ALL THE WAY MY SAVIOUR LEADS ME
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WILL YOU MAKE THE CUT?
DILIGENCE IN CHARACTER
DILIGENCE IN CHARACTER
“Go to the ant, thou sluggard;
consider her ways, and be wise.
Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
Provideth her meat in summer,
and gathereth her food in harvest.
How long wilt thou sleep, O sliggard?
When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to sleep:
So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth,
and thy want as an armed man.” (Pro 6:6-11).
Diligence in business is every man’s wisdom and duty.
“He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand:
but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.” (Pr 10:4).
Choose what you will,
But to whatever choice you make is the responsibility of the resultant effect of that
choice.
Many of the billionaires in the world came from humble beginnings,
most of them did not grow up with silver spoons in their mouths.
But they chose to struggle, hustle, and strive manfully to attain prominence and prosperity.
Habits of indolence and indulgence grow upon people, and their lives runs to a grind, a waste, while poverty sets in.
It is the desire of the Lord that we are all well-doing, prosperous, and healthy. He wants us to multiply and be fruitful.
However, unless God is in whatever we do, there won’t be lasting joy, happiness and peace of mind in our riches.
Therefore, decide now to seek wealth and increase according to the will of God.
To the rich and the poor, “it is in your moments of decision that your fate is shaped.”
Time and godliness are God-given capital in time and space, invest them wisely for great gains for now and eternity.
“He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly;
And he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”
Be wise, be diligent, but according to God.
“I have planted, Apollos watered;
but God gave the increase.”
Build Faith in African Economy.
A beautiful aspect of humanity is his ability to turn around his challenges into opportunities, and his prospects and potentialities unto real time success.
Here is a good lecture to African leaders in all sectors to build up faith, hope and trust in Africa and her abounding resources, and there will emerge a transformation for the good of all and sundry rather than the corruption and nepotism that benefit a privileged few.
Greatest Victory Ever
Source: https://images.knowing-jesus.com/i/james-1-12-blessed-is-the-man-the-endures-trials-black
The traditional ‘Our Lord’s Prayer‘ has always have serious impact upon the lives of faithful believers as well as sinners and unbelievers who could muster simple faith in God through Jesus Christ.
“And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” (Luk 11:4).
Life is war.
Yet, there is only one life, and then death!
We either die unto eternal life in Heaven or die to face the wrath of God in judgment into eternal doom in hell.
No matter how you may look at it, the battle of life is a great controversy between good and evil, between righteousness and sinfulness, between truth of God and untruth perpetrated by Satan the devil and his people.
You cannot stay on the sideline, and neither could you chose to be here and there at the same time.
Despite the daunting challenges and recurring difficulties of life, the future yields, more so always, to the brave, the bold, to the people of faith.
The epicenter of the battle of life is in the heart of man rather than the things around and about us.
The battle for the soul of man is really the battle in controversy for the mind of man.
This fierce and highly contentious battle is waged and fought by Satan to gain and control the attention, the focus, the memory, the nerve cells, the file system of man’s subconscious, as well as ultimately the will of man.
Satan is the originator and source of temptation as he and his evil spirits, fallen angels, and human agents delights in putting temptations in the pathway of God’s people and true believers with the main purpose of making them to fall into sin and iniquity.
Thus, we need to understand that temptation begins with the desire of man, legitimate as they may be, but desires so inordinate and unedifying that they lead men away from the purpose of God, from the plan of God, and leading men away from God’s appointed goals to baser, inferior, and transient ideals.
Through the heart, the devil tempts believers with these things which he himself craves – pride, lust, revenge, envy, malice, anger, etcetera.
By the drumbeat of Satan, violence begets violence, crime beget crime, dishonesty beget dishonesty, pornography begets sexual aberrations, and the dingdong goes on as we become, to a great extent, creatures of our environment.
It all began in the heart, murder without guilt, love without meaning, the enemy within is fiercer, greater, and more ravenous than the enemy without.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer 17:9).
Satan, the prince of this wicked world, is the originator of the spirit of hatred, evil, wickedness and revenge, and can bring only evil and no good to all the people who worship him and cherish the lust of the flesh.
