The world has benefited greatly from the inventions and discoveries of many faithful Christians. Isaac Newton, a passionate Protestant, laid the foundations for classical mechanics and the law of universal gravitation. He also invented calculus and built the first practical reflecting telescope. Albert Einstein, though not a traditional Christian, believed there was an intelligent designer behind creation and had a deep respect for the Bible. His theory of relativity revolutionized our understanding of time and space. George Washington Carver made great contributions to agricultural science. He developed new uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans.  He was also an avowed Protestant evangelist.

Believers need to put emphasis on the development of the soul or the mind, just as we prioritize the spirit and body. It will take a well-developed man to provide solutions to the challenges of today’s world.

Why does it seem that Christianity is loosing its appeal today, especially among the younger generations? It is because they cannot see how believers directly affect society. They believe Christianity is outdated and irrelevant to addressing real-life problems. This is worse in Africa. Despite the proliferation of churches and countless professing believers, society has seen little tangible change. Until believers start offering real solutions to problems, many will see nothing remarkable about Christianity. Imagine if Steve Jobs had been an apostle of Christ in the marketplace, or Elon Musk a prophet of God—no one could dismiss Christianity. Believers need to put emphasis on the development of the soul or the mind, just as we prioritize the spirit and body. It will take a well-developed man to provide solutions to the challenges of today’s world.

I am amused when I see people take pride in spiritual titles. Sporting titles like prophet and apostle, for instance, come with heavy responsibility that leave little margin for error. Consider the young man sent to Bethel with a strict prophetic mandate.  He was to prophesy to the altar about the coming of one Josiah who would burn the priests of the high places on it. The instructions were so strict that he was warned neither to accept any form of gratuity in Bethel nor return by the same route he had taken on his out-bound journey. That order was contradicted by another man who claimed to be a prophet and had received a counter order to entertain him. Perhaps already fatigued and hungry, he followed the older man for a meal. That was his last, for a lion tore him apart on his return journey.

There are things that you cannot outsource if you want to make the most of your spiritual life. You cannot outsource your devotional life, and you cannot get a substitute for hearing God.

The young man’s mistake was allowing a middle man to come between him and God. There are settled attributes of God. One of them is order. Another is consistency. If God intended to change His earlier instruction, He would have delivered the new directive by the same means as the first. Rather than confirming with God directly, the young prophet relied on a middleman and that proved disastrous. There are things that you cannot outsource if you want to make the most of your spiritual life. You cannot outsource your devotional life, and you cannot get a substitute for hearing God. It is the will of the Father to communicate directly with each of His children.

The majority of the Jews considered Paul a heretic who abused the laws and customs of the fathers. On account of this, they made several attempts on his life, which he escaped time and again by the grace of God. In his defense before Felix he said, “But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets.” Acts 24:14 NKJV. Here is the irony: what put him at daggers drawn with the Jews and the authorities were the same things that fetched him divine endorsement.

Believers who want the world to press the “like and share” button have mixed things up. That is like choosing to please men which put one at risk with God.

As we observed in the last meditation, taking a stand for God is neither a tea party nor a walk in the park. It is a high-risk venture. However, for those who choose to follow the right path, God always show Himself as their defender and supporter. Someone said that a leader whose primary focus is to make all the people happy and smile at him always had better opt to sell ice cream. This suggestion extends beyond the confines of leadership. Believers who want the world to press the “like and share” button have mixed things up. That is like choosing to please men which put one at risk with God. It is not possible to please two masters. No one can be a friend of the world and hope to please God at the same time.

Caleb was one of several Bible characters who enjoyed divine endorsement. The reason for his endorsement was his report on the Promised Land. When 10 of the spies brought a negative and discouraging report of the land, Caleb and Joshua took a bold stand. It was a costly stand as the congregation sought to stone them. Ironically, the very thing that made the people want to stone them was what earned God’s approval. What is playing out in our text is God’s promise to reward anyone who is faithful to His cause. Both Caleb and Joshua survived the destruction in the wilderness and entered the fullness of Canaan’s blessing. There is a divine prize for holding on to the word of God.

