Becoming A Star Out Of Your Scars

TITTLE: BECOMING A STAR OUT OF YOUR SCARS How to win despite your wounds

By HERTITAGE JAME ADDRESS: C/O Pastor Rotimi Adetayo Winners International 12 Dadeban loop, North Kaneshie, Accra, Ghana Tel +233-242-705703 Email [email protected]

My synopsis A man had a ghastly automobile accident where the auto was badly damage without repairs. But he came out unhurt. When he testified of it as a miraculous deliverance from God, I questioned the situation so intensely. ‘Why does he have to first of all suffer the accident before God can save him? Why didn’t God waive the accident before it came? Why do people have to look for a miraculous healing after being sick? Why not they stay safe from sickness? Why do people do have great testimonies after great disaster, crisis and catastrophe? Does God’s power become effective only when there is crisis? Can’t he act to avoid the disaster before it came? As my innocent mind continues to ruminate on these questions, a silent voice seems to response within me with another question; how can they proof the power of the creator without a trial? How can people know or be undoubtedly convinced that God is with them except when his power is manifested through a period of trouble? Those answers are what this book cry for. This book comes to set your mind on a part of possessing the right perspective about problems. Problems are one of our life’s teachers. It is in the period of crisis that a Christ is born. It is in the period of misery that a messiah is born. it is during a time of hitch that give birth heroes. Moses was born for a time like that; to conquer slavery crisis for the Israelites. Gideon was born for a time like that; to conquer the midianites, who afflicted his people. David came at a point as that to eliminate Goliath, who was the greatest problem of Israeli soldiers. Crises always become a birth point of Christs Obstacles always give birth to miracles. Pains can beget gains. Hurts can instruct. It is tough times that produce tough people. That is the cry of this timely book. It promises to educate you on having the right perspective on problems. The book will inspire you, elevate you, and instruct you. You cannot but get your copy and copies for your love ones.

Praises for the book Such a book as this is very welcome in this time where we need to master our life for better. Pastor Heritage James is very précised in explaining to us the very reason we suffer most of the things we suffer. For those who desire to maximize their life, this masterpiece become a must read for them.

Bishop Gregory Dan Faith life powerhouse chapel,

South Africa. Pastor James is my very covenant brother. We have prayed and ministered together before he traveled out of our city. He has proved in this book that God has given him a worthy and urgent necessary message for the church today. You will be elated and elevated as you encounter profound truths in this book. I think you need to make it available to those you adore. Evangelist Benjamin Smith Exxon Mobil Corporation Houston, Texas, U SA

When I first went through the manuscript, I was amazed at such an adept insight into the vital concepts of life that Pastor Heritage made available to us. I was touched, inspired, and instructed from the manuscript stage of this book to see problem as my friend. Please hurry up and write part two or a revise edition of this book, because it has hit the nail at the head. Bravo!!! Dr Eno Bob Torchbearers Bible school, Carpanwray house, London

Pastor heritage is a voice in this generation to quench the fiery darts of problems. He is the most articulate young man I have ever met. He can see facts in every fight, and decode news in every noise. He needs to he heard. The book is a must read for every modern day Christian. Pastor Joschamb Dan Eagle Base Foundation Int’l Kentucky, U SA.

The vital secrets contain in this master piece is for our better life most desired. Bravo! To pastor Heritage James for the courage to package this product for the Christian edification. Barrister clement Umoh, precious chambers, Uyo. The combination of thoughts in this book is very startling, inspiring, idea bound, and interesting. You need to read it. Pastor Samuel Owusu Faith Alive charismatic Church Accra, Ghana

It is my joy, and happiness to see this truth coming to us from such a vessel as this. Chief Inyang James Author’s father Eket, Nigeria

Dedication I dedicate this book to my compassionate sister and friend, IMA ZION MARTINS. My affection for you came to stay.

Acknowledgement. A vision that is well accomplished like mine cannot be without the involvement of others. I am indebted with a thousand thank you to the following: Pastor ROTIMI ADETAYO, my pastor and mentor who mentored me at the time I needed it most. My father, chief INYANG JAMES, for his courage and strictness on my education. My spiritual father, JUDE UMOH, for his patience on my questions when I was a young Christian. My covenant brother, Evangelist BENJAMIN SMITH, for his financial support and prayers. My friend, BILLS AKPADIAHA, for his jokes and humor while writing this book. My compassionate sister and friend, IMA MARTINS, for the courage I derive from knowing her. My dear bosom friend and sister VERONICA EDEM, for staying by me while editing this book. Lastly, my ministry partner, JOSCHAMB DAN, for letting me love writing.

INTRODUCTION A scar is a mark or traces of an earlier injury. It is a kind of a scratch mark that remains with you to remind you that you have had an unforgettable bad experience in the past that seems to be haunting you all about. It can be very traumatic and mind draining to look at your body and see the trace of an accident you wished had not happened. It could be very sad to look among your children and see a child born out of rape you wished had not taken place. What about looking at your handicapped situation and wished it has passed over you. We all wished something bad, traumatic, upsetting, distressful, disturbing, and painful had never happened to us. No one ever wants to have the memory of a horrific past. Every one wished a flood of an amassing ocean should flush off in a moment, the past that seems haunting. I think, this is the reason most people go into hiding when issues that remind them of their scars are being discussed. Is this true of you? Are you always trying had to run away from a traumatic experience that will never let you rest? Are you easily traced with an incident because of its mark on you? Do people look at you and say ‘that’s the child that was born out of that rape’? Do they easily remember the year an incident took place by the scar they see on you? Do you seem to weep when men talk about a thing that looks like No one has ever been like you nor will anyone ever be like you.

you were a victim? Is this a picture of you or your situation? This book has come to address this very important topic about your life. I have been burdened to write this book to let you know that despite the injury you must have had in the past that seems to suggest to you that you cannot amount to anything worth in life, this book will show you how you can be encouraged in the same circumstances and rise to the top of your career and become the best that the world had ever seen. You are the best of your kind that ever emerge on earth. You don’t have duplicates. You are the only you that ever exist here. No one has ever been like you nor will anyone ever be like you. You are unique in your very essence and person. This is the reason you should never allow any limitation in your body to keep you in lock and key. There is nothing you imagine to achieve that could ever be impossible to you though you may have any form of restrictions in your life right now. No matter the situation, you can be the best God had designed you to be. Your life was meant to be unrivalled. God himself said concerning you when he declared that he would “Make you the head and not the tail, and you only Will be above only and you will not be underneath.” (Duet. 28:13) This indicates that the top is where you belong. In other words, the top will never be filled until you reach there, because God specifically said you could be there. Never settle for a down life because that is never part of your destiny entitlements. No matter your scar, you can still be what God has ordain you to be.

Your scar may be a broken marriage, a rape case, a poor education, poor family background, a physical disability, one sickness that will not seems to go. Or perhaps your scar is a husband who is always drunk. Or a child, who will never live the street. Name the list. What ever your own may be, you can still rise out that to be a great man or woman the world will ever see. There should be no compromise on your part of a glorious position God had destined for you. You are not meant to live a low life. What ever you call your limitation is never an excuse to remove yourself from the great opportunity you have in God to get to the top of your dreams in life. You can be what you were meant to be.

He believed in his inner ability in order to overpower his outer disability.

YOU BELONG TO THE TOP I watched a video clip of a twenty seven year old pastor who has no hands and legs. I mean NO HANDS AND LEGS. But out of that apparent, and obvious disability, he has up to a master degree, built his own home and even pastor a thriving church in his community. He trained himself to do what every other human with hands and legs could do. I saw him swim in his swimming pool; answer a telephone call, and witnessed him preached a soul-refreshing sermon with such ego and optimistic faith. He had dreams to marry and raise his own children. He refuses to see himself as a non-entity in the society but took it upon himself to build and believe in his inner ability in order to overpower his outer disability. He had able men and women of substance who listened to his messages. He even believed he has an assignment from God to

disciple people for him. You do not have and excuse. The bible adds credence to the fact you can be anything despite your so-called limitation when he applauded heroes of faith as; “out of weakness were made strong”(Hebrews 12:34). You can be made strong from that weakness. The pastor I told you about rose to the top of his career, academics, ministry, social life, and even planning for marital life. As at the time I met him through his video clip, he was still full of dreams for life. He is never tired of living. Why have you expired your life because of a disability you think can never allow you to go forward? Why do you retire to doldrums just because you think you can never be of anything good for the society? This book has been written to give you the opportunity to rethink, and rationally look at the life of others who have similar bad experience, and a lot of them, like you have and still rise to the top of their career and profession. You too can do it. You belong to the top. Wake up to who you are!