Satan, as the prince of this world, promote sin, iniquity, and all sorts of rebellion against God and His divine purpose for man and the universe.
Though Satan operates in darkness and filthiness, and many people chose to follow him.
Jesus is the Just One, the Prince of Peace, and the only begotten Son of God. He came to this world to suffer for all mankind, was arrested by the same people He came to save from sin, was given an unjust trial, crucified, buried and resurrected on the third day, He gained victory over Satan, death and sin.
It takes faith to choose Christ as the Lamb of God whose blood atones for all our sins. It takes faith to surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ completely, claiming His salvation, and making Him King over your life.
It requires your faithfulness through grace to continue following Him till the end.
Temptations, tests and trials are common experiences of all men, to saints as well as to sinners, to the young and the old, to the rich and to the poor, to white as well as to colored people.
When we fall into temptation we sin and move away from God, and sin weakens the sinner to fight corrupt manners. It also rob him of essential spiritual energy resist sinfulness and overcome sinful tendencies.
On the other hand, the devil and sinful tendencies would flee from us whenever we resist them as children of God with the power of God. Genuine salvation in Christ embolden us and empower us to overcome temptation and avoid sin.
Despite the mad rush of the world unto Satan and evil tendencies, Satan hates and seek to destroy men all the time. He works overtime to make come across temptation from time to time, seeking for us to fall into sin.
We are often tempted by way of inordinate cravings and lustfulness of the flesh, through our appetites, and also through immoral tendencies and lustful feelings in uncleanliness.
Audacious people often claim that self-confidence is the mark of man, and many have thereby allowed self-dependence, overconfidence, self-management, and self-confidence to lead them into temptation and sinfulness.
Greed and avarice are the precursors of popular get-rich-quick tendencies and overambition, which have led many into sinfulness and calamities.
Despite the tempestuous devices of Satan to make you fall into temptation, God wants us to overcome temptation and be victorious over Satan and his evil cohorts.
“And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.” (Mat 4:3 – 11).
Satan, the great enemy of all men, would come to us in a subtle, spiteful and very daring way to try us and tempt us. Nevertheless, the old foe can be refused and resisted by quoting the Word of God as did by our Lord Jesus Christ.
We can not fall into sin if we yield not to temptation.
Though Satan will always tempt us and give us trials so as to doubt of God’s goodness or despair of His mercy and love, but we must never distrust of God’s faithfulness and kindness to us.
It is one of the wiles of Satan to take advantage of our circumstances and
outward conditions in the attempt to make us fall into dire straits and thereby sin against God.
Nevertheless, these are mere attempts and wild efforts of the enemy, for which we must need to be watchful and prayerful.
As Christ answered all the temptations of Satan with “It is written;”, we should likewise be well versed in the Word of God to counter all the fiery darts of the foe with the immutable Word of God.
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1Co 10:13).
The omniscient God is all wise and all faithful, and will make our
burdens according to our strength for us to bear, and will also make for us a way to escape so as to remain faithful unto Him all the time.
The Lord also permits temptations as a trial for the perfecting of our spiritual life as bona-fide Christians and children of God.
Like Christ clung unto the Father and the Father’s will at His times of trials and temptations, so are we also to cleave fast to God, His word, and His commandments at our own times of temptation, and we cannot fall.
The believer who overcomes in temptations knows more about the way of God and His unfailing promises. Such faithful followers of Christ would shun the smiles or frowns of the world, her great enemy.
The fear of the Lord, alive and vibrant in the heart of true believers, will always be great means of succor and safety to stand firm and consistently in times of trials and temptations.
victory in Christ is guaranteed all faithful believers who endure temptations to the end, and we are bound to receive a crown of life at the end.
“Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His name?“
“And when the battle’s over
We shall wear a crown!
Yes, we shall wear a crown!
Yes, we shall wear a crown!