There is a divine prize for holding on to the word of God.

Abraham was counted among those who received God’s approval. God esteemed him so highly that He called him His friend. Genesis 18:19 is a statement of endorsement – “For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” Another outstanding Old Testament character was Job. The common denominator of all these people was that they stood for God when it mattered most. They did not mind the cost of obeying and pleasing God. In return, God gave them eternal blessings.

I was asked not long ago if the ministry of the Holy Spirit started on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2. My response was that the Holy Spirit has been at work since the beginning of creation. For instance, in Genesis chapter one, we read that the Spirit of God hovered over the waters before God spoke the first creative word. The Spirit of God worked in and through the prophets in the Old Testament. All of the scriptures that they wrote were at the instance of God’s Spirit. What then was the special attraction on the day of Pentecost? Firstly, the Holy Spirit came upon all the 120 congregants at the Upper Room. In the New Testament, the ministry of the Spirit was no longer limited to a select few. Moreover, the Holy Spirit now takes permanent residence in believers, unlike the temporary presence in the Old Testament.

If you submit fully to the Spirit of God, He will bless you with revelation through Scriptures and other means.

Our text provides further evidence that the Spirit was at work before Pentecost. It reports that a just and devout man by the name Simeon had the Holy Spirit upon him. God’s Spirit revealed to him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ (Luke 2:26). Speaking about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said that He would reveal things to come. The Spirit of the Lord is a revealer. Many believers like to stop at speaking in tongues as the proof of the Spirit’s presence, but there is more. If you submit fully to the Spirit of God, He will bless you with revelation through Scriptures and other means.

At the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, the legendary sprinter Usain Bolt was disqualified from the final for a false start. That setback pushed him to sharpen his reaction time and starting technique. He also strengthened his mental preparation, learning to control his nerves and stay focused under pressure. False starts in athletics usually spring from anxiety. In the same way, the anxieties of life push many into premature decisions that lead to mistakes and setbacks.

the anxieties of life push many into premature decisions that lead to mistakes and setbacks…Whenever you acknowledge God in your life’s pursuits, you relieve yourself of unnecessary pressure.

The words of Jesus should come to the rescue here. He taught us not to be anxious for anything. If you learn to acknowledge God in all things, you remove a lot of pressure from your life. The Bible tells us that the path of the just shines brighter with each passing day. This is because they acknowledge God in all ways. This will also ensure that He continues to supply the grace for progress. Towards the end of his life, Paul stated clearly that he had finished his race. His success can be traced to the fact that he sought God’s will in every phase of his life. Whenever you acknowledge God in your life’s pursuits, you relieve yourself of unnecessary pressure. You stop relying on your own strength and begin to operate in sync with the Spirit of God.

Social media has greatly shaped our world, enabling people to access news instantly from virtually anywhere. Various social media platforms provide real-time updates. Issues that took months to gain traction in the past now trend within minutes. In addition to these, social media has led to improved engagement among readers. Everybody can now express their opinion about every trending subject.

False information and half-truths spread like wildfire, damaging businesses and personal reputations of people…When a society can no longer blush at wrongdoing, the spirit of whoredom is at work.

Yet the downsides of social media revolution are just as real. People now find it easy to hide behind their keyboards and bully others. False information and half-truths spread like wildfire, damaging businesses and personal reputations of people. One troubling effect of it all is the erosion of values such as decency in speech and appearance. For the love of likes and clicks, people have embraced obscenity on a scale never before seen in history. Everybody craves traffic on their page, and many have discovered that obscenity often draws the crowd. What we have in place is nothing but the spirit of whoredom. God’s verdict on Israel was that they had become shameless like harlots. When a society can no longer blush at wrongdoing, the spirit of whoredom is at work. So how should believers respond to issues like this? Our duty is to stay connected enough to use the media, but guarded enough to avoid its contamination.

