Author Archives: Ekundayo

How to Make Peace with God

Posted by Nov 28, 2019 Holy Word, Word of Faith Leave a Comment
How to Make Peace with God

Peace with God is a new kind of life that gives rest to your soul during good and bad condition of life. Peace is so precious that money cannot buy, but don’t worry you can get it free!

Today’s message elaborates the significance of peace and how to possess it.

Before I met Christ, I had many friends of different high classic categories but I couldn’t find peace in their midst. My money could not give me peace. My beautiful properties compounded my fears. I attend church services but I couldn’t enjoy that joy which can give rest to my soul…

But when I changed my orientation about life, I made peace with God and my life is full of rest till this moment.

5 Major Ways to Make Peace with God

 

1. Trust Jesus Christ as your Saviour

Take your Christian life to the next higher level. Boycott hypocrisy and surrender your total life to Jesus. Read about Jesus in the Bible and Obey His instructions.

Jesus says: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

2. Confess Secret Sins

Stop given excuses for your wrong doings. Forgive your offenders and go on your knee with a broken heart to seek God’s forgiveness for your sins.

“…having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works. Yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight…” (Colossians 1:20-22)

3. Build Personal Relationship

The best way to make peace with God is to set up a daily fellowship with Him. Make some minutes or hours available for worship, prayers and Bible studies. The LORD would always visit you. I followed this step strictly and I had a spectacular experience with the LORD.

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3)

4. Life of Holiness

Log out from the school of thought that the grace of God neutralises your active sinful life. Hate sin and stay off from it! You can make peace with God by living a holy life.

“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” (Leviticus 19:1-2)

5. Love your Neighbour

You can make peace with God by helping the poor, preaching the Gospel to the unbelievers and be at peace with your neighbour. This step pleases the Heart of the LORD and He would reward you.

When you accept Jesus Christ, who is the Prince of Peace into your life then it becomes easy for you to make peace with God. Your Faith in the Lord, Obedience to His word and your holy lifestyle are paramount factors for your peaceful life.

Family Restoration: 12 ways to Restore your Family

Posted by Nov 16, 2019 Holy Word, Family 6 Comments
Family Restoration: 12 ways to Restore your Family

Family restoration is the act of getting your spouse and children back to a satisfactory and joyful state at home.

The general divorce statistics in the United States shows that about 40 to 50 percent of marriages in the United States end in divorce. And The average length of time for first marriages ending in divorce is eight years. These statistics are worrisome and not acceptable for a healthy society.

If you are going through a challenging time in your family or you want to avoid family crash, then today’s message would be a great help for you.

12 Ways to Achieve Family Restoration

1. Seek Knowledge

Your home won’t perish if you read Bible passages that emphasize the significance of family. Read good books and articles on how to keep your home firm.

And your understanding will enhance your communication skill to your family during the restoration meeting.

Read passages such as: 1Corinthians chapter 7, Ephesians chapter 5, Malachi 2:16 and 1Peter chapter 3.

Jesus says: “But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ‘and the two shall become one flesh’; so, then they are no longer two, but one flesh. “Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Mark 10:6-9)

2. Remove the log of wood in your eyes

List all the complaints your spouse and children have against you. Arrange the source of conflict in categories. For Instance; financial, religious, philosophical differences and so on.

3. Make a long list

List all the complaints you have against your spouse and children. The purpose for the list is to achieve family restoration and not to cause more troubles.

4. Draw a comparison Table

Tabulate what you want from them and what they want from you on a single correspondence table. This will give you a clear picture of how to handle the conflict for a perfect family restoration.

5. Learn to overlook

No one can give you a perfect satisfaction in life, thus you have to learn how to overlook some issues.

6. Give room for second chance

Terrible issue such as cheat, abuse or stealing which cannot be overlooked should be resolved through forgiveness and giving the offender the opportunity to study the Bible for repentance.

7. Don’t play blame game

No one is a loser or winner during family restoration.

8. Fast and Pray

Fast and pray before calling the meeting for family restoration. Your family is best restored on spiritual foundation made by God.

9. Invite a man of God

If it is difficult to get the audience of your family members, then seek the help of a man of God to convene and coordinate the meeting. Such meeting is better done in the morning when everyone’s brain is calm.