And when the battle’s over
We shall wear a crown
In the new Jerusalem
Wear a crown (wear a crown)
Wear a crown (wear a crown)
Wear a bright and shining crown;
And when the battle’s over
We shall wear a crown
In the new Jerusalem.“
Making The Right Move – Decision-Making To The Top
https://www.scribd.com/doc/169083775/Making-the-Right-Move-Decision-Making-to-the-Top
The hour of decision is the most crucial moment of any life on any day.
Surprisingly many people live day by day by taking chances, banking on Mother Luck, or just by being passive about most vital issues of life.
This is the major reason most lives are just mere subsistence ordinary lives, so many people living barely on threadbare, without a purpose, without joy or happiness, and sadly without any sort of achievement or accomplishment from cradle to the grave.
In the golden words of Theodore Roosevelt, “In any moment of decision,
The best thing you can do is the right thing,
The next best thing is the wrong thing,
And the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
Most people usually choose to do nothing, and no wonder, they always get the worst outcome.
Your fate is sealed and your destiny is determined during those crucial and vital moments of decision-making.
However, so many people are very complacent about what to do when vital decisions are to be made and crucial choices are to be taken.
All true success story has a struggle before the prize, decision-making comes before every purposeful action.
Your decision today determines your destiny tomorrow.
Every one of us comes now and then to some crossroads in life.
While many failures in life take difficulties, disappointments, and life challenges as hard blows and hindrances, successful people accept hindrances and life burdens as opportunities to make the most important decision they will ever make.
While failed people cry over their hindrances and burdens of life, successful men and women take moments of disaster and times of hardship and difficulties as their defining moments and the turning point for a decisive life change.
‘Making The Right Move’ is the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret.
Life’s greatest rewards are reserved for those who could show a never-ending commitment to make bold decisions, and could act and harp on their resolutions until they meet their life dreams.
This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent.
Because these traits are not necessarily inborn, anyone with resolute determination can work on acquiring them.
People, who can, always can! This is the main focus of this little treatise.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/169083775/Making-the-Right-Move-Decision-Making-to-the-Top
FAITH, ABSOLUTE FAITH IN GOD. wp-1583300625133.jpg
A Heaven to Gain, a Hell to Shun
Life Is Good, Life’s Good!
Life is Good generally refers to the good life here on earth, also applicable to companies, corporations and organizations that take up the challenge to produce goods and services generally accepted as making life and living good and worthy.
Sadly, and quite unfortunately, this life is so riddled with much falsehood, falsifications, lies, and outright untruth that what is called good might actually be bad, evil and dangerous.
Human beings have done quite a lot to improve our existence and advance the way we go about our operations, communications, productions, and general aspects of life.
Various people, cultures, nations and continents separated by lands and oceans have been brought together by science and technology as the world becomes a global village.
Living the good life means different things to different people. All right thinking people desire to have a good life, but most do not know how to go about it.
To some, the good life is about having the freedom to do what you like, having your way without any hindrance, and feeling good and happy about the things you doand the way you live.
To another, the good life is all about living an honest life with integrity, dignity in a descent home and family, with people of noble existence, having and maintaining self-worth, decent means of livelihood in joy, happiness, and peaceful co-existence.
To the bulk of humans, many seek the good life in lasting prosperity, life of opulence with immense wealth and riches to sustain and enjoy it. They desire to be well-known and accepted in society, they also want power and position in public and private for adequate recognition and regard.
Liberal access to freedom and liberty has embolden the general resolve for individual pursuit of the good life. In their quest, so many people have thrown caution to the winds, having complete disregard for the good and needs of others as long as their own needs and desires are met.
“The good life is right in front of you.
Seize it and make the most of it.”
While we tend to perceive a good life in terms of a happy upbringing, a good training and decent education, promising and well-paying career, profession or enterprise, a happy marriage with an understandingly loving spouse and pleasing family, and a radiant focus upon life and future, there is much more to life than man.
You really need to pity self-centered people. What becomes of your riches after your demise? It is forcibly left behind to others who didn’t earn it and might not appreciate it.
Life needs be lived with a purpose. To find this purpose, noble, legal and dignified, one must first discover the Maker of life, and His purpose for you. To know life is to know God, and to know God is to find life in truth.