In our last meditation, we discovered that God can use those in positions of authority over us to guide us toward destiny. Unwittingly, they may engage us or send us on errands which God Himself has engineered. This is what I call the law of double coincidence. It describes a situation where man, on the surface, orchestrates a move concerning us but God is the one working behind the scene. We observed that Joseph, Saul, and David all stepped into God’s plan through instructions of those in authority over them.

Pray for everyone who has any measure of authority over you so that their decisions will lead you to destiny and not away from it.

However, just as God can engage an authority to usher someone into destiny, even so can the enemy use people in authority to derail people under their watch. David comes up again as an illustration. At one point, the devil moved him to take a census of Israel. Contrary to reason and counsel of his general, David followed his ill-conceived plan. The result was catastrophic. Thousands of men and livestocks died. In our lead scripture for today, we see the effect of a lapse in judgment on the part of David. He mobilized his entire 600-man army for Achish, the king of the Philistines. He left the vulnerable women and children unprotected at their base in Ziklag. They lost everything. Here is the moral of the story. Pray for everyone who has any measure of authority over you so that their decisions will lead you to destiny and not away from it.

God has a wide variety of ways of directing the steps of His people. One of those established channels is through people in authority over us, such as parents or employer. Take the following cases for example. Joseph was instructed by his father to go and check on his brothers and their flocks. Though his brothers ganged up and sold him into slavery, that was but a step closer to his ultimate destiny of being a ruler in Egypt.

When next any authority over you is engaging you, consider it as a probable way of God guiding you into destiny.

On his part, Saul was mandated by his father to go and search for missing donkeys. The frustration he encountered on that trip drove him to the Seer, Samuel. He was promptly told not to worry about the asses because they had been found. Moreover, he was told that God had chosen him to be the captain over Israel. Though he never wished or prayed for it, the throne was given to him as he simply demonstrated responsibility. Finally, David also rose to national limelight through responsibility. His father, Jesse, sent him to check on his brothers at the battlefront. It was while executing that assignment that he heard the boastful threat of Goliath. He took the gauntlet, brought down the Philistine giant and became a hero in Israel. From then on, his profile kept rising until he finally became king over all Israel. When next any authority over you is engaging you, consider it as a probable way of God guiding you into destiny.

When the paralytic was brought to Jesus, it was clear that they had come in search of healing. However, to everyone’s surprise, Jesus offered the man forgiveness of sins instead. That incident highlights the distinction between felt need and actual need. A felt need is a perceived need and is subjective to the individual’s feelings, thoughts, and experiences. It is what he believes is needed at any given moment. On the other hand, actual need is something required for survival and well-being. It is an objective requirement based on reality.

A felt need is a perceived need and is subjective to the individual’s feelings, thoughts, and experiences…actual need is something required for survival and well-being. It is an objective requirement based on reality.

It is quite easy to get things mixed up – mistaking a felt need for the real, and real need for a felt one. When the men who carried the paralytic broke through the roof and lowered him before Jesus, they believed his greatest need was healing, but that wasn’t the real need. His actual need was to first have his sins forgiven, without which any miracle of healing would have been short- lived. Without forgiveness, sin would soon take its toll and plunge the man into more severe condition. We may pour our energy and faith into chasing what we consider a felt need and still be worse off. Only God knows our true needs, so we must trust Him to do for us what is right in His sight and best for our journey on earth.

Under the Mosaic administration, those who sought the Lord did so by going into the tabernacle. Exodus 33:7 is a testament to this – “Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp.” People sought the Lord for different reasons. Some sought Him to gain deeper knowledge of His ways. Others did so to obtain guidance or find help with some personal problems.

Whether in public place of worship or in your closet, one thing is essential in seeking the Lord – His promise. Let us be assured of His promise that if we seek with all our heart, we will find Him.