YOU ARE A LIMIT’S BREAKER One time, the children of Israel were coming to inherit the land of Jericho. God had given the land to them by promise and instructed them to go and spy the land so as to prepare for possession. But when they went there, the land was fortified with great walls. Bible scholars tell us that the wall was so large such that a car can drive comfortably on it. In fact, it was on that wall that Rahab the harlot built her house. Such a magnificent, that it posted a threat to some of them and makes their dream of inheriting the land to look bleak. The wall was their limitation. It became an obstacle to them not to even have the opportunity to enter the land. With the wall, their dream of entering the land becomes a clear impossibility, let alone to possess it. They were at the very presence of their dreamland, but were hindered by a fortified security device of the Jericho people. No seeming way of any possibility of ever trying to break the world was available. Anyone who tries to break the world by any means might have done that not without hopelessness. But

in the face of those seeming huddles, God let them know that they are limits breakers. God let them believe that they can by his unlimited ability in them, pull down the wall and gain unlimited access into the land of Jericho. That happened exactly so. By divine instruction, they sang round the wall for seven days, and seven times the last day, and behold their limitation crumble before them. The great wall of Jericho had fallen. They have gone beyond their limits and have broken the status quo. Their limitations were no more. May be, right now in your life, you may be faced with such obvious limitation of any kind or form, which seems to continually suggest your inability to get pass it. With the example you have just read, I want you to note that you can overcome it, and with it become a star. This book will impart and impact you to become a star out of your scars. To become a general out of you injuries. To become a Christ out of your crises, and to become a messiah out of your miseries. You can turn your breakdown into a breakthrough. You can turn your wounds into winning. You can turn your dread ness into your greatness. You can turn your terror into fervor, and your life’s fears into success gear. All you need to do is to keep reading. You will never end until your limitation become your bread. This is your turn for a rising! You can turn your terror into fervor, and your life’s fears into success gear. YOU ARE A RESULT PRODUCER A life without results will only amount to insults. A life without a product is a problem. When you exist without proof, is like living in a house without roof. You see, it is only your results that will proof your method. That is the reason you need to rise out of your obscurity, take your place in stardom

and manifest your true self. The world is waiting for your product. Rise up to the challenge. You can make it! ATTITUDE IS FOUNDAMEMTAL This story will bless you. “There’s the story of two show salesmen, who were sent to an Island to sell shoes. The first salesman, upon arrival, was shocked to realize that no one wore shores. Immediately he sent a telegram to his home office in Chicago saying, “I will return home tomorrow. No one wears shoes here.” The second salesman was thrilled by the same realization. Immediately he also sent a telegram to his home office saying, “Please sent me more 10,000 shoes. Everyone here needs them.” Friends the difference between the two salesmen is attitude. The first salesman had a negative attitude towards the situation and environment, so he couldn’t see it as an opportunity. But the second salesman with the right and positive attitude saw it as an opportunity and he maximize it. John C. Maxwell says, “Adversity is prosperity to those who posses a great attitude.” And I add, Adversity causes many to break, but some to break record. Your future is save only when you have right attitude and positive approach toward your set goals today. This is what determines and dictate where you will stand tomorrow with the right attitude; you can convert your failure to a land – slide success.

Heritage James 2006

CHAPTER ONE

You are a born star

Where is he that is born king Of the Jews? For we have seen his Star in the east, and are come to Worship him (Matthew 2:2)

God is so very happy about you today. He is excited that you are living, progressing, advancing, and improving every day. He is glad about your character and integrity. He believes and applauds your effort that is applied in moving you to be what he has made you to be. You see, God does not have two opinions about you. Never! He has only one opinion about you. And that is that you are very good. The bible said ‘and God saw everything that he has made (including you) and behold, it was very good’

There could be no better summary of a creator’s work than this. You see, you should never allow your self to be threatened or devastated when men mistaken you for a misfit in the world. Because the do not know you. They may be limited in their view about you and may even say you will never amount to anything in life. You should never allow their view about you to hinder your advancement because when they do so, they are simply voicing out a contrary opinion of you as against God’s opinion of you. For the fact that God’ opinion about you is the final authority to decide your case, their opinion, who ever they are holds no water. When Eve, decided to accept an opposing opinion of herself, that she could not amount to anything except she eats of the fruit they were told never to eat, she transgressed, and ate with her husband, putting herself and the husband into a dilemma they never experienced before. When God came to them as usual, and called them, they answered from the background and said they were afraid because of their nakedness. God was surprised and asked rhetorically, ‘ who told you that you were naked? Have you…. (Genesis 3:1). In that startling question, God let them know that the opinion they held about themselves, which had led them into hiding from their very creator, was not from him. He asked them, ‘ who told you’ (Genesis 1:31).

meaning, that the opinion must have been from a source outside God. God affirmed by his question that he was not responsible for the negative view they held about themselves at that time. WHO TOLD YOU Your life is a working collection of information. Your decisions, steps, view and judgment about life are controlled by the knowledge you have learnt from different sources. In other words, you are the product of the information you gather all through life whether good or bad. Information is the factor that decides your life. The question is, the very information you hold so dear to yourself, if I may ask as God did, who told you? Where did you obtain the view you hold about yourself and situation from? Where? Who told you that you cannot be rich? Who told you that you cannot afford college fee? Who told you that you cannot be great? Who told you that there is no hope for you? Who told you that you are good for nothing? Who told you that you are a failure? Who told you that you would never make good grades? The question is who told you? God needs an answer to these questions that will change your life forever. Did your parent say you would never amount to anything? Or did your college teacher tell you that you are a dull head? Who have you allowed to become responsible for the poor self-image you hold about yourself? Is your progress hindered because someone once said you cannot make it in that area? Have you gone into hiding with your great gifts and talents just because someone said you are good for nothing? Are you right now in a doldrums just because you thing you disability will never give way for you? If so, don’t you think that you may be considering contrary opinions as against God’s opinion about yourself? Think about it.

THE RIGHT SOURCE OF KNOWLEGDE Information is the key to your freedom. When you are armed with the right knowledge in your mind, though you may have scars, you will shine as a star. Paul noted this when he told timothy; ‘but continue thou in the

things which thou hast learned, and has been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them (2 timothy 3:14). The source of knowledge is so very crucial to establish your dominion on earth. Paul added in verse fifteen that ‘ from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures which are able to make thee wise…’wisdom is the by-product of what is known. Wisdom bells you out of some dangerous situation that even great strength could not. Go for the right and quality information form the right source and your star will shine out soonest. YOU CAN COME TO LIMELIGHT God believes in your shining. He never hides a man or makes him a local champion. God wants you to be famous and very popular. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glory your father which is in heaven’ (Matthew

God is interested in your shining. Not to angels, but to men. You can arise out of any situation to be a bright shining star in your school, community, nation, and world. The season of your hiding has expired. Come out of your doldrums. This is your time. This is your season to awake out of the dungeon of limitations and rise to take your place in destiny. 5:16).

YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY ‘Let your light so shine’ (Matthew 5:16)

You have the duty to allow your light shine. God will never shine for you. You must grant permission to the light to shine. To ‘let’ means, to allow, permit, agree to, consent to, or accept. You must accept the picture God has shown in his word about you to prevail over the scar in your life. You must let it out. Just as a woman in labor is told to push the baby out no matter the pains, the same way you must push your baby of dreams, visions, and goals out no matter the pains. You must pay the price to take You must pay the price to take the prize. You must go the way to show the way. You must test the grape to share the grace

the prize. You must go the way to show the way. You must test the grape to share the grace. Don’t let laziness kill you. God say let your light shine.

YOU HAVE THE LIGHT ‘Let your light so shine You can never become anything with what is never yours. If you cannot own it in the word, you cannot own it in the world. You cannot rise with another’s light. It got to be your personal revelation before your experience elevation. Don’t die with your father’s knowledge when there could be your own discoveries. What worked for your father may never work for you. God said ‘let your light so shine’ not his light, but your own light. Your shining can never be possible without your own light. You cannot take your place on the top, until you possess your own light. Look this; ‘Arise and shine for your light has come (Isaiah 60:1) every up rising of a person is traceable to the emergence of his own light. Until you know what pave way for you, you may never become a star in this world. It is light that makes way for you not luck. And the light, which is not yours, cannot lighten your part. It is light that generates creativity. ‘And the lord said le there be light and there was light’ God could not make it in creation without his own light, so you cannot make it in your creation without your own light.

THERE MUST BE AN ATTRACTION You cannot shine and not attract the best to you. Take for instance, a halogen bulb that glows in your neighborhood. It cannot shine without attracting the insect to them. Every one desires where there is light. So as you shine in your corner, you will begin to attract light seekers. Some

of them will carry the treasure that you need. When the star of Jesus attracted the three wise men to him they opened their bags and gave him Gold, myrrh and frankincense. The things that will make your life add meaning is now in the purse of those who your light must attract to you. So start shining now. When you start shining, they must come; ‘the gentile come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising’ (Isaiah 60:3)

Even leaders of nations will not avoid but come to your light. ‘ And kings to the brightness of thy rising’. Men of authority will recognize your presence in the nation. Valuable men of great renown will flock in to you for instruction on how to lead their lives. You will never be hidden. You become a point of note. A point of reference and you become an illustration. Men will begin to find their solace in your wings of rising. The bible said; ‘the sun of righteousness shall arise with healings in his wings’. Your wing of rising will become a home for the homeless, comfort to the needy, and food to the hungry. The world is crying for solutions. And you are the solution. Give it out. Your wing of rising will become a home for the homeless, comfort to the needy, and food to the hungry.

DARKNESS CANNOT COVER YOUR SHINING The light shineth in darkness And the darkness comprehended it not (John I: 5)

There is a provision for you to shine unhindered. Darkness will never be able to overshadow you. When God releases his marvelous light to you, you will live a marvelous life on earth. Obscurity will no more have power over you. ‘Darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people, but the light of God shall

Your case is deferent. Every other person may suffer these things but not you. Why? Because, the light is in you. All your fears will crumble at the sight of this great light. It is your turn to shine. There is a place of dignity for you in life. Irrespective of your scars, you can be a star. So arise and shine. be seen upon the’.