10. Forgiveness is the Master Key

Ask for forgiveness during the reconciliation meeting. This step would go a long way to restore your family.

11. Open a New Chapter

Narrate the unique understanding you got through the word of God and list the new character you’ll put up for the peace of the family.

12. Question and Answer

Give room for question and answer during the meeting and you would be amazed that this step would lead to your family restoration.

To restore your family is a healthy process that brings joy to the heart of the family members. Family restoration promotes unity and enhances long life. I had tried the steps above and they worked perfectly. I want you to follow the steps above and you would surely get your family restored in Jesus name.

Vanity of Life: 8 ways to know the Meaningless of Life

Posted by Nov 6, 2019 Holy Word, Church, Gospel Evangelism 13 Comments
Vanity of Life: 8 ways to know the Meaningless of Life

Vanity of life is the product of all forms of ungodly practices. Life is made up of actions and it is not an object. Life process your data and gives you your information. If you collate ungodly data then life would process it to vanity. While godly data is always processed to Beauty of Life.

Today’s message would give a sincere meaning related to vanity of life and the perspective of King Solomon to this topic.

Why is vanity a keyword in the book of Ecclesiastes?

It is unfortunate that many depressed people quote this book to justify their suicidal action and all other forms of evil acts. You can’t hate life because king Solomon said he does!

I read Ecclesiastes many times before putting up this message and through the help of the Holy Spirit I would tell you the truth about king Solomon and his book of lamentation (Ecclesiastes).

The book of Ecclesiastes comprises of king Solomon’s personal experience, personal view and personal deduction about life under the sun. God’s input, inspiration or instruction was not in the book, so be careful with the way you handle his expression.

King Solomon described his life to be vanity when he discovered the extent at which he missed God’s presence in his life. The whole book is all about bitter lamentation of an individual!

The book of Ecclesiastes does not have God’s authority to tell you that this life is bound to be meaningless for you. Ecclesiastes was written by a depressed writer!

What Caused King’s Solomon meaningless life?

If you study the context of king Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes, you would discover that he was full of regrets. He was bitter. He hates everything about himself. The life of the old man was miserable.

He was a happy king in his early days as recorded in the books of the Kings. His expressions in the book of Proverbs was well composed. But why did his life become vanity in his old age?

I searched through the Bible and discovered that towards the end of his life he disobeyed the commandments of the LORD. He lived his life without God’s input and this led to the emptiness of his life. So, he picked up his pen and wrote everything about his empty life (vanity).

“For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David.

For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David.

Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon.

And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

So, the LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the LORD had commanded.

Therefore, the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.

Now the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was a descendant of the king in Edom.” (1King 11: 1-14)

My heart is always filled with tears whenever I read the above passage about king Solomon.

8 Ways to Know the Vanity of Life!

The life of a Christian is not vanity because Jesus had come to give us life in abundance and not meaningless as described by king Solomon.

Jesus Christ says: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Vanity of life are all forms of pride celebrated without God’s consent. The following lifestyles are some of the indication of a meaningless life:

1. Life full of Parties

A meaningful life does not spend days or every weekend throwing parties. When you are too frequent at parties, you are likely to lose your godly mind.

2. Award Celebration

Life will go into vanity for any child of God that receives awards from men. Awards makes you feel big (pride) and celebration of pride leads to meaningless of life.

Jesus avoid award celebration when he says: “…Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments…” (Matthew 19:17)

3. More than One Wife

God gave a template of one man one wife in the Genesis. So, any man with wives or vice versa would run into vanity of life.

“But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites-from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love.” (1Kings 11:1-2)

4. Concubines, Co-habit and Extramarital affairs

All these practices are no more abomination in our society. Anyone involved in these would suffer vanity of life.

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor reviles, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1Corinthians 6:9-10)

5. Careless Love for Diversity and Varieties

This kind of love lured king Solomon into idolatry. So, if you are not restricted to the confinement of God’s commandment in the Bible. Your love for knowledge about Catholism, Mormorism, Muslim, or the Dark World, can make you fall into idolatry which is vanity.