Today, people seek the Lord for causes not far from those of old. While going to places of worship still remains a valid way to seek the Lord, it is by no means restricted to it. Jesus introduced a new freedom concerning where we can seek God, as shown in His conversation with the woman at the well. “Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 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. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:21-24 NKJV. Whether in public place of worship or in your closet, one thing is essential in seeking the Lord – His promise. Let us be assured of His promise that if we seek with all our heart, we will find Him.

God’s word is full of divine invites. In the opening chapter of the Book of Isaiah, God extends an invitation for reconciliation. ““Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18 NKJV. This is an invitation to salvation and cleansing. In our text, Jesus invited those who were heavy laden to come to Him and receive rest. Essentially, this is rest from the burden of sin. Since every human woe is one way or another linked to sin, finding rest from sin will automatically open door to other forms of rest as well.

Rest for the soul is a down payment for the complete rest which will become the lot of those who put their trust in Him…The ultimate rest will take place at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

Rest has always been a part of God’s agenda for mankind. In Isaiah 14:3, we are introduced to a three-fold package. These are rest from sorrow, fear, and hard bondage. To think that in God’s calendar there is a day set apart by heaven to accomplish this is an occasion for much hope. The good news is that when Jesus stepped out of eternity into time, the day of rest began. As we come to Him by faith, we can enjoy rest in our souls even when it seems the whole world is on a collision course. Rest for the soul is a down payment for the complete rest which will become the lot of those who put their trust in Him. The Bible states that there remains a rest for the redeemed. The ultimate rest will take place at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

Our text captures the lowest point in Saul’s fall from grace to grass. In his desperation for guidance, he consulted with the witch at Endor. He needed direction so desperately and did not know where to turn. Even though he had previously put away all those who had a familiar spirit, like a dog, he returned to his vomit. As events later revealed, it was yet another step in the wrong direction with telling consequences. Saul’s bitter end is succinctly captured in the following words: “So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. But he did not inquire of the Lord; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.” I Chronicles 10:13-14 NKJV

Envy is a snare, and if it is not conquered it will lead to a ruin.

Where exactly did Saul begin to miss it? Well, it began with disobedience. He disobeyed the Lord twice; first by performing the priest’s duty and secondly by not annihilating Amalek as God commanded. Saul compounded his trouble when he grew envious of his subordinate. After David took Goliath out of the way, the women sang in celebration. Innocently, they had sung that Saul killed his thousands, David killed his ten thousands. Saul was enraged to see another person honoured more than him. He spent the rest of his life chasing shadows, seeking how to eliminate David. This brings us to one of the highlights of our previous meditation. Envy is a snare, and if it is not conquered it will lead to a ruin.

In our last meditation, we noted that equating life with material possessions is the reason some people drive themselves to the bone with work. Another likely outcome of such mismatch is envying those who have more stuff to show. If you keep measuring your worth against the financial and material fortunes of others, you’ll likely end up feeling inferior – and that easily breeds envy. It gets worse if the people who are better off are sinners. Our text cautions us against this condition. From here, we gather that sinners may likely post some advantages over believers in terms of material acquisition. And why not? After all, this is their world. A believer who is trying to compete with an unbeliever is pursuing a lost cause.

Those who give room to envy quickly lose sight of the unique gifts and opportunities they already possess…If you don’t overcome envy, it might become a great snare.

Those who give room to envy quickly lose sight of the unique gifts and opportunities they already possess. This also means they lose a sense of gratitude to God for His wondrous gifts. Envy will distract you. Instead of focusing on yourself you begin to show unhealthy concern for others. We are exhorted to shun envy for good reasons as it always tends towards evil. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery because of envy (Acts 7:9). The Jews delivered Jesus to Roman authorities because of envy (Mark 15:10). Paul also suffered persecution because of envy. (Acts 17:5). If you don’t overcome envy, it might become a great snare.