CHAPTER TWO YOUR SCAR CANNOT STOP YOU And Zechariah said to the angel, Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man And my wife is well stricken in years (Luke 1:18)

Luke, in his effort to explain the gospel to theophilus, began his analogy with the story of a recognized priest of the Jewish people at the time of Herod’s kingship. His name is Zechariah. He was given a beautiful and straightforward profile begriming from verse five, and was interrupted with a seeming scar of his life. ‘There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zechariah, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in the commandments and ordinances of the lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years’

(Luke 1:5-8). What an interruption to a great profile as such. They were righteous, and very apparently obedient to all known instructions of God. They both were from the priestly lineage. They lived blameless lives before God. Someone will readily thing that such great and applauding testimony of a man will never be ended with such abrupt diversion from a positive to the negative. They have no child, because that Elizabeth was barren. To add more injury, they were both well stricken in years. They have passed menopause; the age of childbirth. That was their scar. This scar was so evident in their lives such that it becomes very easy for Zachariah to proof it to the Angel that his message may never materialize. After all, it is God who fixed the menopause. There could have some justification on Zechariah’s part to point the angel to a scar in their lives, which he believed would never allow child bearing to be possible or come true. The dream of ever having a child had gone off their memory. They were now preparing their minds toward leaving the earth after their assignments were completed. They were now very old and stricken in years. All evidences were available to readily announce to them that to think of having a child at that time will be very unreasonable and unjustifiable. It might have been very acceptable if the angel had brought them the news of their retirement. That will have been expected rather. Instead of giving them the news of entering into a venture they believed was impossible due to their scars of bareness. Zechariah wondered how possible they could have a child in the face of obvious disability. GOD RECOGNIZES YOUR SCAR

God knew that there is that limitation in the lives of Zechariah and his wife. It was not strange to him. He knew the were childless and that Elizabeth was barren. You see, God was not far from them. Because according to the angel, he said, ‘thy prayers is heard’, meaning they have been praying for it but it has remained without any seeming or visible change. God heard them and was part of their lives all the way. God

knows that you are black and will never had made you that way for lack. God recognizes your scar of a rape case you will never let go. You think that your life is rules by that incident in so doing has allow the small circumstance to now decide how you feel about yourself. You strongly believe you will never make because nono in your family made. You always doubt your ability to become someone useful because a particular sickness seems to eat up you life. What, for God sake made Zachariah to point to his scar to God? Did he think God was oblivion of it before he sent the angel? Had God not been part of their lives all the while? Who made their bodies? Who give people babies? Can he not reorganize his creature as he wills? Who own the very details of their lives? Doesn’t he have the right to fulfill his plan at his will? I want you to put yourself here. Should God tell you now at the age of a hundred and ten, that you can still beat that your scar and give birth to you first baby, will you believe? Should he tell you that your husband can still come though you are fifty now without one yet, will you agree with him? If he comes to you now with surprising news that you will become the head of your nation, won’t you say he is mistaken? Because, as far as you are concern, you are good for nothing? Never entered college? Never had some one to help? Should God tell you now that you would be great in life, will you refer him to what you see in your life and think it will never work? Hnn! If God were to visit you with the news that he want to use you for his glory, won’t you ask him to go next door? Because to you, the last abortion you committed has made you unqualified? Or the last sin you asked for forgiveness, never left your memory? To you does sin become superior to grace? Will you tell God to use your sister because you have had a divorce that makes you incompetent? Didn’t God know it before he came to you?

YOU WERE BORN A STAR BEFORE YOU HAD A SCAR Your life is never a coincidence of event, or a mistake. You were planned for in God’s agenda before you ever arrived here. Your life was decided before you

ever step your feet here on earth. God said ‘before I formed thee, I knew thee’ (Jeremiah 1:5) your true life predates your formation in the womb. You are a destined star from the beginning. You are not an accident. You are not unfortunate. You came in time and where you were meant to be. Your life is never a mistake. Your life is the outcome of God’s careful and deliberate arrangement. God was freely disposed, before he made you. He was never pummeled into it. The bible says, ‘of his own will begat he us by the word of truth’ (James 1:18) God was not under any form of compulsion or pressure to make you. He did it out of his free will. So you are not a mistake. You are not a product of your father’s blunder. God brought you here for a purpose. Stop rating your life by the affairs that goes on here. You existed before them. Jesus, went confronted by the Pharisees about his true identity, declared to the without mincing words; ‘before Abraham was, I am’. He knew his life was never a product of Mary and Joseph. He came from God and has his root in him. When you are not armed with this reality; you will allow what ever comes to you to decide what should happen around you. David had a perfect understanding of this truth so he declared, “I am wonderfully and fearfully made” (psalms 139:14). Nothing that happens here should be the reason you decide for your life. You should understand that your life was made unique before you ever began. You are a special germ. You are a rare breed. You are a distinctive personality of a special specie and kind. The only one of your brand that exists is you. You are a product with class and a unique breed. You are a distinguished specie. You fit into a matchless class. You are born to be a notable figure in this world. Don’t die hidden because, you are a prince of power and worth with God. ‘Ye are a chosen generation, a peculiar people…’(1 peter 2:9). You have the right to live, the right to have, and the right to do. There is no force on earth strong enough to stop you. Why? Because, your life does not depend on them. Your life has its source in God. ‘In him we live and move, and have our being’( acts 17:28). You are a working God. You are a God man. ‘I have said ye are Gods, all of you who are the children of the most high’ (psalms 82:6). You are a God, don’t live like a Dog. You are a superior being to the little challenges you face; don’t let them fix on your life for you. You should be the God to those circumstances. ‘ See I have made thee a God to pharaoh’ (Exodus 7:1). God is not trying to make

you a God. He had already made you so. So, don’t try to run away from who you really are. YOU ARE GOD’S PRODUCT (Isaiah 43:1) When we bought wristwatches in those days, and got spoilt by water, we become so upset about it until we discovered sometime later that the manufacturer had made a water resistance wrist watches, whereby no amount of water could spoil it. Your life was manufactured by God to be Failure will never make you a failure until you permit it. a problem resistant. You are meant to breakthrough all despite these seeming huddles. Nothing will be able to stop you, all your life. You are a bullet proof to all circumstances, because God made you so. You are a product of God’s ability and strength. Don’t be a run away. You are made up to the task. You are manufactured at the right time, for the right market, and to the right consumers. Your life is made a solution to others. You are a candidate for greatness! God had to let Zechariah understand that his scar of bareness and old age will never be able to stop them from having a baby. They were not to be afraid, because they will become over- comers. The good news is, they gave birth to a great man and a prophet, a forerunner of the messiah. The same bareness and old age that stared at their face and become a scar, which make it look impossible for them to have a child, became the very avenue whereby they give birth to a great man and prophet. John the Baptist, who was born out of the scar, became a notable figure in the history of the Israeli people and caused the names of Zechariah and Elizabeth to enter the greatest archive of life, the bible. They never believed they could bear seed due to the scar that was notable in their life, but it became the boulevard through which their

great son, John the Baptist, emerged. May, we will never have heard about Zechariah and Elizabeth, should they not have experienced bareness even up to old age. When John the Baptist, out of the sheer impossible situation, was born, it became a story and memorable event in the Jewish history. You too can make history, when out of your same scar; become what God had ordain you to be. Never give up. Though it may look unattainable, but something beautiful will come out of it. You cannot fail. There is no seed of failure in you. Your time of breakdown is point of sudden breakthrough. Failure in never final. When you fail, it is an opportunity to foster your success. The point of disappointment is never the finishing line. There is something more to the distress. Failure will never make you a failure until you permit it. Failure is not meant to end your progress but to enhance your. You cannot fail until you see failure as final. Until you hit your goal in life, there should be nothing to accept as the ultimate. NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP There will always be a time in your life whereby it will look as if the things people discourage you about are not forthcoming. Perhaps, You have displayed your faith over a matter and have told them that you will succeed on it. But to your very amazement, the very issue becomes what looks like it will never work. And when you consider your detractors, you may become discouraged and want to quit. But I want to let you understand that, it is at that point that you should hold on to it. It is at that moment you should hang on till something break out in your favour. Don’t ever think of quitting. Don’t ever dream of giving up. Don’t ever consider retirement. Don’t ever accept failure as the final score. There is a seed of success in you. Release it. You see, if you fail in the first quarter of the year, you may succeed in the second quarter. Or, the third quarter. So don’t stop at the first quarter and conclude on failure.

YOUR SCAR MAY JUST BE YOUR ONLY QUALIFICATION

One day, I was selecting cloths in my boutique for display to the customers. I came across one particular dress that never look nice at all. The pattern of sowing was never attractive. I hated it and decided to dump it. But, my sales lady told me to live it there for a while. I was surprise to come back to the shop and was told that someone saw the dress and couldn’t pass until he bought it. According to her, the person who bought the dress said he bought it because of how it was sown. To me, the way it was sown was a scar, but to him the way it was sown become a star. The scar I saw in the cloth becomes a star in the eye of the owner. They always say, “ Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”. What I saw as a mistake become what another person saw as a miracle. Do you know that a torn in a cloth make it qualified for a cleaning cloth? Do you know that broken cans become a qualification for it to be used as a seal? I have seen the things we call junks in my community becomes the most expensive food in another nation. Or don’t you think it’s when fresh green leaves decompose and look useless that it’s qualified for manure? Think about it, may be, your very scar, which look like a limitation, is actually your qualification of that needed breakthrough. Your unemployment may be your qualification for a better employment. Your exit may just be an approval for your entry. Your minus in one way may become a plus in another area. If literature in English becomes useless to a physicist, it will become useful to a lawyer or journalist. A man who scored A grade in literature may be rejected for a course in medicine, but will become a hot cake for a course in linguistic. What make you look not fitted for a marital partner to Mr. A can just be the look out of Mr. B. May be, Mr. A look at your lack of education as a scar, but Mr. B can see it as a qualification for him to marry you. So why worry. The very things that men see as nothing is what become useful things to others. The key that cannot open door A, can be the very one that flings door B open. So it may be very useless to give that key to the owner of door A, but very useful to give it to the owner of door B. the bible says, ‘ God had chosen the weak things of this world to confound the wise’ ( 1 Corinthian 1: 17). It also said in another place,

‘the stone which the builders refuse has become the head of the corner’ (psalms 118:22) When the Angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her God’s message of being the mother to the expected messiah, she questioned the possibility with the thing in her life she saw as a limitation. ‘How shall this thing be? Seeing I no not a man’ ( Luke 1:34). To her, her chastity or virginity was a limitation, but to God, it was the very qualification that made her womb suitable to carry the sinless seed of the Christ. The messiah was not to be conceived in a womb that has received a man’s sperm before, so for she not to have known a man was the very condition that made her qualified for the mother of the greatest man that ever lived and will ever live. Though she saw it as a limitation, the angel saw it as a qualification. Today, Mary’s name goes anywhere the gospel of salvation goes. That scar in your life may be the door to your prosperity. Even dead, as horrible as it is, has become the source of breakthrough to the casket maker. What people criticize in you can just be what others see as a criterion in you. YOUR SCAR CAN BE YOUR ADDED VALUE There is a powerful statement I head while growing up. It says, ‘ every mistake in London, is a style in Africa’. I do not know who propounded it. But I see wisdom in it. Today’s world is a fast growing world. We are living in a time where geniuses are multiplying, where creativity is abounding such that nothing, virtually nothing becomes useless. This is a time where, to fail is actually seen as added advantage. It is a time where creativity has turned junks to usable goods. This is the time when what look like your minus can actually become a plus for you. You can turn your zero to zenith. This is the time.

