Thanks giving multiplies our blessings

 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. Luke 9:16 NIV

The examples of our Lord Jesus at giving thanks should challenge us all. He gave thanks for and in every situation.
One can easily tell when you have a large crowd of over one thousand people even without asking the ushers to count the number of persons in attendance. Imagine having only five loaves of bread and two fish to feed such multitude. That was clearly a situation of inadequacy but He didn’t complain. He knew what to do, in order to make the difference. He lifted the shortage to Heaven, gave thanks and contacted divinity.
How can anyone explain feeding hundred children with five loaves of bread and two fish, not to mention five thousand men, with possibly eight thoUsan woman and children (considering the average ratio of men to women and children).

In this season of global economic crisis, you can still walk into your abundance by following the example of our Master Jesus. Lift up that little thing left, and give thanks.
Also, let no one tell you that there's nothing left to lift up. Even if your barn is empty and your brook dry, your account red and creditors are threatening, there’s still something to lift up to  Heaven in thanks giving. Lift up your heart and thank Him for your life. Express your confidence in His steadfast love and limitless provision. He will surely respond to you with His blessings.

Action Point
Read Habakkuk 3:17 as a pledge to the Lord.

Are you the Taster?

I had a chat with my Sister this morning and we were both complaining about these messages that ask you to send to ten (10) persons in 5 minutes and see what will happen to you. “If you have time for Jesus, send this message to ten persons”...lols.

Anyways, I told her about a forum I belonged to which was supposed to be Ministers’ forum but such messages were never lacking there. I tried several times to explain the aim of such but I wasn’t just seeing any changes. Messages with spiritual insights was seriously in short supply in that forum. So, I got fed up one day and left the forum. When I got to the part of leaving the forum, my sister said “no, no, you shouldn’t have left, you would have stayed back to help correct them in love”.

I responded, “it didn’t seem like they were willing to learn, I was already beginning to look like an ‘ITK’ (I Too know).

She said “sis, you know you can’t be salt of the earth in the salt shaker”

And I said, “but if you add too much salt to soup, you will spoil the taste.”

She gave it back to me with this response- “are you the taster? It’s only the owner of the food that can tell when the salt is too much.”

My sister was right! We often measure our efforts at serving God by our own standards. Here I am feeling I had contributed too much but maybe on God’s scorecard, I hadn’t even hit a two digits score. 

Please always allow the TASTER,  the owner of the Soup to decide when the  salt is too much.

Meanwhile enjoy this Veges soup from me with love!!!💖💖💞💞

Thank you means 'Give me again'

Well,  I’m sure you are wondering where I got that from. It’s one of my late father’s many lessons. He never missed an opportunity to teach on the need to be thankful. It got to a point that we would always tease him about it. My little brother then would go and say 'Daddy thank you for that my biscuit', expecting to collect another one from him.

I wouldn’t know if my Dad took that message from the Bible but I was thrilled to see that God’s Word says ‘Thank you means give me again’ too in Luke 17: 15-19 and Psalms 67:5-7.

And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, nd fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

In Luke 17:15-19 above, we read the story of one of the lepers that returned to give thanks to our Lord Jesus after his healing. He didn’t  know that to give thanks was to get more when he went back to our Lord Jesus. He was truly grateful; it was heart felt appreciation. The Bible says that ‘he fell down to his face, giving Him thanks’. The result was that he got more than  his friends. He was made well (all round restoration).

When we show God true gratitude, He multiplies what He has given us. My father’s ‘thank you means give me again’ simply implies that we make the Giver to want to give us again when are thankful. Psalms 67:5-7 reiterates this divine mystery of increase- Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You. Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

Action Point
Do you want more? Be thankful.

Steps to praying effectively

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:6-7 NKJV.



It’s sad to think that the path to our victory lies in obeying very simple biblical principles yet we all seem to be missing it.
Be anxious for nothing
This first part of the instruction is very important because anxiety has a way of robbing you of every sense of reasoning. Some of us interpret anxiety as an act of being responsible. I was a victim of anxiety for a very long time. I would think I needed to do something about everything even when the solution was clearly not in my hands. My best efforts sometimes left me frustration.
A lot of us are like that. We wake up early, sleep late, drawing up plans and charts when we ought to leave God to do His thing. I also think this is the most difficult part of the steps because once this is conquered you'd be able to absorb and believe the Word of God for what it is. Anxiety is an expression of faithlessness and often times, fear.

