Author: Ade

Who is your neighbor?

Do you know the people who live around you? Do you know their names? Do you know their phone numbers? How many children do they have?

If you are operating in the culture of the kingdom of God, you would know why I am asking this questions. As disciples of Jesus, we are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. The first people to enjoy our light and seasonings are the people that live close to us.

If you don’t know their names then I’m sure you have not introduced them to Jesus your Lord and Savior.

So here is a new challenge for you! Get to know the names and phone numbers of the people who live around you.

Not all neighbours are friendly. I remember we had a neighbour about 15 years ago. We said hello to him every time we saw him. I think we did that about once or twice every month. We lived in an apartment building then and lived on a different floor but his parking space was next ours. This man never bothered to respond our greetings for at least one year. Then one day he responded because we did not give up.

Let’s not get discouraged because your neighbor doesn’t want to know you. Continue to reach out in love.

Be the light.

“”You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Is there anything like having more time?

We all have 24 hours in a day. No one can have more time than the other.

I think I remember someone saying that the best you can do is get more out of the time you have.

The president of nations, big companies, big ministries all have the same amount of hours in a day.

How many hour? Just 24! Exactly the same as you.

So why does it seem as if you have less time? It’s because you have not mastered the craft of getting more out of the time you have.

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5:15-16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

How do you get more stuff with the same money? I can hear myself say “Go to the store with Olu or my Mom or Grandma”.

How do they do it? They learn to say NO to things that are overpriced.

The same applies to time! You will always run out of time until you learn to say NO to the majority of things and YES to a few very valuable things!

Do you make to time spend with God? Do you make time to share the love of God and the good news of the kingdom?

Whenever I find myself feeling that I need more time, I know it’s time to find out what I have picked up that needs to be dropped or reviewed.

Make the best use of your time! Think in terms of eternity. Say NO to most things!

Little steps

Isn’t it interesting that the universe as big as it is made up of tiny invisible particles called atoms?

And our life is made up of seconds?

Taking care of the little things will automatically take care of the big things.

But you need to have an idea of the big picture so that you can take care of the little things.

So, make sure that you remember the big picture. We will all exit this planet some day. And we would all go empty handed.

With this in mind, live each day with determination to make disciples for Jesus. Take each hour as an opportunity to show how much you love God.

Use each minute to reflect Jesus’ love to someone. Take every opportunity to become more like him.

Make the little steps right and the big things will be alright. If you ask one person every week about doing a discovery bible study, you will soon find someone who is interested!

If you make up your mind to make someone smile everyday, you will have one person every week to invite to a discovery bible study.

If you pray every moment asking God to love someone through you, it becomes easier to make someone smile!

Don’t let the mockers stop you!

No matter what you do, there will always be mockers! So share the good news and be the solution to problems around you in the name of Jesus!

“Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭17:32-34‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This truth is applicable to many other aspects of life! When you make any presentation to a crowd expect less than 25% action and some mockery! The majority will usually wait and not take action yet.

The people who have results are the people who stepped out and tried. They are successful not because everyone responded to them but because some did.

Do you like rejection?

I don’t like rejection. I have seen children cry so many times when one of their friends say “I won’t play with you anymore”.

I believe we all want to be valuable and rejection seems to say to us “you are not valuable”.

But is that really true? Rejection of your ideas or opinions does not mean that you are not valuable.

Your value is not determined by what someone or a few people say about you. Your value has so many dimensions. Some people may not want what you have to offer and others would do whatever it takes to get the same thing.

“When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.” Luke‬ ‭4:28-29‬ ‭ESV

Jesus was rejected many times. He was also celebrated.

“And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them,” Luke‬ ‭4:42‬ ‭ESV‬‬

There are millions of people everywhere who are ready to follow Jesus. They need you and I to share the good news of the kingdom of God with them.

Everyone on earth needs Jesus but not everyone is aware of their need. So when they reject the good news, try not to allow it to stop you.

There is no way to find out if someone wants to do a discovery bible study with you without asking. And it’s usually not easy to ask without making some loving connection.

I don’t like rejection! I love to see people rejoice over what I offer. But to get to acceptance, I must risk rejection.

Are you living for Jesus Out Loud?

I read about a lady who made up her mind to invite her co-worker to church after 8yrs of working together. She had always wanted to invite her coworker to church but she kept on putting it off.