6. Disobedience to God’s commandments is vanity

Solomon disobeyed the commandment given to him and he disliked himself when the consequences came on him. So, he suffered vanity of life when everything around him went empty and meaningless.

7. ‘To Fight God’

To seek the transfer of godly Pastor from your church…, to chase away Evangelists from your area…, refusal to help the poor…, removal of Bible from homes or public places and the likes are vanity of life.

“…Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.” (1Kings 11: 31-40)

8. Accumulation of Excessive Wealth

This is vexation of the spirit and vanity of life because the wealth is inherited by people who may not appreciate the labour of the rich man.

Your name on the list of the richest people is vanity. So, it is meaningless to have your name attached to hundreds of Estates, fleets of expensive cars or aeroplanes.

But life is not vanity if you share your wealth with the poor.

Listen to Jesus: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.

But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven…” (Matthew 19: 21- 24) 

Vanity of life is for the backsliders. Life is not generally meaningless as mentioned by the bitter king Solomon. Neither the Prophets of the LORD nor Jesus Christ told us that life in its originality is vanity.

Life is meaningful if you obey all the instructions of Jesus in the Bible. Life is meaningless when you disobey the rules of the LORD. Life is sweet and interesting! Please don’t give-in to depression or suicidal thoughts. God Bless you!!

Family Conflict: 10 Steps to Conflict Resolution

Posted by Oct 21, 2019 Holy Word, Family 2 Comments
Family Conflict: 10 Steps to Conflict Resolution

Family conflict is an inevitable misunderstanding that helps the Christian home to grow stronger if the resolution is carefully done.

About 90 percent of runaway youth accommodated in shelters organized by the Family Youth Service Bureau and 75.5 percent in residential programs reported family conflict as critical issues leading to their homelessness.

This information is alarming, but today’s message would enlighten you on the significance of family conflict and how to get over it in a godly way.

What are the Causes of Family Conflict?

  1. Financial matters: Shortage of funds to pay bills or loss of job.   
  2. Unfaithfulness: extramarital affairs
  3. Different opinions related to child bearing and nurturing
  4. Cogent decision-making for the family
  5. Lack of proper communication which include; cursing, insulting and yelling can trigger family conflict.
  6. Learning to live as a new couple
  7. Attempt to separate or divorce
  8. Sibling rivalry
  9. Scope for child discipline
  10. Interference of Extended Family or In-Laws
  11. Difference in spiritual understanding

10 Effects of Unresolved Family Crisis

  1. Cancelation of Family altar which can cause family dysfunction, such as marital stress, violence and bad psychological manipulation of the children.
  2. Emotional disturbance
  3. Anxiety
  4. Post-traumatic stress syndrome
  5. Depression.
  6. Family conflict can lead to child neglect
  7. Mental Health
  8. It melts the Agape love away and could lead to separation or divorce
  9. Extreme case of unresolved family conflict can trigger suicidal thoughts.
  10.  Family conflicts put-off God’s presence in such family.

10 Steps to Family Conflict Resolutions

Since there is no perfect home without family conflict, then the following reliable resolutions can help you keep your home intact. I won’t forget to tell you that it works for me very well:

1. Recite the Lord’s Prayer: When provocation knocks at your door, respond by reciting the Lord’s Prayer in your heart. This is one of the key solutions that helps me to control exchange of harsh words in my family.

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1)

2. Go for Fresh air: This is essential when the conflict raised the room temperature so high that if care is not taking, it can lead to ‘explosion’. Thirty minutes’ walk can calm your anger and it also give audience to the Holy Spirit to minister peace to you.

3. Find Common level: Arguments does not resolve conflicts. Try to understand the common ground which becomes the parameters for conflict resolution.

4. Listen and Stay Calm: Put emotions aside and listen to what your family members say and understand what they mean. Then carefully explain your side of the topic with the intention to establish a common understanding.

5. Be hard on the challenge: Don’t be hard on your family member(s), but address the problem sharply rather than laying blames.

6. Entertain questions: Questions from both sides would give a clear picture of family conflicts that arise as a result of misunderstanding or misinformation. No one knows all when it comes to family conflict resolution.

7. Open the Bible: Family conflict resolution becomes a reality if you and your family members take the word of God as the reference point. It removes the plank in your eyes.

