As a kid in the Band of Hope, the children ministry arm of my maiden church, I was told that God is an all seeing, all knowing and all doing God. I was also told that God loves me and that I am the apple of His eyes. I was exposed to scriptures that validated this beliefs. I did not only assimilate these teachings, I believed them. I recited these scriptures almost on daily basis. I was reminded of them during the family devotions, at the benediction segment.

As I grew older, honestly, I began to question some of those things I was told in Band of Hope. I could not fathom why I would have to recite “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” during the family devotion and go to bed hungry. It did not make sense to me that I was told “The Lord shall supply all my needs…” and yet I would be flogged and driven home because my Dad had not paid my fees. It was a dramatic dilemma for me, trying to reconcile what I have been told and taught to be true with what I was seeing and experiencing.

I remember leaving my house chores and peeping through a neighbour’s window to watch television because my Dad could not afford one. Those days I used to stop by a barber’s shop on my way back from school to watch television. One of those days, I was watching a Nigerian home video titled ‘Karishika’ at the barber’s shop. The movie so engrossed me that I lost track of time and came back home late. You do not want to know what became of me back home.

Friends, what I am saying is that life can throw darts and arrows on you that makes you doubt if all you have come to believe about God still holds water. Situations confront you and you begin to wonder if God is still the ‘all seeing’, ‘all knowing’ and ‘all doing’ God that you have read about in the Bible. You may have gone through, and even be going through similar experiences as mine or worse. I have come to tell you that all of that is a process to bring out the best in you.

Because he knows the road on which I travel, when he had tested me, I’ll come out like gold

Job 23:10 (ISV)

Whatever you are going through is a process God is taking you through. He knows what is best for you and He will make you better for it.      

#THE PROCESS

Please share with others and let it bless them as it blessed you

Stay blessed.       
  

©TRANSFORMING WORDS SERIES
(Transforming the World through the Word)
http://www.transformingwordseries.wordpress.com

Peer influence is one thing that every single one of us deal with on daily basis. It doesn’t matter if you are young or old, male or female, big or small, rich or poor, you have a level of peer influence you are dealing with. If it is not to hang out and have some bottles of beer with your friends, it is cheating your way through or even cheating on your spouse. You just have these peer influences to deal with.

These issues can be seen at the work place, school and religious set ups. A staff who usually goes to work early gradually begins to report late to work because of the influence from older workers who have found a way to cover their tracks. A committed church worker suddenly begins to slack in duty because of negative influence from fellow church workers. I can go on to site instances, but I guess you are beginning to get my point.

“If you can’t beat them, join them” is one ideology that has coerced people into joining the band wagon to do the wrong things and a lot of people have found themselves in very destructive paths that they don’t know how to get themselves back on track.

If you are struggling with overcoming peer influence, there is a way out for you. If you can’t beat them, stand out. When you stand out, you become a standard. I do not disregard the need to exert some sort of positive influence on your peers. However, it is better to stand out than to be negatively influenced while trying to be a positive influence to your peers.

That majority of the people are doing it does not make it turn from wrong to right. That you see a pastor doing something does not make it right if it is wrong. I say this not with indignation, but I really need us to understand that a wrong process cannot turn right because someone you hold in high esteem is doing it.
Remember, if you can’t beat them, STAND OUT! 

#THE PROCESS

Please share with others and let it bless them as it blessed you

Stay blessed.       
  

©TRANSFORMING WORDS SERIES
(Transforming the World through the Word)
http://www.transformingwordseries.wordpress.com

I live in a time and day where matters are no longer addressed the way they ought to. Names have been coined for some gross moral misconducts in the view to make light of them. In my little foray through English language, I have discovered that when a person uses the wrong word(s) in a sentence or speech, terms have been created in the English dictionary to accommodate the errors. You can call it malapropism, parapraxis, eggcorn or even mondegreen depending on the effect. In the end, it all boils down to wrong use of words. All of those terms are just shades of grey.

What is my point? Things have gone so berserk that we no longer see things as either black or white, we now see things in shades of grey. If you are able to cut corners or bypass processes, that is smartness. If you are able to cover up your tracks as a cheating spouse, you are the real deal. Having a record of multiple divorce cases now makes you a role model in relationship matters. If you are able to successfully siphon public funds without leaving traces behind, then you are not a corrupt politician.

Friends, what I am trying to say is simple: We need to get back to following the right processes. We need to start looking at issues the way they ought to be looked at. If you’ll have to come out of your box, change your lenses and look at issues the way they ought to be looked at, it will be a worthy venture. When it comes to the process, there are no shades of grey, it is either black or white; either right or wrong. It is up to us to make things right.

#THE PROCESS

Please share with others and let it bless them as it blessed you

Stay blessed.       
  

©TRANSFORMING WORDS SERIES
(Transforming the World through the Word)
http://www.transformingwordseries.wordpress.com