You are created for a meaningful purpose, and your true greatness in life lies in your consciousness of an honest purpose, founded on a just estimate of yourself, within the ambit of the standard of our great Creator.
“In the last day, that great day of the feast,
Jesus stood and cried, saying,
If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said,
Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (Joh 7:37,38).
The natural man love to do things his way rather than follow the Word of God, though there were times, I’m sure you knew, when we bit off more than we could chew, but somehow we wriggle ourselves out of it, and life goes on.
Man love to be the master of his own destiny, the principal of his life. He loves the radiant adornment of the rich man in Luke 16: “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:”
Man covet from time to time the material achievements of the Rich Fool without godliness in Luke 12: “And he spake a parable unto them, saying,
The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
And he thought within himself, saying,
What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater;
And there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
And I will say to my soul,
Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years;
Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” (Luk 12:16 – 19).
Aside from the popular phenomenon of “take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry” the good life is sought through an adequate blend of three essential aspects of man:
Self-mastery – Know thyself.
Exploratory study and research of life around you to learn and contemplate on what to do and the right way to do it in life.
Active participation in civic activities.
Successfully handling of these three parameters are expected to engender fulfillment and accomplishment, joy and satisfaction as well as happiness in the life. However, this is not always so. No matter how well life is packaged, planned and executed, the rich also cry, it is absolute folly to trust in man rather than God.
“Come unto me,
All ye that labour and are heavy laden,
And I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
For I am meek and lowly in heart:
And ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Mat 11:28).
All those in living communion with Christ have been transformed and re-born to become goodness unto themselves and goodness in themselves, and to beam out blessing and spiritual influence unto others by the virtue of the power of God in them, which, when quickened by faith, flows forth as a river, carrying life and refreshment to others. This is the good life.
The Rich Fool in Luke 12 was empowered and enriched by God unto material wealth, but he chose to put his heart on the pursuit of personal desires rather than upon God and spiritual gains.
And, since there is a Heaven to Gain and a Hell to shun, the wise man warns:
“Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep his commandments:
For this is the whole duty of man.
For God shall bring every work into judgment,
With every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” (Ecc 12:8, 12,13).
As you dress up in your radiant attires within the comfort of your home or office, people are dying per second per second, and many are not dying in Christ, they are following Satan down into hell.
Hell is the darkness of darkness, the epitome of sorrow and unending torment. Hell is full of misery, gloom, sadness, woe, and affliction without an end. No sane person would wish for his enemy to end up in hell.
Hell was not prepared for man, but as the final abode of Satan and his fallen angels. All the people who reject God and Our Savior Jesus Christ, to follow Satan, will go to hell.
“And, behold, I come quickly;
And my reward is with me,
To give every man according as his work shall be.” (Rev 22:12).
It is the way of the world to treat godliness and the Word of God with levity, thereby giving sin, sinfulness, and ungodliness a diminished view, depriving it of the serious consequence of failing to be on the Lord’s side in the end.
The five wise virgins entered with the Master unto glory, the foolish ones narrowly missed to make heaven, and it was very terrible for them, and very sad indeed.
Almost will never get it. They failed all the same, and end up in hell.
There is a Heaven to gain, and a Hell to shun.
A biblical view of sin necessitates a judgment beyond the grave. A grasp of the horrors of hell should also ginger weary saints and drowsing believers to rise up for evangelism and fulfillment of the Great Commission. We must all desire and resolve to live a pure and holy life.
Like the five wise virgins, wise men and women are seeking and gaining salvation through Jesus Christ, as they realize how much they need Him. That is the good life.
Forsaking the world and its dainties, they follow Him through the waters, through the garden, through the judgment, through dark Calvary, and just all the way till the end, to gain Heaven.
There is a Heaven to gain, and a Hell to shun.
My Mother – One In A Million
A mother does countless things for her child.
But my mother is quite different in so many ways.
She was always there at very early morning prayers, Family Altar, and at night before we sleep.
Though Dad often led the prayers and bible exhortations, Mum had her prime roles, and would take the lead when Dad traveled.
A princess of the Ajoba-ma-d’ade royal family of Imeko-Afon, Egbado clan, Mum taught us to be meek and humble like Christ. You never get her applause and approval if you are proud and arrogant.