One of Jesus’ followers asked His intervention in a family feud. He wanted Jesus to prevail on his brother to divide the family inheritance with him. Jesus refused because that was not in His line of duty. The Master here demonstrates the importance of focus. You cannot be bogged down by side attractions and hope to make the most of your core assignment. Apart from refusing to mess with other people’s business, Jesus left the man with a valuable lesson. He taught him that life does not depend on the abundance of his material possessions. This is a vital lesson. It is easy to think that the more the merrier. Often, people fall for the temptation that if they make the next financial breakthrough or acquire the next property, life will be good. Those who fall for this are often involved in the proverbial rat race. It is an endless cycle of toils and tears.

Work is essentially a means to express creativity, contribute to society, and glorify God in the process…We should focus on the objectives of work while counting on God’s input to determine the outcome.

Equating possessions with life itself is the reason some push themselves unnecessarily hard. They feel they must work hard, too hard even, to acquire more. No doubt, the Bible consistently promotes the virtue of hard work. However, there is nowhere that the Bible asked us to work without restraint. We have heard of unfortunate stories of people in the diaspora who worked round the clock, only to collapse and die. Work is essentially a means to express creativity, contribute to society, and glorify God in the process. Whether this results in great riches is another issue altogether. We should focus on the objectives of work while counting on God’s input to determine the outcome.

Earlier this year, I got a report about one of my sisters who was facing severe health challenges. My brother who has long taken on the role of a father figure for all of us stepped out of the hospital ward where she was being treated to talk to me. With a trace of despair in his voice, he asked us to take to prayer because the doctor informed him that her kidney and other internal organs had been damaged. The reason he stepped out to talk to me was because he did not want such a negative report to filter into her ears. Miraculously, my sister survived and has since been discharged.

Words will either condemn or acquit, save or destroy. Whenever you speak pleasant words to people, you enlist as a member of God’s medical team to the world.

Research suggests that negative words can have a negative impact on our health – both physical and emotional. Cortisol and other stress hormones are released in the body of someone who is exposed to negative words. In turn, this can lead to anxiety, depression, and a weakened immune system. On the contrary, pleasant words will keep in check those stress hormones, fight off depression and anxiety, and boost the immune system. Thus, our text associates good words with healthy bones. Jesus gave considerable attention to the spoken words. In Mark 4:24, He warned people to be careful of what they hear. He also made it plain that people will give account not only for what they do but also for what they say. Words will either condemn or acquit, save or destroy. Whenever you speak pleasant words to people, you enlist as a member of God’s medical team to the world.

Dr. Mike Murdock recalled the story of a woman in one of his teachings. She dated a man whom the Holy Spirit did not approve of. The Spirit prompted her to let go of the relationship but she stuck to her gun and went ahead to marry him. Things did not go well with her in that relationship. When she met Dr. Murdock, she told him, “I know the spot and the hour where the Holy Spirit told me to break off from this man, but I refused. I have had nothing to show for it but miseries and heartaches.” This leads to our text – those who care to listen to God’s guidance will dwell safely and be free from the fear of evil.

those who care to listen to God’s guidance will dwell safely and be free from the fear of evil…All the blessings in scripture are tied to listening to the Lord…only those who allow God to instruct them and follow through in obedience will be able to escape the perils of the hour.

In our previous meditation, we learned of God’s commitment to guide His people all through life. It is a terrible thing not to know the way to go. It is far worse to know where God is leading and still choose to go the opposite way. Jesus taught that the servant who is ignorant of his master’s will but does things worthy of punishment will receive a few strokes. It is worse for the servant who knows but fails to comply. Such servant will receive many stripes. It is not good to be ignorant, but it is far worse to know God’s will and fail to obey. All the blessings in scripture are tied to listening to the Lord. To listen is more than taking in information intelligently. It implies obedience. In other words, only those who allow God to instruct them and follow through in obedience will be able to escape the perils of the hour.