“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye…?” (Matthew 7:3-5)

8. Family Altar: To pray together is a strong action that solves family conflict very fast.

9. Seeking Elder’s Help: When the family conflict resolution hits the wall at the final stage, then it is wise to invite one or two men of God to mediate.

“Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.

But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church…” (Matthew 18:15-17)

10. Contribution of Solutions: Once both sides of the family have a common understanding of the matter, then it is time to allow contribution of solutions from both sides. Your willingness to compromise would achieve meaningful conflict resolutions.

Family conflict is not a curse, but a test situation for every family on earth. Conflict can bring healing, unity and strength to the family if the resolution is done in a godly manner.

Is Spiritual Hunger Normal for Christians?

Posted by Sep 22, 2019 Holy Word, Gospel Evangelism, Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Is Spiritual Hunger Normal for Christians?

Spiritual hunger is an ‘asking’ mechanism from your spirit seeking for spiritual feed to manifest spiritual power to people or things around you.

The human spirit could give powerful good outputs such as life and happiness or evil outputs such as killings and destruction. The outputs depend on the kind of feed ingested into the hungry spirit.

Today’s message explains the significance of spiritual hunger and how to deal with it.

The Spiritual Hunger for Christians

There is nothing wrong about your spirit going hungry. It is a desire to please God. It is a divine programming from the LORD. Spiritual Hunger for holiness is a Blessing.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

The Christian spiritual hunger craves for spiritual feeds such as: godliness, righteousness, holiness, obedience to the Lord, Fear of God, Worship and the likes.

It is synonymous to the physical hunger. If you eat balance diet each time you go hungry, then you would be far from the doctor.

You would be spiritually strong and unbeatable by the devil and demons when you satisfy your spiritual hunger always with spiritual meals. Failure to satisfy spiritual hunger leads to spiritual weakness, sin and death.

How to Satisfy Spiritual Hunger

  1. Don’t be ignorant of the Call

Your spirit does not fast. So, don’t ignore the desire to feed your spirit with the meals it deserves every day. It is not a rocket science to know the desire of your hungry spirit, because your spirit speaks to you more than your best friend.

Ignoring the call to satisfy your spiritual hunger leads to procrastination, backsliding, and hypocrisy!

“Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby…” (First Peter 2:1-3)

2. Be a Good Bible Study Teacher

Your spirit’s meals are not hamburger, hotdog or French fries. Your spirit feeds on the Word of God and godliness. The more you read your Bible, the more you satisfy the spiritual hunger in you.

Your spirit needs to be refreshed with the promises, commandments and instructions of the LORD. Your spirit needs the Word of God daily to equip you for a healthy spiritual life that defeats physical battles of life and spiritual enemies.

For instance, the spirit of Jesus is filled with the word of God and He was able to overcome temptations that came His way. “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

3. Dwell in the Gathering

The kind of people you mingle with can determine the satisfaction of your spiritual hunger. Your family altar must be hot every day; your spirit feeds properly when you share the Word of God together with your family members.

Church is also a good place that could help satisfy the hunger, but make sure everyone gather in one spirit and love, else move away and take your shield under the Arms of the LORD.

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” (Acts 2:1)

4. Worship the LORD Always

Learn to be in a worship mood in your heart all the time. When your heart is filled with worship songs and words then you are feeding your spirit. You don’t need to be a choirmaster to worship the Lord. Put your instrument in good shape and play the wonderful tones to worship God.

“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” (John 4:23)

5. Sharing the Gospel

Most times I got my spiritual hunger satisfied through evangelism. The desire of your spirit is not limited to preaching the Good News to someone, but it can also include; sharing your belongings with the poor, helping the handicaps, assisting the old, visiting the inmates or the sick.

Matthew chapter 25 verse 34 to 45: “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?… And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”

Spiritual hunger is normal for all Christians and it is a blessing. When you repeatedly satisfy the hunger of your spirit in a godly way, then you are not far from the LORD.

If you satisfy your spiritual starvation, then you would be righteous and that is the Master Key to enjoy eternity in Heaven.

Satisfy your spiritual hunger daily through the godly processes above and you would be glad you did.