Monday, September 15, 2008

Help Others, Help Yourself

By Adenuga Sunday Joseph

Success attained is easily maintained when your life is dedicated to helping other people to become better. There is a saying that goes thus, “one good turn deserves another”.Adopting the lifestyle of helping other people become better will make people to naturally gravitate towards helping you when you are also in need. You will discover help coming your way even from unexpected quarters: help will come even when it is not sought for because you have committed yourself towards helping others. In Psalm46:1 We have a very valuable word from God.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

You will find help waiting for you at every junction where you need help to maintain your success or even to improve on it. Part of helping others is speaking kind words to people, appreciating them for the favour shown to you, and been very gentle to the slow and undeserving friends and members of your family. Part of helping other people is giving money or material things to help promote them: it is coming to the aid of somebody in his or her troubled waters. Another aspect of helping other people I want to showcase is paying your staff as at when due and improving their lot as the Lord promote your businesses; to also pay above the required minimum wage. Friend, get committed to helping people, friends, colleagues, family members, church members, and the whole community at large. If you do this I can guarantee you that you will not only climb up to the mountain top of success, you will also have the power to maintain the attained or acquired success without stress; and whatever success you have attained will last long in your hands.

Hard Work: - A Success Factor

By Adenuga Sunday Joseph

One of the crucial ingredients in Noah's success was hard work. It is true that God Himself drew the plan of the ark to be built, He gave specifications for the materials to be used, He even told Noah how the construction should commence and end. But dear reader, if Noah was a lazy man, he could never have finished the Ark. It is true, you have to understand the hostility of all other people against Noah and his Ark. Nobody believed in his God, nobody wanted to hear about an impending judgment coming upon the earth. In fact everybody was making jest of a “foolish man” who had suddenly gone so crazy as to believe that rain would destroy every living being on earth. They knew he was a good man, very honest and easy going, “but recently”, they thought, “the man must be out of his mind, because he is doing crazy things and telling incredible tales of things that can never happen”. If you understand that this was the prevailing environment, you will know that hardly do we find anybody outside of his family to help build the Ark.

The economy of the world was not as it is now, the craze for wealth and aggressive search for money was not as prevalent as it is now. So I am sure he would not be able to get many laborers to work for him on the Ark. I believe that even the common laborers would have doubled or even tripled their wages in order to work for this 'mad man'. The only thing that saved the day in completing the Ark in a record time was nothing short of a hardworking Noah and his family. Remember that even as they build, they must prepare meals, get money to cater for their own personal urgent needs. Think about the billions of dollars they would need to execute the project ALL sponsored by Noah alone, and worthy of note is that no lack of any sort was ever recorded in the Ark during the one year of sojourn inside the Ark. Provisions were made for human needs, for the need of the various kinds of animals, and also the stability of the Ark in times of serious turbulence of the waters upon which the Ark would be floating. Noah worked hard.

God is also a very hardworking God, you cannot be his friend and not be very hardworking like Noah. Jesus said of God the Father, “My Father worketh...” That means that God is still working, and He said, “hitherto and I work”. If God is working hard and Jesus is, then as a child of God, one will be a bastard not to be hardworking. With determination and hard work, you can be successful in even at the most difficult of all tasks. Make up your mind from today to work hard on your life goal and purpose and success unlimited will be your portion in the land of the living.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

The Power Of Meekness

By Adenuga Sunday Joseph

The Bible says that the meek shall inherit the earth (Psalm 37:11 and Mathew 5:5). Meekness was the magic wand that made Moses to be very successful in his chosen career. If you want to have good success, you must be meek and if you are not, pray for it.

Have you ever considered the reason God picked on Joseph to be the earthy caretaker of our Lord Jesus Christ?
On the 28th of September 1996, I was ministering alongside with Evangelist Gboyega Ajadi in Iree Polytechnic Gospel Student Fellowship and the Lord ministered to me and asked me this question, “have you wondered why I saw it fit to use Joseph to take care of the formative years of Jesus Christ on earth?
The Lord revealed a lot of qualities found in Joseph that qualified him for this privileged position, I will share some of them with you in this book.
In Mathew 1:18 – 25
18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

Joseph suddenly discovered that though he had not known Mary, yet she was pregnant. This means, he had not have deep intimate relationship with Mary that may have led to sexual intercourse. He did not know what had happened, we know today because we have read it, and we have learnt about the life of Christ; but back then, Joseph did not know what we know today. He did not know that the child in Mary’s womb was of the Holy Ghost. How many men today will be able to bear that?

