Hope Beyond Hope!

To hope is a good thing.
Having hope is a sign that it's not over until it's over.

When an individuals hope is still intact it's a sign that that individuals challenges have not had the final word.
I'm a student of the Bible. I read it and respect it as God's Holy Word. Abraham was a character who 'hoped against hope'
There are times our hope is not enough.  There are those who have hoped, and died hoping. For dreams to manifest we have to do more than merely hope.
They say 'desperate situations deman desperate measures'. Abraham is an example of someone who was in a situation that was critical. It looked as if the odds were stacked against his dream. Merely hoping would not and could not deliver his dream to him. He needed a miracle. He had to go deeper!
Thank God he did. Abraham hoped against hope by trusting in God. To hope against hope is to hope beyond hope. It's a supernatural kind of hope that makes not ashamed. It's the kind of hope God has called us to. It's the kind of hope that manifests dreams and helps make people endure to the end. It's the kind of hope that comes from God, and we should have.
To hope against hope is to still be expectant against all odds that God will come through for you.
To hope against hope is to understand that God is seldom early, but He is never late.

The Benefits Of Challenges.

It's a pattern of life that things come and things go.
In life certain things are common to man and challenges are part of them. I haven't  come across any man  who walked the face of this earth and never encountered any challenge whatsoever. If such a 'character' exists, he must be a fictional creation.
Our challenges are meant to test us and make us, not break us. Challenges come to 'see' what we are made of, they come to test us and qualify us for the next phase of our life, they come to examine if we are ready for our next promotion.
Challenges are the examinations of life, much like academic exams where students are tested by their schools to know if they are competent for the next class. We are also tested by life to check if we are ready to go a step higher, and that is why it's important to have a positive attitude to life.
I agree with Zig Ziglar who said 'your attitude determines your altitude'. When we see challenges for what they really are, we will approach them with the right attitude.
When our attitude to challenges are right, we will pass this test of life.

It's time to give thanks!

I may not be an old man, but I'm not a kid either. I am mature enough to know there is a God somewhere, infact He is in me and He loves me.
As I think about my life, I can't but remain eternally grateful to my creator. I know where I am from and what I have been through, I know I am a miracle of God and have seen His favour in great ways.
God has been merciful this year, He has provided, He has given acceleration and He has completed! Daily I feel His love, see His goodness and see manifestations of His promises. I'm alive! I breath, eat, sleep every night, I have an appetite and my sense organs function perfectly. These are daily miracles people take for granted.
Friends, lets not take God for granted. There are still great things in store the remaining two months of this year for all of us.
Be blessed!

YOU CAN THINK LIKE GOD!

Man can inhabit God, and God can inhabit man, what a mystery!
God in me, and I in God, we are a winning team!
God is not some distant, ethereal personality who looks out for our faults from heaven, keeping an eye on us for mistakes. 

 Many people have a wrong concept of who God is and His intentions.

Man (humanity) is not a weak beggarly creation that's at the mercy of some unknown fate, an uncaring god or the elements. 

Unfortunately, many don't know who they are. 

Man (humanity) are the kings/queens of the earth, created for dominion, success, fruitfulness and blessing. 

Man is a co-creator with God upon the earth, man is a vice regent of the earth, created to think the thoughts of God! 

Yes, you can think the thoughts of God!

 For you are created in His image and His likeness! 

As you think His thoughts, you take His steps and speak His words.

 This is what it means to walk in the Spirit. 

Thinking the thoughts of God and speaking the words of God.

 Our thoughts matter for thoughts are Spirit! 

Everything started with a thought.

From the clothes you wear, to the shoes on your feet, to the chair you sit on , the airplane we fly in and the electronic gadgets we use.

 They started as thoughts, and after some due process they became tangible objects.

 It is thoughts that become things!

You need to keep the right thoughts in your mind. 

Virtues and vices start from the thought realm. 

Think virtuous thoughts and you will become virtuous, think negatively and vices will appear in your life. 

Thoughts precede actions, actions produce- things or consequences.

God's plan, is that the crown of His creation (humanity) will think His thoughts, speak His words and take His steps.

 When there is a alignment  between our thoughts and His thoughts, then we are in the Spirit. 

All men are created to have the mind of Christ! 

We are created to affect every field of human endeavor with the mind of Christ which is the mind of God.

 From the sciences to the arts, from education to spirituality, from our social lives to our thought life, from our jobs to our families, from inventions to innovations, from our conduct to our personality.
His thoughts and His words are found in and inspired by the Bible.
It's time to think His thoughts!

FATHERS AND SONS.

 It's my observation that most girls evolve into what their mothers are like, and most boys grow into what their fathers are. Fathers feel a need to protect their daughters because they are girls, and sons are protective of their mothers as they grow up because they are women.
 It's common knowledge it takes a great father to raise a great son. Behind most successful people there is a responsible parent or guardian behind the scene.
 There are blessings in fathers, loaded up for their sons. I believe very much in parental blessings. Even the good Book holds this view. But a fathers blessing is not automatic! It takes work to bring a blessing out of  people/ parents. But when a father truly blesses his son, it goes a long way in enhancing his destiny.
 Individuals have a big role to play in bringing a blessing out of their parents.
 The son who covers his fathers shame gets the blessing!

Paper Qualifications vs Innate gifts and talents.