This is the time when what look like your minus can actually become a plus for you

CHAPTER THREE FROM ZERO TO ZENITH Look unto Abraham your father, And Sarah that Bare you: for I Called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him (Isaiah 51:2)

The story of papa Abraham, one of our Patriarchs of faith, is such a remarkable account that is worthy of note, especially when a topic like that of this book is considered. It is the story of a man who moved from a life of nothing to a life of something. It is an account of a man who came from the back door to the front page of destiny. He moved from nothing to prominence. A life full of several scars that could be considered impossible for prominence, but rose from an ordinary Chaldeans, to an extra ordinary, strong and prosperous nations of both Jews and Arabs. His greatness became evidenced by the involvement of God in his life, though he had scars, as we will consider. He was so prosperous and great such that the bible born record of his lucrative ventures and businesses. He was a cattle rearer, a gold miner, and even a silver miner. ‘And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold’ (Genesis 13:2). You know what it means for a man to be rich in silver and gold. It means, he had them as resources he traded for money. You know how many nations today scramble for gold. That is how your father Abraham was a sought after to supply gold and silver to the merchants who needed them. But it

never started overnight. He had to overcome many huddles, limitation, weaknesses, and opposition to rise to the place of dignity that he occupied till he died. He never became the father of faith, and the friend of God he is today suddenly. He passed through several tests, trials, and temptation to become the hero of faith we adore today.

YOU MEAN PAPA ABRAHAM HAD SCARS? It is always very difficult to understand the story of a man when it’s just given in a summary. Perhaps, he has rose to a notable position and is honoured with awards of excellence and so on and so forth. The glory may be so glittering that if care is not taken, none will take into account the story of that man. You see, there will always be a process before the product. There must be a story, before the glory. No one rises to the top without a few wounds on his way. So Abraham, had several scars that could have stop him, but out of those scars, he rose to become the millions of the stars that shined and is still shining today. He had to suffer the effect of Sarah’s bareness for years. He was also attacked by old age such that it will seems impossible for him and Sarah to bare children. But out of these situations came up victoriously and today his name is ringing bell on all nations of the world. The two major religions of the world, Islam and Christianity still see him as a father and a role model. But he had scars. He was weak on several occasions. He even thought it impossible to have a child on several occasion. He had fears. He had doubts. You that think that the whole world is against you, do you ever consider what Abraham had to passed through to be crowned the father of faith? Mostly, the reason we killed our life prematurely is simply that we do not consider that the things we pass through is just a phase of life. Life is of phases, men are of sizes. You will always come across a phase of life that will expose your scars.

YOU MUST OVERULE YOUR HANDICAP Roger Crawford was born with a condition called ectrodactylism. When he emerged from the mother’s womb, the doctors saw that he had a thumblike projection extending out of his right forearm, and a thumb and finger growing out of his left forearm. He had no palms. His legs and arms were shortened. And his left legs possessed a shrunken foot with only three toes. The foot was amputated when he was five years old. Several qualified medical professionals and personnel told Rogers parent that he will never be able to walk, probably will never be able to take care of himself, and will never lead a normal life. After recovering from the shock, Roger’s parents were determined to give him the best opportunity possible to live a normal life. They raised him to feel loved, to be strong, and to develop independence. ”You are as handicap as you want to be,” his father always told him. Never considering his scar as a limitation. When he was old enough, they sent him to regular public schools. They involved him is sports. They encouraged him to do everything his heart ever desired. And they thought him to think positively. One time, Roger said, “ something my parent never deed was to allow me to feel sorry for myself, or to take advantage of people because of my handicap.’ YOU CAN DO IT Roger appreciated the encouragement and training he received from his parents, but I don’t think he really understood the significant or the extend of his achievements until he was in college and he interacted with someone who wanted to meet him. He had received phone call from a man who had heard about his tennis victories, and Roger agreed to meet him at a nearby restaurant. When he stood up to shake hand with the man, he discovered that the other man had hands that were similar to his. He was excited to find someone older with his similar case only to observe later that the man was the opposite. There may be a possibility that the scars you have in your life is nothing near that of Roger, but you saw that out of them, with a positive mental attitude instilled into

him by his parents, he rose to be a tennis legend. Though he had scars, he never allowed it to post any limitation on his way to living a normal life God has destined him to live. You see, you will only become handicap to the level your mind can handle it. I believe that real limitations are created in the mind and not in the body. Handicap can only disable you if you let them. So failure is more of inside that outside. That is the reason I always say, don’t ever let what grows around you to grow within.

LET GO THE PAST There could never be completion to the explanation on dealing with your scars without torching the past. Because, scars are actually the mark of memory to a wound gotten in the past. Yesterday has a way of affecting the present if it is never properly handled. The level to which a man will become a star out of his scars is traceable to his ability to put the past in proper perspective.

DON’T LET IT BE A BREAKDOWN, BREAKTHROUGH IT The problems of people’s past can impact them in two ways; it is either a breakdown or a breakthrough. The reasons below can account for people holding to past difficulties. • Comparison: when you see people begin to complain of how much harder they have had it over so, and so, you should not that he is allowing the past hold him back. Comparison is the worse form of effectiveness measure. It is no wisdom to live in comparison. “They that compare themselves among themselves are not wise.” Wisdom demands that your effectiveness should be a personal thing not a relational thing. For the fact that Mr. A fails in a venture does not necessarily means you will fail in the same thing, and vise versa. • Rationalization: you cannot get better from excuses, no matter how genuine they may appear to be. For people to think that there is no reason they believe something good can come to them due to

their past bad experience, is a clue that they have allowed the past to hold them down. No mater how had you tried, excuses will never move you forward. • Isolation: it is obvious that majority of people tend to withdraw to the back door when the ugly past trap them. Their past hurts make them retrace their step with the presumption of self protection and carefulness. It even very worse when reasonable outgoing people isolate themselves because of past hurts. They become more especially miserable and depressed. • Regret: a very notable hindrance to living life to the fullest in the present time is the evil of regret. The poison of regret can sap all your positive energy and put you in a state of no ability to take positive actions. We all have some kind of regret. Regret for any reason is the enemy of success. • Bitterness: if you keep keeping and hipping the load of past pain and hurt, you will tend to get into bitterness. Don’t be a prisoner of the past. You don’t need to remain victim of the past. Don’t let your past hold you hostage. The truth is, there are people who have had it better than you but did poorly. And there are people who have had it worse than you and did very apparently well. The circumstances you find your self should not be the reason you shouldn’t get over your past history. Your scars can make you bitter or better, the choice is yours.

HOW DO YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR SCARS I want you to consider the following points: #1 You may think your scar is a limitation- it’s not If you have had an injury in your life from past hurts, it will be selfdemeaning to think that; you are limited in life through that. Nothing actually stops you in life except you. You can only be handicapped in life

to the degree you accept. Your scar can never be a limitation to you if you don’t allow it. There is no limit against you. #2 you think that your scar is a demotion-it’s not Supposing you are a cripple now, you may consider it to be a decrease in status, but it is not. Why? You should note that a man is only what his mind is, not what is body is. When your mind is disfigured, your life is actually disfigured. But when your mind is sound, though you may be cripple on your feet, you can see it as a promotion to life. You can work on your two feet if your mind in correct. #3 you think your scar is a stigma- it’s not If you believe that your scar is an object of ridicule, change your thinking. You should not allow shame to fill your mind. You see, there is nothing in your life except it exists in your mind. Your mind should be your factory where you create what you want. But adversely, your mind can still create negative experience. This is because it has a multi dimensional effect. It can function positively, if you put it in the right tract. And it can operate negative, if you allow it to divert downward. Don’t let your scar make you have inferiority complex about your personality. #4 you think your scar is an enemy-it’s not In my second book, ‘problems are friends not enemies’, I tried to let people understand that problems are actually for your promotion not demotion. You scar can never your enemy, if you don’t see it so. Your scar is a source of promotion. For instance, in Nollywood (Nigerian movie industry) there are two men who are les than three quarter in height. These men have through this height qualified to become notable comedian in the industries. They refuse to see their abnormal statuses, as an enemy, but are very fulfilled being notable actors in the industries. They have shake hands with presidents and Chief executives of companies.

#5 you think your scar is oblivion- it’s not You may consider your scar to be the worse form of rejection that could ever happen to any man. It may appear to you as God had rejected you. And that no one loves you to identify with your ordeal. You see, God had not rejected you. He loves you. Gideon thought so, when he believed that the midianite’s torture over them was a result of God’s rejecting them. But it’s not. God is never going to do what you are supposed to do for you. #6 you think that your scar is aloof-it’s not There should not be time you are tempted to believe that the things you pass through is just in your world alone. There is a story of a man who thought he had more problems than any other living person. So he always acclaimed, ‘why me! Why me? So one day, he decided to take the only banana he had, get to the nearby bush, eat it then commit suicide. When he finished eating the banana and dropped the peel down, before he approached the suicide rope, he saw another man rushed at the peel he dropped, ate it up, and began to give glory to God. The man was humbled, and reasoned that, if the man who ate the peel is being grateful to God, it’s not worth him dying. He came down from the tree and went home with a changed mentality. Why think that you are the only unfortunate person on earth. May be you are from a poor family background, don’t you think others are too? Yet still succeed? May be you have a physical disability. Don’t you think others have too? Yet still move forward with their life normally? #7 you think that your scar is permanent-it’s not That limitation can never be permanent beyond when you accept it. If you are barren, you can give birth. If you are crippled, you can walk with your two feet. If you are divorced, you can move on with your life and get the best. What ever your scar may be, it is still possible to be free

from it forever. It is you that let looks permanent. It can go. Get rid of the defeat mentality and rise out of the box today. You can come of it. You can! You have the inhibitive power to come out of it today. BETTER OR BITTER? Everything you passed through in life that had left a mark in your life should not live you bitter. Don’t allow your situation to lessen you but to be a lesson to you. Become better everyday though you have scars. Joseph through the hatred of his brothers was sold to slavery and later was sent to prison, lost all childhood care through these incidents. He lost parental care. He lost brotherly love. And was throne into an alien country where he had no one to care for him. In his prison, he never allows the scar of being a convict to make him become bitter. He loved people, and care about how they feel each day. This attitude helped him to network with a man who will later take him out of the prison to the very presence of pharaoh. He rightly interpreted the man’s dream and later was remembered for that. Bishop David Oyedepo once asserted. “ Joseph was the most happiest slave who ever lived.” When Joseph was later reconnected to his brothers, he never grew bitter because of what they did to him, but he become better in relating with them and become their saviour from hunger that was destined. Don’t let your scar make you become bitter. But let it make you better.