God’s offer is always superior to the world’s efforts. Take for instance the issue of peace and what Jesus said about it. “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 NKJV. At best, the peace that the world offers is sectional, temporary, and costly. It is ironic that the world’s meagre peace often comes with the use of brutal force. It is not so with God.

Guidance from God is different. God can guide through the dark hours and in every place…No other guide comes a distant second to His. Happily, His commitment to guiding us is throughout life.

The same thought can be carried over to the subject of guidance. If you find yourself as a tourist in a foreign land, your hope of making the most of the trip lies in getting a tour guide. Most tour guides are locals who know the terrain well and can lead you through the shortest route to your destinations. As helpful as a tour guide might be, it still has a limitation. When night comes, he leaves you alone until another day. Even from a professional point of view, the guide from man is limited. Again, if you change location and move to another land, your former guide may prove useless as he may be a stranger as well. Guidance from God is different. God can guide through the dark hours and in every place. He is omniscient and omnipresent, meaning that He is all knowing and present everywhere at the same time. No other guide comes a distant second to His. Happily, His commitment to guiding us is throughout life.

The book of Job reveals the ordeals of a man who feared God yet endured the loss of everything he held dear. In an attempt to find a clue to Job’s travails, his friends accused him of some secret sins, since they believed that God does not allow his faithful ones to suffer unjustly. When Jesus’ disciples saw a man who was born blind, they wondered if he or his parents had sinned to merit such fate. It happened that neither of them had any sin to which the blindness could be attributed. These two examples show that to always associate problems and tough times with sin is an incomplete theology.

It was that unswerving allegiance that qualified them for the kingdom. In the same way, holding on to the Lord in unsettling and difficult times is the path to ultimately experience His deliverance.

Tough times do happen to believers too. This does not mean that they are no longer Christians. It only reveals the nature of the world in which we live. Tough times are a leveller. Jesus was emphatic when He told His disciples that they would have tribulation in the world.  In our previous meditation, we observed that the disciples of Jesus continued with Him even when they did not have complete understanding of everything. When Jesus raised the bar and taught that only those who agreed to eat His flesh and drink His blood would have life, many stopped following Him. The 12 disciples stayed. It was that unswerving allegiance that qualified them for the kingdom. In the same way, holding on to the Lord in unsettling and difficult times is the path to ultimately experience His deliverance.

Jesus bestowed a kingdom on those who continued with Him. Specifically, He was dealing with the disciples here. This will lead us to a burning question: Is the kingdom in question present or futuristic? There are two clues that will suggest that the kingdom is not obtainable at the moment. Firstly, when Jesus was about to depart, He left no paraphernalia of an earthly kingdom behind for the disciples. There was no army or judicial system. There was neither a money vault nor a landed estate. When they asked Him if He was going to restore the kingdom to Israel then, He told them that it was not their duty to know when the Father had reserved for that. The second clue that this kingdom was not present then (and even till now) is that the modern day Israel is diffused, and the tribes are not being judged individually.

Loyalty is cardinal in our walk with God…Anyone who will take their place in God’s eternal kingdom must do so through steady allegiance – both in the easy times and the hard ones.

A crucial point of our meditation is to consider the basis for appointing a kingdom for them. It was because of their loyalty. Loyalty is defined as unswerving allegiance. The result of loyalty, as our text points out, is the bestowment of a kingdom. Loyalty is cardinal in our walk with God. Israel was accused of adultery on many occasions because they shifted their affection to the gods of the heathens. The disciples provide us with the template of steadfastness. They did not have a full understanding of the Master, His teaching or way of life, yet they stuck to Him. Anyone who will take their place in God’s eternal kingdom must do so through steady allegiance – both in the easy times and the hard ones.

Repentance is a call for change. The Greek word for repentance is METANOEŌ. It means a moral compunction. It also means to think differently or reconsider. It is a reconsideration of what has been that gives birth to a change. This change first begins on the inside, before it manifest itself in visible godly character. All heroes and heroines in the Bible encountered such transformation. The initial change anchored their faith in the living God, and then other changes followed, shaping their view of God and of life generally. As they received better light, their mindset and attitude were transformed in honour of God.