Industrious and hard- working, Mum made up for her lack of tertiary education with her prolific mien in trading. She is well known in the community as a kind lender, an honest merchant, and a woman of substance.
“She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.”
“She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.”
A pillar of strength and support to Dad, “her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land”. She saw well to our schooling and progress in life, ever reminding us to “go to Calvary”, to watch and pray in faith, truth, and love, so that we all could be in the Rapture.
In-law meddling and parent’s concern for their married children has always been a great challenge when loved children grows up to leave and cleave to their own husbands and wives.
It was very difficult for Mum when I married a non-African wife and cleave to my nuclear family.
With wisdom, she adjusted and adapted till she become a good friend and confidant of my wife, and darling doyen ever-sought after lovingly respected Grandma to my children.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but Dear Mum Josephine O. Ojelabi, thou excellest them all.
Memories of A Great Dad
“Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a dad.”
Olivet Heights, teach ’em Soccer!!!
Olivet Heights, teach ‘em Soccer!!!
Popular slogan of Olivet Baptist High School .
In the Swinging 60s through the Super 70s, Olivet Heights was great in academics, fantastic in sports, and scintillating in social activities. Her grounds are hallowed, a Mecca to students from other schools and colleges. It was always a pride to put on her uniform.
As the nation was ebbing out of the infamous Biafra War, and I was getting ready for life in the secondary school. Olivet Heights was my only choice.
When you have a great Dad, growing up becomes meaningful, and learning appears a great virtue.
Dad was well schooled, and a very serious Catholic, maybe more Catholic than the Pope!
Born in 1900 to prosperous Emmanuel Ojelabi, a prominent Lagos and West African Coast merchant, contemporary of Andrew Thomas, the wealthy Lagos trader and auctioneer – father of erudite lawyer, Chief Bode Thomas.
Dad was also very close to Chief P.A. Afolabi, grand-father of Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie. He was warmly welcome at any time in the palace of Alaafin Adeniran, father of present Alaafin Adeyemi.
Dad schooled at the Holy Cross School, Lagos, a premier Catholic School founded in 1871. He trained to be a teacher, and taught in schools in Lagos and Ibadan.
He later joined the Railway Corporation in Ibadan, was sent abroad for further training. He was the Railways Station Manager at various Loco Running Sheds, and retired as Senior Stations Manager, Nigeria Railway Corporation, Jebba.
Though adjudged to be brilliant and well-behaved from my primary school reports, Dad admonished me to study hard and prepare well when he paid and got me the Common Entrance Examination Admission Form into Olivet Baptist High School.
As admission to Olivet Heights was usually keen, tight, and highly competitive for candidates from many parts of the country, a peripheral staff in the school requested that I provide him with my name and examination number for him to give “unfailing assurance” that my admission to the school was guaranteed.
Thinking he was doing my parents a favor and great kindness, rather, this man caught the ire of my father.
In his rage, Dad did not only scold the man and rebuke him in public for perpetrating corrupt practices, he banished him from our compound, and warned him never to get close to me ever again.
Mother was in full agreement.
My parents then took me into Dad’s study, made me read chapter 1 of the Book of Proverbs. They both exhorted me on good manner, honesty, and a life devoid of cheating and untrustworthiness. I was made to memorize Proverbs 1: 8, 9 that day, and to read the Bible daily.
“My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.” (Pro 1:8,9).
That timely admonition continue to have a lasting effect and impact upon me till this day.
Joseph Babajimi Ojelabi died at the age of 75, on June 15, 1975, after a brief illness, when I was just settling down in Secondary school.
Jay Bee was a father like no other Dad because, though very many years older than me, yet he taught me so much within such a little time, showed me life, led me through practical Christianity unto Christ Himself, and gave me a good stead and platform to live by.
No words to express how important and loving my Dad was to me,
No words to describe his continuous positive powerful influence in my life and family,
He lived, and let me watch him learn how to live better.
A Dad like no other, J. B. Ojelabi. Adieu.
Maikel Kaes -- Personal & Career Development 