EXCELLING, OR EXCUSING? Many people will chose to live short of their full potentials because of a physical disability, emotional hurts, mental limitation, or social incompetence they may have. They excuse themselves from reaching the top because to them, there is no way they could make it. Instead of going forward with their life, they reason out how impossible it is for them to have what they want. You see, excellence is a key word to life. It is never a respect of class or condition. It response to principles. You

must excel with your life even in the face of obvious odds. It is better to die in front than to live at the back. It is better to die on top than to live at the bottom

MOVE YOUR LIFE FORWARD There were two lepers in 2 kings 7:3, their scar was leprosy, which could never allow them to stay where others stayed. They said to themselves, ‘Why sit we here till we die?” out of the self-improvement question, they decide to go forward in their lives. That decision led them to causing abundance for the people of Samaria, the same day. “ Ye have compass on this mountain long enough:” (Duet. 2:3) God protested. And when on to instruct in the later part of the verse, “ turn you northward” meaning, go forward. Your life is a bundle of success. Don’t die at the bottom. A life spent in making mistake while moving is still better than a life spent in doing nothing. Always be in performance about your destiny. Get busy and forget about your scars. Faith is not just believing God but much more behaving God. It is your performance that determines your importance. The watchword is, move on. Nothing is always against a moving force.

AVOID THE FOLLOWING Self-pity; don’t ever feel sorry for your limitation and believe they are the reason you don’t progress. Don’t. Excuse; never allowed your scar to disfigure your sense of judgment thereby making you live in the country of excuses. The bible declares, “thou art inexcusable oh man” (Romance 2:2). Faith is not just believing God, but much more behaving God

Excuses are the real enemy of your progress. They give you false hope and satisfaction. The make you satisfied, and complacent in an average and mediocre life. Despair; never you allow your scar to put you in a situation where you become hopeless. The setting of a great hope is like the Setting of the sun. The brightness of your life is gone when this happens.

Your performance determines your importance

CHAPTER FOUR FROM JAIL TO REIGN

Then pharaoh sent and called Joseph, And they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: And shaved himself, and change his raiment, And came in unto pharaoh (Genesis 41:14)

Jacob’s other wives were apparently fruitful in child bearing. They delivered children at will and at every mating. But the case was

different for Rachel, Jacob’s best and lovely wife. Rachel was the very wife that moved Jacob to labored for fourteen years for Laban, his uncle. But here Rachel never had any baby of her own. She wailed, complaint, cried, prayed, and said to her husband, “ give me children, or else I die” (Genesis 30:1). When her cries for a baby continue to intensify, God visited her, and she conceived and gave birth to her first born. Joseph. My story here will center on Joseph. The boy grew up very normally and became daddy’s pet. “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours” (Genesis 37:3). I think Joseph came at the right time where he could draw the love of his father’s heart. A DREAM CAN MAKE A GREAT DIFFERENCE As Joseph advanced in years, he began to experience a torch of mental alertness. He began to understand some spiritual occurrences. Then he got a dream for life. His brothers were merely satisfied with what goes. They were contented with the status quo. They were pleased with leading just a normal and ordinary life. But not so with Joseph. He hated the ordinary life. He was never satisfied with the run of the mill life. He needed something unusual to happen to him. He craved greatness with a passion. He did not allow what the mediocre did to win his love. He noticed and reported injustice. “And Joseph brought unto his father their evil report” (Genesis 37:2). He loved justice such that he never meddled with negativities. So he had a dream. A DREAM TO BE THE HEAD One of the reason God’s people suffer a lot is due to their low mentality. They think so small that the only succeed to lead small lives. They believe in going to small schools, get small job, marry a small wife, build a small house, drive a small car, have small children, live a small life. They are in a small world. No stretch for the unusual. To them, as it was, so let it be forever, amen. Such a small life to live! That was the same situation with Joseph’s brothers. What a pity! But Joseph had a dream

of greatness. He stretched his mind to reach God’s best for him. He believed he could be a leader. He could be a source of liberation to many generations. To him, being small will mean dying before his dream could come true. Therefore he open up his mind to see the invisible and dreamt the impossible. BUT HE IS ALMOST THE LAST BORN Though Joseph position in the family was almost the last, he never saw it as a scar to hinder him from going forward. Some would have thought, “ I’m just the last born anyway, let me take it cool.” Not Joseph. He never had an example in his family to steer him, but he chose to become the pace setter to his entire family for a beyond the ordinary life. No possible example in his. No support from brothers or parents. The father who loved him even questioned him with caution, “ what is this dream that thou has dreamed? Shall I and thy mother, and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?” (Genesis 37:12). The whole family was in upheaval, because a just last-born is trying to think beyond his reach. “ You are too small to think that way.” They rebuked him. “Are you trying to lord it over us?” they questioned hysterically. IT GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH AGE Joseph discovered what his brothers where ignorant of. That is, he knew early enough that greatness was never of age but of the mind. He knew that he could be greater than all, if he dream so, think so, and believe so. So he expanded his mind beyond the average. He believed that it would never be as convenience but as commanded. While his brother where busy deliberating, quarrelling, in disputing, and arguing on who should be the leader, Joseph was busy dreaming his way to it. So they became uncomfortable with him. His greatness mentality could not fit in with their smallness reasoning. The scar of being the last born was their main bone of contention, but his disregard to his scar become his strength of character. They saw him as not match for that position,

because he was the last born, but he saw himself as a perfect match because it was his dream. Age does not matter here. Most of the time, you will stop yourself from your great future because you think you are unfit for it. You see, there is no age in the realm of the spirit. We only have ranks there. And as you know, rank has nothing to do with age. In other words, a thirty years old man can be a general while a forty-five years old man is his bodyguard. That has no regard to age. A king could be younger than his subordinates. So, why the much ado about age? Men, it got nothing to with age.

WHAT A PROSPEROUS SLAVE As though Joseph age was not enough scar to think possible to hinder him, his brothers added more scar to it by turning a free born, beloved of his father, into a sudden slave to the Arabians. He became a slave to Potipher. A slave? What bad image could be than such to a young growing lad who had a dream of greatness? What scar could be more to this for a dreamer to suddenly saw himself becoming a slave? But Joseph never thought it so. He saw it as an opportunity to proof his leadership potentials. He work had such that his master handed everything to his care. There were other servants that he met there, but his dream of greatness moved him higher than them. Sooner he became the master for his master. And the bible had this summary, “ and his master saw that the lord was with him, and that the lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand… and he made him overseer over all his house, and all the he had he put into his hands.” What an honor to a slave. Though he was a slave, which was not the ground for him to blame life. And cursed destiny, but he joyously accept his present status and hold vigorously to his dreams, labored with excellence. And it became evidenced to his master, who handed all he had to his care. Joseph took over because he had a take over mentality. He became the leader because he served as one that worth it. How can you pare prosperity with slavery? What match do they have with each other? But, yet he prospered as a slave.

You see, there is no need for you to carry long face. And become older than your age because you think your scar is more than any other. This story can be an encouragement to you. Such that despite the scar of slavery, Joseph made it as a leader in potipher’s house. You too can make it. Don’t you think so? IS THERE ANY REASON FOR BEING IN PRISON? As though the scar of slavery was not enough, his master’s wife, moved with lust conspired against Joseph. Here he is throne by his master into prison. He has no reason on earth to be there. Was he guilty? A capital no. Did he do it? A capital no. Why then on earth will he ever get into prison for what he never committed? No answer to it. You see, Joseph never gave up his dream of greatness. Here he is in the prison. He began his service again. Here is another oxymoron, where a prisoner becomes a leader. Sooner, Joseph skills surfaced in the prison such that the keeper of the prison committed every thing again to him. Even in prison, he loved people, and care about how people felt. He observed people countenance and seek for way he could be of help to them. You see; when you see people, who are really great, try to ask questions. I heard a story of a great man whom when a young man came to him and asked that he should put his hands on him to transfer his greatness to him. The great man put his hands and declared, “ Let all the troubles I face come to you now.” The young man was afraid and asked “why such a prayer?” Then the old man told him that it is not to his good to envy his place but to labor to get there. Your scar will never be more than Joseph’s own. Hated by his brothers, and even cautioned by his father, throne into a pit, sold into slavery, and now throne into prison. Such a catalogue of scars could be enough for him to have given up and said, “it’s not worth it any more, I’ll blow the racket” never! He held to his dream of greatness. You can still make to your dreams. So keep your dreams. No matter what you are passing through right now, just keep your dreams. For sooner or later, they will materialize.

IS IT JUST A THEORY? OR CAN IT WORK? You see, the story of Joseph is never an assumption, or an imaginary story. It is not a fiction. It is never any form of literature or creative writing. It is a factual, practical, real story of a man. Joseph really existed on earth here. May you think it happened in heaven or somewhere in the paradise. He was here as Others went, and won despite their so many scars; you too can go, and win despite your so many wounds.

You are. So tighten your seat belt. There is an example to follow. Cheer up. Your are not alone in this battle. Others went and won despite their so many scars; you too can win despite your so many wounds. NOW, HERE IS YOUR THRONE Joseph had overcome all the huddles and was removed from prison to the present of pharaoh. He is given the throne of Egypt to rule as the second in command. His leadership dream has seen the light or is on the way. You too can make it. Never give up. Joseph was asked to take over again, but now a much larger estate, the entire Egyptian empire. No more hatred. Potipher and his dear wife were now under Joseph. Joseph could now order that he be throne into prison too. What a true reality of becoming a star out many scars. Joseph did.