19.Then Joseph her husband being a just man

(The Bible says that Joseph was a just man, he was meek and cool- headed and was open to sound reasoning.) and not willing to make her a public example was minded to put her away privily. Some men today would be so angry, they could cut off her head, but as Joseph was thinking about it, an Angel appeared to him in a dream to warn him. He did not seek a confirmation, he just believed, he did not despise the dream, he did not demand to hear an audible voice or to see the angel physically in real life like Manoah the father of Samson. He just believed God –it was a simple faith. He did not quote scriptures that, “out of two or three witnesses every word shall be confirmed” He simply believed and obeyed the word or voice of God which happened to be the perfect will of God.

How many people today are led (through dreams) but rejected the dream as a mere thought of their mind. Joseph was obedient to God, it didn’t matter whether God spoke through dream, audible voice, inner still small voice prophecy, a visitation of an Angel, or anyhow else, he just obeyed. He obeyed the angel that God sent to him in the dream – this is meekness. No wonder, God choose to use him to bring up and nurture our Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh.
Joseph acted God, by becoming the father of God’s Son, he was good enough to teach Jesus some basic things of life (humanity).
When they went to Jerusalem the time Jesus was twelve years old, Jesus went to the temple, ‘to be about my father’s business’. They looked for him sorrowing for three days. When he was found, Joseph did not lift up his hand to beat or cane Jesus, many men today would be so angry that the first thing they’ll do would be to slap that child. It was Mary that spoke and said,

“Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing”.

It was never recorded that Joseph was ever angry (or loose his temper), he never over reacted to the situation, He was a man full of wisdom and understanding. Wisdom is believing God even when you do not understand what He is doing, saying or planning. In Luke 2:50, the bible says

And they understood not the saying (of Jesus) which he spake unto them.

Joseph may not understand but he believed God, yet he did not maltreat Jesus, he loved Jesus for who he was – what a father, much like unto the Almighty God. In the same vein we are not called to understand everything about God or His Word, we are called to believe Him and His word and that is real wisdom. In Mathew 1:25, we read

And knew her not till she had brought forth her first born son; and he called his name Jesus.

Joseph was disciplined enough not to have sex with Mary, they lived together, slept together in the same house yet he did not do it. Everybody knows that it is O.k to have sex with your pregnant wife but Joseph did not. What kind of reward do you think Joseph will receive? Think about the father of Jesus, who had the responsibility of taking care of the Lord, he lived an exemplary life, he did not go about getting drunk, sleeping with girls, lying, cheating etc. He was meek and disciplined that even God (I mean Jesus Christ) could learn from him how to be a good carpenter, he taught ‘God’ so many things in the flesh. He protected our Lord Jesus Christ, took him to Egypt when Herod sought the life of the Saviour. Meekness is the word that described the totality of Joseph’s life.

If you can make yourself a meek man/woman, heaven and earth will see you and recognize you and reward with a sounding success in all your endeavour.
If you study your Bible very well, you will understand that Joseph was a very successful carpenter. As the fame of Jesus spread abroad, people wondered as recorded in Mathew 13:55

“Is not this THE CARPENTER’S son? ….”

Joseph was the carpenter of his city, meaning he was the foremost, the most popular, the most successful carpenter. Joseph through meekness was so successful, people traced Jesus back to him, why? This is because Joseph was conspicuously successful, he could not but be noticed.
Some people are so successful today that nobody remembers or recognizes their fathers, because they do not have successful fathers. The father of Jesus was a successful father because of meekness, be meek. A meek man is too gentle to fight, he doesn't know how to argue, he is too pre occupied by his purpose that nothing else mattered. So because of this 'weakness', God Himself have to fight all his battles. A meek man cannot fight: God fights for him. If you can fight and avenge yourself of your enemies, God did not need to fight for you. Moses didn't fight with any man who rose up against him in rebellion, God did. Even when his senior sister Miriam misbehaved to him, God had to teach her a lesson for seven days that you don't toil with a meek man. When you see a meek man be afraid because God Himself is the One fighting for him. So, why not pray for the spirit of meekness now?

Biography Of Great Men

I got this article from the weblog of Mose Adenuga at www.blessingadenuga.blogspot.com I was motivated and blessed through the reading of the article and believe that its going to be a blessing to everyone that reads it in this blog

Henry Ford

Hi, still in the process of learning from great men that does not know nothing about school, I bring you this great man called HENRY FORD. He did not know much about education yet he was a mover & shaker of his generation. Ready to learn from him? Here you Go.