We live in a world where there is a lot of emphasis on getting an education and making something of our lives. That's good and I think it's important. I'm of the belief that individuals should do their best possible to be the best they can be and maximize the opportunities that come their way in life. If you have the  opportunity to get as much education as you can get, by all means do so.
I study trends, I research on life, and I scrutinize and question issues, I try to understand what works, I ask questions and I appreciate truth. I do my best possible to separate fact from fiction.
I've always asked myself, does a formal education mean success, does having 'paper' qualifications equal financial stability or financial freedom? Are the courses we take in colleges and Universities teaching us the full truth about the real world and how to stand as men and women of  worth or are we all  just being  programmed to  graduate and  serve other people by getting a job? How many University graduates being turned out from Universities the world over go on to achieve financial independence or become successful entrepreneurs?
Is there something wrong with the world we live in or have we all been negatively programmed from birth? Have we been lied to? What is truth? How do we know what's best and what works?
I'll suggest learning from those who have gone ahead of us will give us some answers.
Isn't it an irony of life that some of the most financially successful men in life are those who don't have degrees, or those who have hardly been within the four walls of a lecture hall? 

I liken it to God "using the foolish things of this world to confound the wise"
Academic qualifications aren't bad, they have their benefits, but it's not the end in itself. It might help you to a good start in life but it's not an assurance of financial stability, a successful career in the long run or all round success.
My understanding is that our potentials, talents and gifts, if properly maximized will take us further than academic qualifications can. 

Walt Disney literally built his empire by using the gift of his imagination and innate creativity, Albert Einstein credited his ability to dream and use his imagination as the reason for his success above his knowledge, It's Thomas Jefferson who claims a good knowledge of the Bible is better than a college degree. 

Could it be that we are being fed the wrong values and information from birth, do many of us take enough time to scrutinize and question the paths we are pushed unto in life or do we just do things like everyone else does? 

Have you taken the time to find out what your gifts and abilities are, and do you use them? Have you  taken the time to develop your confidence in them or  are you  too busy with everyday life and your 'paper' qualifications that you don't  focus on what matters most  in life anymore?
Do you carry out self appraisals on yourself? 

You need to. What are your interests? They are a pointer to what you may excel the best at. And do you go for  what you want or do you live your life to please people?
You are a gifted person, you need to go on a journey of self discovery today.

Fabian warfare tactics.

Studying the history, life and warfare tactics of  military tacticians and conquerors like Hannibal, Alexander the great, King Cyrus, King David, and Gideon the judge  is of interest to me. Not  to mention the fascinating military exploits of the likes of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Achilles, Hercules  and  of course  the  fictional  Conan.

Warfare is part of life. 

Right within  our  human  bodies, warfare  takes  place. 

We  have  internally  built 'warriors' within  us  namely  the  white blood  corpuscles  which  are  designed  to fight  intruders,  namely  viruses  and  bacteria  which  cause  disease  and  sickness within  us.

Life  itself  is  warfare. 

The  good  Book  likens  life  to  a  battlefield, and  shows  us  that  provision  has been  made  for  our  victory  in  life, and  of course  we  are  the  warriors,  the  heroes,  the  ones  who  are  more  than  conquerors. 

A  necessary  requirement  for  success  in  a  war  is  leadership. 

An interesting quote on leadership says "an army of sheep  with  a lion as  its leader will do  better  than  an  army  of  lions  with  a  sheep  as  its leader."

Who  is  your  leader  in  the  battle  of  life? 

For  me, it's  the "Lord  strong  and  mighty  in  battle."

Your  leader  will make  or  mar  you. 

The  leader  you  follow  will  determine  whether  you  win  this  battle  or  not.

Nicollo Machiavelli  the  philosopher  understood  the  importance  of  leadership  and  had  insights  into  how  a  leader  should  operate. 

He  believed  leaders  should (1) master the  art  of  intrigue  (2) develop  a  killer  instinct (strike at  the  right  time).

The Carthage  army  was  very  powerful  during  the  time  of  their  conquer  of  Italy, the  role  of  the  leadership  of  Hannibal  cannot  be  over emphasized. 

Hannibal  was  a  brilliant  military  tactician  and  skilled  warrior, he  had  no match  during  his  time  and  he  was  feared  by  friends  and  foe  alike. 

The  Roman  empire  had  suffered  defeat  at  his  hands  several  times  over,  and  it  was  their  frustration  at  Hannibal's  military  superiority  that  led  Rome  to  install Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, who evolved  a  warfare  tactic  that  was  later  to  be  known  as  Fabian tactics.

I believe  the  Fabian  tactic  is  very  similar  to  the  tactic  the  enemy  of  our  souls engages  in  to confront  us  and  rob  us. 

It's  not  a  direct  attack  on  the  enemy fighting  type of strategy. 

It  involves  an  indirect  means  of  warfare  that  lures  the  opponent  to  a  terrain  where  the  opponent  is  not  accustomed  to  fight,  its  a  deceptive  means  of  warfare  that  gives  the  opponent  the  impression  he  is  at  an  advantage  when  the truth is he  is  not  because  the  user  of  the  Fabian  tactic has  done  his  research  and  plans  to  capitalize  on  the opponents  weakness. 

It's  a  warfare  technique  that  requires a lot of patience. 

It's just  the  same  way  the  enemy  of  our  souls  is  very  persistent  and  patient,  and  we  have  to  be  as  persistent  and  patient, if  not  more,  before  we  can  overcome  him.