CHAPTER FIVE FROM ORPHANAGE TO PERSONAGE

And the king loved Esther above all the women And she obtained grace and favour in his sight More than all the virgins, so that he set the royal Crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti (Esther 2:17)

There is a VIP nature in you. You may not immediately see it, but out of your seeming scars, you can become a celebrity in life. You can become an important personality that your opinion will keep people waiting for your present. You can move from nobody to somebody. You can advance from bottom to top. The story of Esther, an orphan Jew in a strange land will show you an example to tie your faith to. Esther was a Jew who when Mordecai was carried captive in the days of Nebuchadneza, took her along, because she had no father and mother. Esther had two scars that could have been enough to stop her in life. She was an orphan, and also a foreigner in a strange land. You can agree with me that an alien in a foreign land does not have equal right with the citizens of that land. He or she will never be able to have the same opportunities that the citizen have. The kind of job he does will be far below what a citizen is allowed to do. He can never rise to the position of authority easily in that land. This was the case with Esther. Her orphanage status was not enough; she also was a stranger in the mist of strange people. Mordecai took up Esther when her mother and father died. But the same Esther out of the scar of orphanage became a

celebrity, the queen of the entire hundred and twenty-seven states of Persian kingdom. THE NECESSARY MISTAKE Your position in life is not vacant. Some one is sited there now. There is no vacant place in life. Especially a worthy place will never be vacant. All you need is to meet up the requirement above the present occupant and it will be handed to you. The queen Vashti of Shusan palace, the wife of king Ahasuerus made a mistake of refusing to honor the king’s invitation to appear before him in royal apparels to display her beauty to the entire kingdom. “He commanded…to bring Vashti the queen before the king with a crown royal, to shew the people and the princess her beauty: for she was fair to look upon. But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command by his chamberlains therefore was the king very wroth and his anger burn in him” (Esther 1:10-12). The queen refusal to appear at the king’s command was the necessary mistake she made which was an open door for an orphan Esther to become the next queen. When God is about to favor you, he causes the unbeliever that is occupying your place in life to make a fatal error that will make you the only person to correct the error and take over. According the story, the king became angry with Vashti the queen and sought a new queen to replace her. So the virgins were to be paraded before the king so he could chose the one that is more beautiful enough to occupy the queen Vashti’s position as the next queen. Esther originally did not qualify to contest, because she was not a citizen, which was the reason Mordecai had to hide her identity. “ Esther had not shewed her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not shew it” (Esther 2:10) if she was told to hide the identity, it means it would have stop her. But she was loved by the king and was chosen to replace Vashti as the next queen at the shusan palace. Esther rose from orphanage to personage. She became the first lady over night. You may admire some position in life now, and dream you could be there. But you may also disqualify yourself because you think, that you can never make it to such position with your

present evident scar. I want you to understand that you can rise to any position in life you dream to, only if you can dream it. Now what are the principles that Esther displayed that took her from orphanage to personage. # 1 she was open to opportunity

Most of us have closed our destiny because of how we think. We think that we are no fit to live that is the reason our eyes are continually closed to the opportunity that abounds on earth. Opportunity is greeting us every second of the day, but we cannot see it because we believe it cannot be us. Esther never locked herself out of the way by not being open to opportunity the presents itself. She was ready at any time to grab any given opportunity. My friend once said that

‘Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dancing floor” that means, opportunity only responses to them the are ready for it. Every handshake is an opportunity. Every mistake is an opportunity. Don’t be pessimistic. Open up yourself to opportunity and your life will rise from nowhere to somewhere. #2 she tried despite her scar Esther never thought because she was an orphans and a stranger, she was not qualified to try, it is only trial that does not require credentials. Though she had scars, she never allowed them to stop her from trying. She believed she could make it despite her scars, so she tried. You need to get out of your bed of complacency and get on the street to try. Try the governorship. You could win. Try the examination, you could pass. Try the lady, she could say yes to you. Try the business, you could succeed. Esther risked it all and took it all. You too can do it. #3 Esther was sensitive to her turn in life Life is turn by turn. When your turn comes, everything turns out for your good. The bible said, “ and when her turn came” she was very sensitive to the right timing for her breakthrough. I always wonder how a young lady will say to her suitor, “let me seek the face of God about it” or let me wait on the lord about it” and forget that the lord must have

passed while she is waiting. You must be sensitive to your turn in life. And everything will turn for you. Or towards you. #4 Esther stood where the seeker seeks Favour in life is all about sight seeing. It is who sees you that favor you. Most time, you hide from opportunity because you think you are not qualified. Little do you know that you very scar may be the source of your qualification. Stand where the seeker seeks. Esther never went to her bed room and practiced how to be a queen, she went right to the interview room. You have been complaining that you have no job, yet you wake up ten o’clock every morning. That is not the posture of someone looking for a job. You complain you are not yet married; yet you cannot cook a pot of soup. How could you be married? All I mean here is be a wife, if you want to be married. Be a diligent person if you want to succeed. Be on the street looking for job if you desire one. Get out of your comfort zone. Mostly, we mist it because we think comfort and luxury is all we need to enjoy life. You need some opposite to get what you want in life. So go out. YOU CAN GO FAR DESPITE YOUR SCARS There is a purpose behind your scar. Most of the time, God uses circumstances to develop you. In fact you go far more through your scars than any other means. Jesus noted that you would experience negativity in the world. So you are not immune to the scar you may have. No one is immune to pain or trauma. No one is insulated from one kid of suffering or the other. You can never get through life problem-free. Basically, life is a series of problems. Whenever you solve one, another shows up. Not all scars are big, but all are important to take you far.

SOMEONE ELSE MADE IT; YOU TOO CAN You would appreciate the story I’m about to relate. It’s about the man called Harry Moore. Harry was a one-time U.S. senator and four terms a governor of New Jersey. He broke the world record. Read how he began. Harry lived with his widowed mother in Jersey in three rooms in a run down neighborhood. They were very poor people but clean, decent, and church going. One day after school Harry came disconsolately into the kitchen, which doubled as a living room, sailed his cap on to a hat rack in corner, and sprawled in to a chair. His mother was stirring something that was cooking on the cool stove. ‘Mama’, he said, ‘I sometimes have strange feelings. They’re funny. I get them everyone in a while.’ ‘What kind of feelings, son?’ the mom asked ‘Oh, I don’t know, but its like something inside of me keeps saying I’m somebody or can be somebody great. I just don’t know what it all means.’ ‘I do, Harry. I know exactly what it means. God is preparing you to be a great man sometime’. This simple woman had never heard of THE POWER-MIND in people, but she had enough sensitivity to know when it was stirring in the boy’s soul. ‘But mama, I can never amount to anything. We just don’t have money or someone willing to help. We are so poor and we have no pull or anything. Only the rich and famous can get to the top’. Harry lamented. Mama stopped and pointed the dripping ladle at him, drops falling unheeded to the floor. ‘Listen to me. Don’t ever let me hear you talk like that again. All you need is just two things-God and gumption.’ Gumption is an old-fashioned word meaning common sense to some people but to me, it means POWER MIND. It’s still a mighty good expression. Years later when Harry Moore was serving one of his three terms as governor, he was making a speech about America and it’s opportunity. He was a terrific speaker, with know-how and enthusiasm.

Afterward a young fellow came up and said, ‘Guv, I don’t buy that stuff you were handing out. You know as well as I do that unless you’ve got money and pull and connections you can’t get anywhere in this capitalist society. That’s why I’ve decided to join the Communists. They have a program for the poor people’. When you activate your power mind, exciting things begin happening. From then on you are very likely to become different

‘Guess you don’t know who you’re talking to and where this man talking to you comes from.’ answered the governor. ‘I talked just that way to my mother when I was a kid, all accept that communist bit. I never was that dumb, poor as we were’. He told about the God and gumption advice. Okay, so, what is your goal? The boy had one.’ want to be the best surgeon in this state’. ‘Great,’ said Governor Harry. ‘What you can conceive you can achieve. Go with God and gumption’. A few years later Governor Harry Moore gave the commencement talk at a large university on his usual theme, ‘ YOU CAN BE WHAT YOU WANT TO BE’. After the ceremony a graduate wearing the green hood of a new doctor of medicine came up and said, ‘Hello, Guy. Remember me? Thanks to you I made it. That God and gumption bit did it.’ The governor commented, ‘Get a person to activate his power mind and all the other necessary qualities for success are activated. Things like a goal, persistence, and ability to work hard, determination to study. Etc. ‘Then’, he said, ‘you know something? God the creator put an extra something in to all of us. Some people let that something special atrophy. But when the power mind gets to working, that extra quality develops and grows’. How right he was! He didn’t name that extra quality to which he referred, but what he was talking about was clearly THE POWE-MIND. The most unlikely person may have a huge power inside of him. DON’T PLACE LIMITS ON YOURSELF