HIS CHILDHOOD
Henry Ford, born July 30, 1863, was the first of William and Mary Ford's six children. He grew up on a prosperous family farm in what is today Dearborn, Michigan. Henry enjoyed a childhood typical of the rural nineteenth century, spending days in a one-room school and doing farm chores. At an early age, he showed an interest in mechanical things and a dislike for farm work.In 1879, sixteen-year-old Ford left home for the nearby city of Detroit to work as an apprentice machinist, although he did occasionally return to help on the farm. He remained an apprentice for three years and then returned to Dearborn. During the next few years, Henry divided his time between operating or repairing steam engines, finding occasional work in a Detroit factory, and over-hauling his father's farm implements, as well as lending a reluctant hand with other farm work. Upon his marriage to Clara Bryant in 1888, Henry supported himself and his wife by running a sawmill.

THE ENGINEER
In 1891, Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit. This event signified a conscious decision on Ford's part to dedicate his life to industrial pursuits. His promotion to Chief Engineer in 1893 gave him enough time and money to devote attention to his personal experiments on internal combustion engines.These experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of his own self-propelled vehicle-the Quadricycle. The Quadricycle had four wire wheels that looked like heavy bicycle wheels, was steered with a tiller like a boat, and had only two forward speeds with no reverse.Although Ford was not the first to build a self-propelled vehicle with a gasoline engine, he was, however, one of several automotive pioneers who helped this country become a nation of motorists.

FORD MOTOR COMPANY
After two unsuccessful attempts to establish a company to manufacture automobiles, the Ford Motor Company was incorporated in 1903 with Henry Ford as vice-president and chief engineer. The infant company produced only a few cars a day at the Ford factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit. Groups of two or three men worked on each car from components made to order by other companies.Henry Ford realized his dream of producing an automobile that was reasonably priced, reliable, and efficient with the introduction of the Model T in 1908. This vehicle initiated a new era in personal transportation. It was easy to operate, maintain, and handle on rough roads, immediately becoming a huge success.By 1918, half of all cars in America were Model Ts. To meet the growing demand for the Model T, the company opened a large factory at Highland Park, Michigan, in 1910. Here, Henry Ford combined precision manufacturing, standardized and interchangeable parts, a division of labor, and, in 1913, a continuous moving assembly line. Workers remained in place, adding one component to each automobile as it moved past them on the line. Delivery of parts by conveyor belt to the workers was carefully timed to keep the assembly line moving smoothly and efficiently. The introduction of the moving assembly line revolutionized automobile production by significantly reducing assembly time per vehicle, thus lowering costs. Ford's production of Model Ts made his company the largest automobile manufacturer in the world.The company began construction of the world's largest industrial complex along the banks of the Rouge River in Dearborn, Michigan, during the late 1910s and early 1920s. The massive Rouge Plant included all the elements needed for automobile production: a steel mill, glass factory, and automobile assembly line. Iron ore and coal were brought in on Great Lakes steamers and by railroad, and were used to produce both iron and steel. Rolling mills, forges, and assembly shops transformed the steel into springs, axles, and car bodies. Foundries converted iron into engine blocks and cylinder heads that were assembled with other components into engines. By September 1927, all steps in the manufacturing process from refining raw materials to final assembly of the automobile took place at the vast Rouge Plant, characterizing Henry Ford's idea of mass production

About Curses

By Adenuga S Joseph

Curses are thoughts clothed or express in words against your life and destiny. What do you do when you feel you are under a curse? Some people tried and tried, they fail every time they tried; some are really hardworking but are under spiritual bondage as a result of a curse working against their lives and family. You can break loose from every curse. The Bible says, "If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed"; you see, it does not matter from where the curse comes from; the Son of God can set you free.

How to break the curses upon your life: -

Through the WORD of GOD (which is also the thoughts of God) and this is higher than any man’s. See Isaiah 55: 8,9. When you speak the word of God into your life, curses gives way to blessings. You must speak the word of God directly to every area of your life that you feel the curse is working. Reply every curse with a blessing from the word of God, when evil thoughts come, you reply it with a positive, good, success and God provoking thoughts. If this is the line you want to take; then you are in for success; and you will experience success unlimited that no man can hinder. There is a warning however, you must decide that from now on, you will never think evil of any one again in your life time. Make it a life decision that you will never from now sit down to discuss evil about anybody, knowing that we always reap whatever we sow.