desired to be an entrepreneur and to marry a godly man, and I got that. So what do you Desire?

The aforementioned instances might seem ‘simple’; no detail about your life is actually simple as they all contribute to make and define your life.

It’s time you started building a great and positive picture of your academics, career, family, community service and spiritual service. Having such picture in mind will shape your prayers, choices and keep you going even when the tide seems contrary.

Many successful people you admire today had lived their today in their mind yesterday and are already living out their tomorrow in their mind today.

Even though not all our desires are met, you cannot be too sure which will be met or not. So please keep building your Future right from your mind. Be positive about life, be consistent in your desires and see how you will miraculously see them Manifest in your life.

‘Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things.’ Philippians 4:8 (NKJV)

Until the next time, be exposed to positive and godly things that will help you desire positively. Be careful of what you read, see and what you hope for (which is called DESIRE).

MAXIMIZING YOUR TEENAGE HOOD

Every grown up man/woman today was once a teenager. It is an inevitable phase in everyone’s life. It cannot be skipped, jumped or deleted. Teen-hood is an inevitable passage into adulthood, so we sensitize today’s teenagers about the importance of this particular phase of their lives and how to maximise it because it has a whole lot to do with what their future will look like.

Every child within the ages of 12 -19 is a teenager, irrespective of the stature, look or weight. Don’t let your stature make you feel too high or less of yourself.

Dear teenagers, this stage of your life is very crucial to your future because at this stage of your life, your mind becomes more active than before;  you gradually begin to build up your own ideas, views and attitudes about life. Such ideas and views gradually build up a new attitude in you, either good or bad, and they determine your sense choice and decision. Now check out the equation;

 YOUR VIEWS, IDEAS + NEW ATTITUDES = YOUR CHOICE AND DECISION = YOUR FUTURE.

Permit me to tell you that the things you expose your mind to through what you see, hear or read determine your new ideas, views and attitude, and they all determine your future.

For instance, if all what you mind to as a teenager now are books, music, videos and television programmes that place too much value on money, sex and fame, don’t be surprised when you find yourself having a strong desire for such things. In fact, such things become your driving force in life. No wonder there are many youths today who despise hard work and honesty, but will rather do anything to get money in order to impress people. This is because they were exposed to such ungodly lifestyle through what they watch, read or listen to. Now they have developed wrong value system, which is now affecting their ways of life.

Mind you, many of those celebrities you watch or read about are fake, as fake as the makeup they wear. They make you feel life is all about money, fame and sex, but meanwhile, deep inside them, they are unfulfilled and unhappy. Therefore, be careful of what you watch, read or listen to. To balance the equation of life, check out this complete formula;

WHAT YOU SEE, READ AND LISTEN TO = YOUR IDEAS, VIEWS AND ATTITUDE AS A TEENAGER...............Equation 1

YOUR IDEAS, VIEWS AND ATTITUDE = YOUR CHOICES AND DECISIONS AS YOU GROW INTO ADULTHOOD....Equation 2

YOUR CHOICES AND DECISIONS = YOUR FUTURE AS A FULLY GROWN ADULT.........................................Equation 3

Here are my questions for you

1)      What kind of future do you desire for yourself?

2)      What are the things you consistently expose your mind, sight and ears too?

3)     Are the things you watch, read and listen to helping you to build good ideas, views, and attitudes as a teenager?

Ponder deeply on these three questions and be sincere in your answers to them. This stage of your life cannot be skipped, neither can it be repeated. You have just this one life to live, and either you like it or not, we all are products of our yesterday’s choices and decisions. Bear in mind that those choices and decisions were also a result of our ideas, views and attitudes that we developed while growing up as a teenager. Never forget that those ideas, views and attitude were not inborn, they were a result of what we exposed our mind, sight and ears to (maybe videos, real life events, television programmes, novel, discussion, magazine, social media, etc.).

Ponder on these things and begin to make every necessary correction before it’s too late. Life is a fertile field; it gives back to you in multiples whatsoever you plant in it. What are you planting into your life now as a teenager?