This time when there was a special program at her church she mustered some courage and she invited her co-worker. Do you know what the co-worker said?

She said “I go to the same church. I was going to invite you to the same event”.

This story would have been very funny if it wasn’t so sad. That it took 8 years for two children of God to recognize themselves at a workplace.

“”Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭6:4-9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Loving God or anyone involves talking about the one you love. If you love God for real then you should be encouraged to let people know how much you love God without being offensive.

When we let people know how much we love God, they would reach out or react in ways that show us if they are open to learning about God or not! When people show interest in knowing God or when they are open to us despite our obvious display of love for God, we invite them to a discovery bible study.

The story above can be found in the book – Not a Fan!

Knowledge vs Action

Many times I assume that once a person knows what to do they would automatically do it. So for many years I focused on sharing the truth of scriptures with people.

But now I am learning that it is better to focus more on helping people to obey the truth that they discover from a discovery bible study.

For example you and I know the benefits of exercise, eating right and so on but do you always do what you know is right? Only a few people make every effort to practice what they know consistently.

It’s true that waiting for new disciples or people who want to know more about God to discover truth in scriptures and to take the necessary action seems slow. However I find that it builds in them the important habit of taking action. It also makes you to take action on these scriptures as well.

How do we help people to obey or take action?

After discussing scriptures we ask “What will you do differently this week as a result of what you have learned from this portion of scripture?”

The power of this question is only fully realized if you remember to ask if they did what the said they would do the next time you meet.

And I also enjoy the fact that they in turn keep me accountable because I have to take action as well.

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James‬ ‭1:22‬ ‭ESV‬‬

So now I focus more on helping people take action. What are you doing with all that you know already 😀?

People want to know God but…

They don’t want to be controlled by other people. They don’t want to know our ideas. They don’t want to forced to dance at church. They don’t want to look life fools at church meetings because they are not used to activities of the church. They don’t want to have to do things that they are convinced about just because they are outnumbered.

So what do we do?

We can become the church to them. Don’t invite them to church. Go to them.

Read the Bible with them and let them engage with the scriptures. Let the Holy Spirit convict them. You can go to them with just one other believer and encourage them to invite other interested people.

This is the power of the Discovery Bible Study!

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—” John‬ ‭6:44-45‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Consistency

When we work on a project with consistent effort, we get good results. I think we all know this. However, I find that it’s takes a lot of discipline to stay consistent and not be distracted.

So how can I be more consistent or more diligent?

I believe there are a few things that you and I can do. What has helped me in the past is this:

I have clear written goals that I believe are part of God’s plans for me. I think of how things will be when the project is completed. I experience the joy of it.

Whenever I get distracted, I simply think of the joy of finishing the project and I receive new strength. I also read a lot about people who have gone ahead, people who have done similar projects so that I can know more about the challenges to expect.

In disciple making I imagine the joy that my neighbor or friend will experience when they finally receive the salvation that Jesus has bought for them, I also imagine the joy in heaven. I think about how there will be more light on earth.

Then I find myself motivated again to keep praying, to keep loving and to keep sharing the good news of the Kingdom of God.

“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews‬ ‭12:2 ESV.

To be consistent at a project, I must say no to many other good and interesting projects. That is why I start with clear goals that I believe are part of God’s plans.

Do you know God has no grandchildren?

The word church refers to the family of God. And in that family every human is a child. Not everyone human on earth is a member of God’s family but everyone on earth is a potential member!

Jesus told a story in Luke 15 that shows to us that everyone on earth is either a child in the family of God or a child that that is lost due to rebellion.

You are a child of God. You have access to God as your father. Let’s rejoice in this truth and give our all to prayerfully call all the lost children home!

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” John‬ ‭1:12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This is a good time to remember that no spiritual leader can ever become father to a church. We have one Heavenly Father.

However, there are situations where we see a person become a father figure to a child of God. They take responsibility for the total well being of the child of God and mentor them spiritually. In this case we can call that person a spiritual father of that individual, like the relationship of Paul and Timothy!

This is true especially when the leader was involved in the salvation process of the newer believer.

“I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭4:14-17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Paul here is encouraging the Corinthian church to understand that he loves them like a father. That they should live fully for God like he does!

You are a child of God! Live fully for Him!