Those who refused to change in any form showed their aversion to the fear of God.  In other words, your willingness to make changes shows that you fear God. Furthermore, changes are also a proof of maturity.

Invariably, the changes in those believers became the proof that they had the fear of God in their lives. Our passage gives us a litmus test for the fear of God. Those who refused to change in any form showed their aversion to the fear of God. In other words, your willingness to make changes shows that you fear God. Furthermore, changes are also a proof of maturity. Giving up things that have kept us bound from fully following the Lord is ample proof of spiritual growth. Those who believe in the maxim of “business as usual” give themselves away as those who care little about their relationship with God.

Scattered across Paul’s letters are individuals mentioned by name – faithful men and women who were the hidden strength behind his remarkable ministry.  In our text, he singled out a man called Onesiphorus. The context in which the apostle mentioned his name is quite instructive. He had just recounted how people forsook him, but he found a different spirit in Onesiphorus. He recalled, “he sought me out very zealously and found me.” To put this in perspective, it is like trying to find a person with no forwarding address in a city like New York, London, or Lagos. You would say that is impossible; yet Onesiphorus pulled that up because of his profound interest in the welfare of Paul.

The way to avoid falling into the pit of despair is not to focus on who or what left you, instead consider the divine witness that God kept in place for you.

It seems that there is something about a name after all. For the avoidance of doubt, Onesiphorus means “one who brings profit.” Did he bring profit to Paul? Absolutely! Here is the Passion Translation of a part of our text: “Nevertheless, so many times Onesiphorus was like a breath of fresh air to me and never seemed to be ashamed of my chains. May our Lord Jesus bestow compassion and mercy upon him and his household.” 2 Timothy 1:16 TPT. Here we learn a valuable lesson that God will always leave behind a witness for those on mission for Him, no matter how tough things get. The way to avoid falling into the pit of despair is not to focus on who or what left you, instead consider the divine witness that God kept in place for you.

Partnership is the very foundation of marriage. After creating man, God noted that it was not good for him to be alone. So, from Adam’s rib, He fashioned Eve. Thus, the first partnership on earth was established. This would become the pattern and the string that binds human existence. The wise man observed the benefits of having a partnership. He observed that two are better than one because it guarantees mutual warmth. He further explained that if one partner falters, the other is there to help, but the one who is alone has his doom sealed.

Though you cannot achieve anything significant alone, you can’t partner with just anyone either…Attempting to partner with just anyone in sight is a recipe for confusion and failure.

It was  a rule of thumb for Jesus that every time He sent the disciples to do something, He engaged them in pairs. To fetch the colt which He rode to Jerusalem, He sent two disciples. (Mark 11:1). When it was time for their first missionary experience, they went in pairs. That was His way of building team spirit among them. There is a caveat to note at this point. Though you cannot achieve anything significant alone, you can’t partner with just anyone either. Only God can rightly select those who should walk with you in partnership. God chose Gideon’s company, and He must do the same for you – “But the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.” Judges 7:4 NKJV. Attempting to partner with just anyone in sight is a recipe for confusion and failure.

Romans 11:29 states that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. This shows that God is a consistent God. Like a dormant volcano, the gifts of God may lie latent in a life for a long time, but the moment an individual engages them, everything comes back to life. It is not only the gifts and callings of God that are constant; so are His plans. For example, the original intent of God for mankind did not change over time. From the beginning, God made man in His own image, His representation here on earth. Making man in His own image is to make man share His divine attributes with Him. This enviable position, which the first Adam lost, the second Adam restored.

The more we partake of His nature, the greater His power flows through our lives. More of His nature also means more effectiveness in our duty as ambassadors of God on earth.