You can place limit on God’s power within you and cap off your latent power from producing by doing the following; 1. When you feel unworthy Some time, when you look at your circumstances, you will be tempted to decline your thought and begin to have a sense of self-depreciation. Some time you hear people say such things as, “I’m not important, I’m not good; I don’t have the right qualification to get things done, I don’t have the qualification to do anything worthwhile, my life may never amount to anything good.” When you hear that, know that low selfesteem had set in. we all feel this way some times in our lives. But your future will really suffer if you begin to act like a worthless nobody. Even if you have failed before is no guarantee that you will fail again. Don’t allow negative thinking, and talking to rule your life today. If you believe you are worthless, that’s the same as saying that God made you a junk, and he is not sure of what he makes. 2. When you believe the worst Whenever there is a wrong information in the air, people become afraid and loss confidence in themselves. For instance, if you here that there in a recession in the economy of your nation, you believe the worse and quit buying, become afraid of loosing your job. When president Richard Nixon was asked, “ What is recession?” he answered; “ a recession is when people loss confidence in them, the future, and think there are no answers?” don’t let the brainwashing and make believe information you hear make you loose your self worth God had made you. Don’t let them deprive you of the positive happening the God can achieve through you. Your life is not under the economy of any nation on earth. Your life in directly sourced from God. 3. when you dwell on your circumstances You constantly limit the power of the creator in your life when you continually think about problems and challenges that may probably never

happen to you. Why dare say your situation is hopeless? How dare you believe that your condition is impossible. Your attitude is more important than you down finances or IQ or circumstances. You may not deny that fact, but you can deny the fact the power to paralyze your life, and make be in one spot. Many people do not succeed because they were born with silver spoon. No, a lot of people in this world have to struggle out of the similar situation you see and become a success. You too can overcome all odds and headed toward success if you will use your mind in the right direction. Your scar is never too strong to stop you. 4. when you yield to depression you can choose to be joyful, happy, and content with the level you are while going toward where you desire to be. Or you can allow sadness and despair to rule your existence. It’s all about choice. Some people have millions of dollars yet their lives are empty and frustrating. Some too have a few dollars and lead prosperous and happy lives. You can have enough money and yet live a fulfilling and happy life, irrespective of your scars. Everyone, at some point in their lives experience certain scars that may be demoralizing, but yet it is not time to let the circumstance paralyze their lives’ advancement. You will loose balance in your life when you magnify your scars over God, and the power to be what he wants you to be. At some time in the past, I have severally hit the red spot where I think of giving up, but when I personally dealt with the situation, I when on victorious. You can be your own cheerleader instead of becoming your enemy by brooding on your circumstances. The bible noted that; “ David encourage himself in the lord.” Don’t be depressed. Stand strong and face your future with faith. God will never fail you. So don’t fail yourself. TURNING YOUR SCARS INTO STARS Many dreams have slipped into a crack because of little failures. Most people give up because they fail, and thing there is a limitation in their lives that is responsible for their failure. Even though you have a scar

that seems to appear as a failure condoner, turn that scar into star. Robert Schuler said; “ turn your scars into stars.” There is no shortage with God. Take for instant, the air, such six billion people on earth breathing the one air, yet it still remain more fore children yet unborn. No matter how much people breath the air, it will never run out. How can you then think God is not sufficient for you, because you have a disability in you? Men, turn that failure into success. Turn that breakdown into a break record. Turn that situation that looks like the end into a bent. Yes, you can do it. When Thomas Edison was asked my a new York news paper, how does it fell to fail 700 times in trying to invent a practical filament for the electric bulb? He answered; “ I have not failed, not even once. However I have proven the 700 ways it won’t work, and when I evaluate the way it won’t work I found the way it will work.” You see, the things that seem to support failures in our lives can actually be our success antidotes. You need to possess the will to succeed. Some once said, “ When there is a will, there is a way.” It is the will to succeed that will pull you out of the box and put you on the tract of success. Louie Pasteur received a C grade in chemistry. That looks like a scar of low IQ, but out of that, he discovered and developed the process of pasteurization of milk and cure for rabies. Einstein never passed mathematics in high school, yet his theories revolutionized science, as we know. J C Penney was said to have been sent home from school because he was not smart enough to learn, but today after his death, his royalty checks are still being sent to him. Professor Wole Soyinga, left school with pass, yet become the world winner of Nobel laureate, and an accomplished poet, playwright, and novelist. At the age of 65,colonel Harlan Sanders was broke, but today his Kentucky fried chicken business and its success in known worldwide. Abraham Lincoln quoted a word; “you can do it with God” this word helped him to come out of many scars to become the sixteen president of the United States.

1831 - he failed in business 1832 - he defeated for the legislature 1833 - he failed in business again 1836 - he had a nervous breakdown 1838 - he was defeated for the house speaker 1840 - he was defeated for the elector 1843 - he was defeated for the congress. 1855 – he was defeated for the senate. 1858 – he was defeated for the vice president. But in 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the sixteen president of the United States because he refuses to quite despite his scars. The 3M company was built by taking advantage of what seems like a big failure. In 1929, developed an adhesive tape to use as seal for insulation. In practical application, it did not work. But when they experiment further with it, they found out that it did a great job in repairing turn papers. As a result scotch brand transparent tape was born. From an apparent scar of failure, the scotch tape today is about 1 billion dollars per year cooperation. 3M took the scar, and turned it into star. This company refused to see the scar as failure but as an opportunity to derive a star from it. GO AGAINST THE ODDS Life always tends to look like the way you though or believed. Things will always go badly if you expect them so. you life will go out when you faith level goes out. When you face a crisis, all you need is to raise your faith level.

PART TWO

Introduction I have lived on earth for about three decades now. I have been a practicing and committed Christian for a decade of that total time. I have had experience of being in other nations outside my nationality. In all my little life, I have discovered that men have a common enemy. Every one are faced with the similar problem. The poor and the rich emerge out of the same situation. The sick and healthy face the same health hazards. Every one has a common adversary. No one is apportioned to have more problem than the other. The only deference among them is not in the magnitude of problems they faced but in their ability to ride on the wings of problem to get to the top of their career, profession, business, and education in particular and life in general. Problems are not meant to kill us but to grill us. Problems are not for our destruction, but for our instructions. They are not supposed to mar us, but to make us. The numerous challenges we face daily should not inflict us with scars, but should turn us to stars. I have written this book to help you see, explore and benefit from the better part of problems. I believe that after reading this book, problems will no longer break you, but you will

breakthrough them. You will become a master on problem management. I wish you an impact adventure in reading this book. Keep at it, for problem will soon become your friend. You will never finish until the things that look like the enemy soon looks like your friend. Breakthrough is your lot in Christ, go for it.

Chapter SIX Making problems your friend ‘The greatest friends in life are the oppositions of life’ I have discovered in my about a three decade life that there are no real problems meant to destroy a man, but what looks like the enemy or problem is actually a sign post to the most desired switch in life. What may look like the end may just be a bend. What seems like a breakdown may just be a breakthrough in disguise. What look like a barrier may just be a springboard for advancement. So what you need is wisdom in discovering the disguised promotions in the seemingly problems you face in life. This book will let this wisdom enter your life, the wisdom to put problems in the right perspective. Jesus, in one of his teachings asserted that a man’s enemies are those of his household (Mathew 10:36), by this he meant that, your enemies are not strange but familiar. In other words, real friends are strange, enemies are familiar. That is, familiarity is the greatest enemy that ever exists. I remember I had a neighbor some years ago that never greeted me once since we had been living in the same neighborhood for years. He never smiled to me once when we where in the same community where we hail from. But, much to my amazement, some time later, I met him in another country different from where we traveled from; he rushed to me and greeted me with much excitement and enthusiasm. That made me learnt a great wisdom that day. When we where too familiar in the same community, he overlooked my importance until we met in an unfamiliar environment, then the friendliness becomes real. You see, the best way to look for friends is to search for them in what look like opposition. Mostly, the greatest opposition will be your most cherished palley.true friendship is not found among friends but true and beneficial friendship is drawn from hostility. What will benefit your life will never be found in the familiar zone but in the seemingly unfamiliar circumstances. There is an adage in my community that says, ‘a man’s true brother is in the bush’. When the halve brothers of Joseph, moved with envy sold Joseph into a strange land, they did not realize that they were actually

moving him towards the direction of the fulfillment of his dreams. When God is about to lift a man, he moves him out of the comfort zone. And this happen through adversities. True friendship in not found among friends but among antagonistic situation. What people tag as problems is simply their promotion examination. It is opportunity in mask. Problems really, are not meant to destroy a man but they destroy us through our ignorant. They are instrument of help. They are sent to serve as mechanism to improve people’s lives. The earlier you catch this reality the better for you. Make problem your best friend. Welcome a lot of them because they are the tonic for advancement in life. I read a story some years ago of one of the American most popular presidents, Abraham Lincoln, how that when he was elected into office as US president, he appointed his greatest oppositionist as his new government secretary of war. That did not sound well to his allies, but he knew how to draw out the living juice that is content in opposition. He understood that every treasure in life is at the threshold of opposition. It is in the hottest opposition that you can locate your position in life. God demonstrated this wisdom to the children of Israel when he told them to inherit the land of Canaan that flow with milk and honey, but they needed to contend for it in battle.

YOUR ATTITUDE IS VITAL Attitude is very crucial to life. Your outlook to life enhances its outcome to you. You cannot see life as black and get white. It is to you as you see. God said to Abraham; For the land, which thou seest, to thee will I give it (Genesis 13:14) You cannot see poverty and get prosperity. It is impossible to see sickness and live in health. It is your viewpoint to life that opens door for your turning point in life. Attitude is very necessary to life. It is the bedrock of every success. Attitude is the foundation for progress. An attitude entails: Your approach to life Your perspective about life Your reaction to life Your attitude to life can define how you will handle life. It can go a long way to foster your potential to benefit from problems, or be marred by them. Attitudes are everything. There are negative attitude and there are positive attitudes. Negative attitude is when you allow problems to decide your fate in life. It is when you allow the atmosphere to shape your state of life. But positive attitude is a point in your life whereby you do not allow what grows around you to hamper what grows within you. Positive attitude will never

allow what you are born into, to affect what you are born for. That is the reason I always say, if you are born in poverty, never let poverty be born in you. Jesus was born to a poor carpenter, to a village of about twelve houses in total, and most humiliatingly, born in where cattle are kept because his parent never afforded a hotel or hospital bill. Though he was born into that poverty-stricken situation, his posture to life never allowed that circumstance to hinder what he was born for. His low family level in the society, never obstruct his destiny. He was born to be a priest, but was not born to a high priest. He was born to be a prophet but his entire family never had a prophet. His parent were just ordinary people in the community who by human standard has nothing to do with giving birth to such a great and fulfilled personality. You see, a positive posture to life will help you to hold unto your status irrespective of the experiences. That is, though you are born a handicap, you never allow a handicap mentality to be born in you. Though you may be born without hands and legs, but a positive attitude will help you never to allow your mind to go without hands and legs, because at a long run, it is your mind you need mostly to succeed and the least your hands. The hands in your mind can make way for the lack of hands in your body. But if your mind is handicapped, though you’re physically fit, that will be the worse form of handicap.