....but in everything by prayer and supplication... There’s no situation that prayer cannot address. However, the content and mode of our prayers is sometimes the inhibitor to the answers of our prayers. We sometimes pray amiss not necessarily because we ask for such things that serve only for self gratification. When we come to God in prayer, grumbling and complaining, we automatically shut ourselves out. There is a failure proof recommended procedure for prayer and until we follow that procedure, we just might be like one beating the air.

....with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
It can be difficult to give thanks if we keep our focus on the weight of our problem rather than the infinite problem solving ability of God. Giving thanks in the midst of a pending need can sometimes feel very unnatural but that's the way to access the supernatural provisions of God.
The emphasis 'but in everything' is just to let us know that there are no exclusive situations.
Praying with thanks giving should serve for every kind of prayer, in every kind of situation.


Action Point
Take delivery of your testimonies, pray with thanks giving.

God fights our battles when we Praise!

You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”    

So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever.” (2 Chronicles 20: 17, 20-21 NKJV)

You probably know the story in 2 Chronicles 20. How three cities came against the tribe of Judah for war and King Jehoshaphat panicked and went to seek God’s face. God asked them to position themselves and stand still and then, they will see what He’ll do. With this first instruction, they may have been thinking of strategies of how to stand still and win the battle. There was another part of the instruction which was to go against their enemies.

My guess is that Jehoshaphat was  certain that God would give them victory but was confused about every other step. He wasn’t sure of the game plan! Someone once said that when you are not sure of what to do, do praise!

I want to believe that the king and his people were expecting to fight in the battle and maybe that was what it was supposed to be but they took their victory to another level through praise.

Jehoshaphat set the singers in front of the soldiers because he understood that if God said He’ll give them victory, then civilians or soldiers was immaterial. What mattered was to secure God’s presence and that they did.

Action Point
Secure your victory over that ailing situation. Put your singing before your efforts!

In everything give thanks?

This is one of the most difficult injunctions of the Bible 1 These 5:18. How do you ask someone who lost a spouse, a child or sibling in a tragic accident to give thanks? Can you imagine looking into the eyes of a family member of any of the Brazilian footballers who died in the plane crash and saying, ‘in everything give thanks’?

After I lost my first pregnancy at barely two months, I had another one that I carried to term. The scan said it was a baby boy and my husband and I were ecstatic. We prepared like every young family would, for the arrival of our first child. The big day came and I had him through caesarean procedure but the baby died after three days. He had enlarged heart as a result of congenital malformation. It was as if my world stopped. I was still in the  hospital trying to recover from the pains of the surgery. The only thing that would have been able to ease my pains would have been having my baby by my side. Other mothers in the ward had theirs and the crying of their babies was a constant reminder that mine wasn’t there with me. To make matters worse, his milk will flow out and soil my night dress and underwear.  It was a night mare I thought I’d never recover from.

My husband and elder sister tried everything to help me recover but nothing seemed to be working. I was withering by the day. My ever vivacious  niece, Precious couldn't get Aunty Amaa to smile or play. I was worried too.

One day, I decided I would go back and find comfort from the Lord, after all He is our Comforter. I started feeding myself with the Word afresh and listening to gospel songs. I pasted short verses of Scriptures all around by bedside. Habakkuk 3:17 was definitely in the center.
Bob Fitt’s You are so faithful was my daily companion. I didn’t just sing along but I let myself believe every word of its lyrics. I began to praise God!
Before long, the cloud rolled away and I could smile again. My fears left and confidence in God’s love returned. One year three months later, God gave us the most adorable daughter, Janelle.

I was the one who needed to thank God so that I could secure His presence for the next phase of my life. Giving my pains to Him in thanks giving turned my life around.

Are you beaten and confused? Break the chains today by thanking God for the life you have. The sun will shine again!

Praise Him for His Sovereignty!

Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great:
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,
Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.
He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,
Who makes the clouds His chariot,
Who walks on the wings of the wind,
Who makes His angels spirits,
His ministers a flame of fire.
You who laid the foundations of the earth,
So that it should not be moved forever,
You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters stood above the mountains.
At Your rebuke they fled;
At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.
They went up over the mountains;
They went down into the valleys,
To the place which You founded for them.
You have set a boundary that they may not pass over,
That they may not return to cover the earth.
He sends the springs into the valleys;
They flow among the hills.
They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
By them the birds of the heavens have their home;
They sing among the branches.
He waters the hills from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.
He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And vegetation for the service of man,
That he may bring forth food from the earth, 
Psalms 104:1-14  NKJV

Everyday nature lays God’s sovereignty bare before us. Sadly, we have gotten so familiar with these acts of nature that they no longer seem like anything to be grateful for. From verse 6 of the excerpted  Scripture above (... the waters stood above the mountains), to the end of the piece, the Psalmist was talking about rain, rain water! In his usual poetic style, he went on from when it forms a thick cloud to the point it descends on the mountains, down into  valleys and to the final point where it grows food for us. He praised God for the rains that we often complain about.

How much of God’s awesome blessings have you been taking for granted?

Action Point
Look around you today. Thank God for the rains, sun, night and day.

The Mystery of Praise 2

We saw from yesterday’s message that Leah changed the course of her life when she decided to praise God.

Judah was an exceptional child in every way. When the brothers wanted to kill their little dreamer brother Joseph, he was the one who helped preserve Joseph’s destiny. Judah was not part of the dastardly act of avenging Dinah’s violation. I want to believe his brothers didn’t call him on that mission because they knew about that compassionate side of him.

When Joseph asked his brothers to go back from Egypt and bring their youngest brother Benjamin, Jacob vehemently refused. Reuben offered to have his two sons killed if he didn’t bring back Benjamin  but that did move Jacob (Genesis.  42:36-38). However, Judah came and pleaded with their father Jacob, and offered himself as guarantor, their father listened to him and obliged him.
Why was the plea of the fourth son superior that of the first? Judah had integrity.

When Jacob was dying, these were the blessings he spoke over Judah:

Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father's children shall bow down before you.
Judah is a lion's whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people. (Genesis 49:8-11).

In this declaration, Jacob prophesied about Christ, the One to Whom shall be the obedience of the people. The big question for most people is, why wasn’t these prophetic pronouncements

to Joseph who was Jacob’s beloved? Well, the answer is- Jacob was responding to the presence of God that Judah carried.

Action Point
Now that you know how powerful praise is, dedicate something to God as a sacrifice of praise! It might be your time, property, talent...anything! Go ahead and rewrite your destiny!

The Mystery of Praise!

Praise is a mystery! Some times when we read that part of the Bible that says ‘God inhabits the praises of His people’, it doesn't quite strike a chord. Yes, I have found myself asking how and is it all the time? Anyway, Leah’s story in Genesis 29 helped to shed light on the depth of the mystery of praise.

You probably  know the story of how Jacob was tricked by his father-in-law who gave him Leah instead of Rachel. Jacob ended up marrying both Sisters but his heart belonged to Rachel. I can imagine how miserable Leah must have been. Leah however had something going for her; she had children.

Like with every polygamous  home, there was competition  between the two sisters. It was God Who chose to pacify Leah by giving her children (Genesis 29:31). Leah had the first child and called him Reuben  (the Lord has looked upon my affliction). She had another and called him Simeon (because the Lord has heard I was hated, he has given me this son). The third son was called Levi because she said this time my husband will be joined to me. What a name!
Leah had her fourth son and called him Judah (now will I praise the Lord).

 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Genesis 29:35a

Some of us waste situations that are meant for praising God on scorning or trying to spite our enemies. Leah had been using her sons to fight and spite her sister Rachel but none of those got her anywhere. When she took the path of wisdom, and called her son Judah, her story changed.

Leah brought in the Ark of God personified in a little boy Judah when she declared him a sacrifice of praise. Jacob had several other sons by his wives’ maids and even Rachel but none of them made it to the honour list in Matt. 1:1-17.

Action Point
What about dedicating ourselves to God as sacrifices of praise....all that is within  me, bless His Holy name. Sing to Him, praise Him!