From our text, Apostle Peter makes it clear that God rescued us from Satan, sin, and corruption so that we might partake in His divine nature. This reinforces the truth we stated before: God’s original plan was for humanity to bear His image and represent Him on earth. Growing in God-likeness allows us to become effective spokespersons on earth. The more we partake of His nature, the greater His power flows through our lives. More of His nature also means more effectiveness in our duty as ambassadors of God on earth. The Holy Spirit is the means by which we transition into God’s likeness.

I recall a period in our nation’s history marked by military rule. A brother who worshipped in the church I presided over at the time was the Brigade commander in the state; so by default, he was like the deputy governor. It was reported that thieves broke into his lodge and stole some items. Ironically, there were armed men in front of the chalet, but the robbers found a way through the back of the building. That experience was all I needed to authenticate our text – without the Lord guarding, the watchmen are wasting their time. The same thought is extended to the labour of our hands. Many people compromise work-life balance, thinking that more work guarantees more success. Experiences have shown that hard work is not the only requirement for success.

There is the God factor in the pursuit of life. Those who desire to succeed in the right way must have their lives intertwined with God.

The psalmist noted that labour alone does not build the house. Regardless of how hard one labours, it will be all futile without God’s input. In our previous meditation, we included trust in God as one of the conditions for blessings. So God’s grace is an irreplaceable factor in our quest for success and prosperity. Jesus may have had this thought in mind when He said to His disciples, “Without me you can do nothing.” Before that, He had told them of the need for Him to abide in them and they in Him. Just as the branch cannot produce fruit if detached from the vine, neither can we bear fruit without Him. There is the God factor in the pursuit of life. Those who desire to succeed in the right way must have their lives intertwined with God.

On August 4, 2025, I joined the team that welcomed Pastor Timothy Schmidt at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Nigeria. He is a notable leader of the Assemblies of God in Boston, Massachusetts. While we were driving to town, he told me that preaching ran in the family – his father and grandfather had both been ministers of the gospel. All his children are also involved in the ministry one way or another. Then he chipped in, “People talk a lot about generational curses without minding generational blessings.” I couldn’t agree more. In reality, more things are said of blessings than curses in God’s word. It is ignorance of the way to blessing that leaves many stuck in negativity.

If we live according to God’s ways, His blessing will rest on us – and when God blesses, no one can curse.

Our text highlights the blessed life of the one who refuses to walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the path of sinners, or sit with the scornful. Anyone who fulfills these conditions is righteous. So we can deduce that righteousness is one of the Bible codes for blessings. You can be sure that no business school will include righteousness in their curriculum as a factor for success. The book of Psalms also reveals other conditions for blessing – chief among them is placing one’s trust in the Lord. We can verify this from Psalms 34:8 and 40:4. Psalm 41 adds another condition. Those who consider the poor are on God’s list for blessing. If we live according to God’s ways, His blessing will rest on us – and when God blesses, no one can curse.

I cherish moments when my children ask me about life and things of God. One such moment was during my daughter’s wedding in London. While they were not venturing into tattoos, they asked if it was wrong for anyone who so desired to do it. I answered them with a hypothetical question. I asked how they would treat a borrowed car. How would they handle a vehicle they borrowed from someone? Would they be at liberty to inscribe anything of their fancy on it? Their answer was no. They reasoned that they would handle the car with utmost care because they knew they would be held accountable.

We are mere stewards of everything, including our bodies, for which we must give account…God owned them because He purchased them…Therefore, all things must be directed to His honour and praise.

Those who think they can do anything they like to their body are presumptuous because they feel that they own it. In reality, we don’t own anything. We are mere stewards of everything, including our bodies, for which we must give account. This was the basis of Paul’s writing to the Corinthians when he warned them to distance themselves from fornication. God owned them because He purchased them. The moment we overcome the illusion that we own our body, we will learn to use it in ways that will glorify God. The same mindset should apply to our money and other material possessions. God is described as the possessor of heaven and earth. Therefore, all things must be directed to His honour and praise.