WHEN PROBLEMS LOOK LIKE ENEMIES The late president elect of the June 12 1993 election of the federal republic of Nigeria, chief MKO Abiola made a profound statement that I want to use to illustrate a point here. He said, ‘a woman does not say yes, if a woman say no, it means may be, if a woman say may be, it means yes, a woman does not say yes’. What I want you to learn from the wise words above is that no problem will come to you with a yes signal. Problem will never come to presenting itself as opportunity. They will only come as enemies. But the truth is this; the problem you see today is a road map to the promotion you will enjoy tomorrow. The adversary you encounter today is a hint to the advantages you will derive in the future. Jesus dying on the cross was like the greatest problem to his disciples, but that was a way for our salvation today. When Joseph was throne into the pit, sold to strangers, became a slave and throne into prison, all these circumstances where the roadmap to his throne in Egypt to save a posterity for God’s people. But, it never appeared so, until the throne of Egypt was handed over to him. Opportunities do not always appear like one. Every future greatness always hid itself in the shameful pitiable, and despiteful small beginning. Greatness is

always in smallness. Power is always hidden in weakness. Apostle Paul learnt this when he received an admonition from God of noting that; ‘my strength is made perfect in weakness’ (2 corinthian11: 9) You need to understand that the thing that pains contain gains. Problems can serve as the channel through which good and benefits in life are issued. The situation that is full of adversities is a breeding ground for the upshot of advantages. In other words, to draw honey, you must be ready for some stings of the bees. So gains and advantages in life are reproduced in the porter’s house of challenges. There is no progress without pressure. HOW TO BENEFIT FROM PROBLEMS How then can you benefit from problem though the do not appear as benefits. How can you deploy problems to your benefits and not for your disadvantage though the come to you as the greatest enemies. The point below will help you to drill benefits from problems and not harm; Decode the symbols The main reason behind the many problems people face in life is their ignorance of the symbols of life. The greatest limitation to a man’s destiny is his inability to decipher the secret code of life. Just as a driver who is ignorant of road signs will never avoid accidents, that is the same way a man who is not armed with the power to interpret the puzzles of life. Life is full of mysteries. Life is full of signs. It’s only those that build themselves up to the point where they are able to break the symbols of life that will benefits from problems. This is because problems are actually the secret code to promotion. Problems are the cipher of progress. It is only when you learn to interpret them that you will move your life forward through the many challenges you have. I discovered in the bible a profound profile I will use as an instance to project this truth to you. Daniel, in the book of Daniel, was profiled by the queen of the Babylonian empire as a man that has the ability to draw benefits from problem with his knowledge to decode the symbols of life. Look at what she said; ‘there is a man in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods…for as much as an excellent spirit and knowledge and understanding, Interpretation of dreams, and

showing hard sentences and dissolving doubt was found in the same Daniel (Dan 5:11-12) what a profile! Daniel had that ability because he demonstrated it in earlier situations where things seems difficult but he turn it by his symbol decoding ability into what become solutions. Basically, if you study the background story very well, you will discover that there was a symbol given to a king in Babylon that no one could interpret. That made the king to decree a death sentence to all the wise men in Babylon in whom Daniel was one of them. That problem would have send Daniel to his early grave except that he could decode the symbols of life. But he interpreted the dreams and saved the whole astrologers from imminent death. That was a problem, but a man who understood how to see opportunity in problems, turned the problems to his advantage and promotion. Because through that he was appointed as one of the three presidents in the entire Babylonian empire. You can easily observed that Daniel, in the mist of several difficulties, challenges, hatred, and problems rose to become the most preferred among all the presidents in the Persian kingdom, because he was able, according to the profile in Daniel 5:11-12 to decode the symbols of problems. He had the prowess to decipher hard matters and made it simple for all to benefit. He had the technical know how of breaking had sentences in simple and beneficial ways. Inside the symbols that look like a threat to king Darius was one of the president’s seats for Daniel. But it was only after he decoded the symbols that he got to that throne. Daniel took occasion by his ability and owned one of the seats. Later on he went on to the lion’s den and came out to turn the whole kingdom to the worship of his true God. I want you to understand that, problems are success code numbers. They are the symbols of progress and the road signs to the bend of success. Only when you know how to break the signs that you will take them to your advantage. The truth is this, every phases of life itself is as a result of the function of decoded secrets. The quality of life a man enjoys is traceable to the degree of the discoveries in his disposal. The beauty of every generation is anchored on the number of the symbols of life that generation is able to break. Brian Tracy noted this when he wrote; ‘this is a wonderful time to live. There have never been more opportunities

for more people to accomplish more of their goals, both personally and professionally, than exist today. And if anything, our situation is getting better and better with each passing year. Why is this happening? The simplest reason is that we know more today about how to achieve better results in more areas of business than we have ever known. And this information, these ideas and insights, are like water, flowing everywhere and to everyone who is open to them and willing to use them’. That is what I was trying to inject into your sub conscious mind. The accumulation of knowledge is also the accumulation of a better life. The more information that is discovered, the more quality of life we get into. Another important factor to note is that knowledge has links; it has the ability to connect to other fields of life when it is received. Knowledge, when revealed will continue to remain in existence for as much people as are open to it uses. Every access to new knowledge creates new opportunities that abound as the knowledge is being utilized. There is a car in very steel you see. But the man who can decode it will bring it out to the benefit of all. You see God the creator of life always releases his benefit to life in symbols. God always speak in similitude. It’s when you do not understand how to decode those signs that it becomes a problem to you. Whereas it was meant for your advantage. Problems become enemies where there is no solution to the issue of understanding. People suffer from problem, not because it was meant for suffering, but because the goods in the problems are not tapped due to lack of knowledge. In the book of revelation chapter five verse one to ten, the whole creation were in doom, and tears prevailed because there was non found to break the seal and open the book of success. In that book was success, prosperity, breakthrough, advancement, that was meant for all but as there was no one found to decode it, there was only tears in return. But, fortunately, someone special, and able was found, His name is Jesus the lion of the tribe of Judah in verse five, there was an announcement made to all creation; ‘WEAP NOT’. You see, tears and sorrows will always prevail when problems are allowed to continue unrefined. You can stop weeping when the symbols attached to the challenges you face are dissolved. Similarly, the prime minister’s position in Egypt was presented as a symbol of problem of seven years of famine in Egypt. But no one was able to decode except a prisoner alien, Joseph came to the

scene. He decoded the symbols and proffers the solution. That brought to bare the throne to which he mounted an become the prime minister of the most populous nation as at that time. These examples are enough to send your mind to work. You cannot make problem your friend until you know how to break the symbols of life. David said through the inspiration of God in psalm 82:5; ‘they know not neither do they understand, so they walk on in darkness, all the foundations of the earth are out of course’ Emphases are again and again added to the fact that when revelation is not added to life, elevation will be far fetch. All the blessings of life are coded. And one of those codes is problems. If you develop the attitude of welcoming troubles and decode them, you will benefits from life mostly. In our contemporary world, the first presidency of the South African republic was coded as twenty-seven years prison. By understanding, Nelson Mandela, decoded the symbols and located the president’s seat inside the problem. He came to be the first black South African and best president. The good you expect in life in coded in the bad you experience in life. So decode and enjoy. #2 Keep the right formula Mathematicians will more easily understand the subject of formulas. Because, they deal with formulas in order to solve even the most difficult problems in mathematics. To them, no matter how difficult an equation is, when once you are armed with the right formula, you will break the problems in stages and arrive at a preferable and desirable answer. So to say, there are no solutions to mathematical problems without the right formulas. When you solve the problems with the right formula, you get rewarded with high marks. So, in making problems your friend and benefiting from them, you must learn to always be armed with the right formulas. After you decode the symbols, you need to proffer accurate formula that will turn the problems to progress, obstacles to up standers, barriers to springboard, and hindrances to stepping-stones. It is the right formula that will convert zero to zenith, shame to fame, story to glory, and toiling to enjoying. You cannot truly benefit from problems until you get the right recipe in place. Earlier we saw how slave, alien, prisoner called Joseph,

decoded the symbol of the problem that was imminent in the land of Egypt. He did not just stop there; he went on to create a formula that will avert the ordeal of seven years of famine into plentiful years of abundance to the Egyptian empire. He made sure the formula was such that only he alone can use. And that took him to the throne. You know the story more. Yet, you have suffered and lamented enough from that small adversity. It is time to rise to the occasion and create a new formula that will solve the problem once and for all. This book is in your hand to encourage you to look at the problems and smile. I always say that every profession in this world is people’s discovered secret for solving the problems of life. You need the right formula to make problems your friend. #3 Share the answers The next bus stop of making problem your friend is to realize that you are not the only one facing problems. That is, if you have been able to decode the symbols and keep the right formula, you need to share the answers you have gotten with others. Bryan Tracy noted clearly that ‘if you have an idea that can help me to be more effective in some part of my business and you share it with me, we both are enriched. If I then share this idea with someone else, and that person shares it with someone else again, everyone who receives the new idea is better off’. Service to others should be the sole reason you exist in this world. Until you break free from selfishness and egoism, you have not yet truly begun to live. Living is giving, and life without giving is a minus. The world is the field of investment. It is what to give to live that should be your greatest burden, and not what to get out of life. That is the reason you should be in search for the solution to contribute and not to own. My greatest burden is to see people of all races and color gain back their value consciousness. I love to contribute to people’s lives. I am satisfied to go unfed to see others being fed. I rather go undress to see others dress well. Problem will never benefit you if you are egocentric. Problems open their treasure to you, when people matter to you. Any position you occupy in life is not the fulfillment of your destiny, but it is the services your position renders to people that constitute fulfillment in life for you. Fulfillment is derived through discovery and offering of required services to the benefit or promote the quality of life to others. That

is the reason life only opens up its treasure to those who are concern about serving others. Selfishness is self-murder, but selflessness is self-builder. Remember, when job prayed for his friends, God turn his problems to double honor. (Job 42:10)

#4 put a question tag In life, most people draw conclusion on issues without a think back perspective. Basically, there is no bus stop to your life if you will not put a full stop to your life. There are no failures, there are only quitters. Because those who quit should have succeeded if they stay on longer enough. In benefiting from problems, you must learn never to say ‘ I cannot handle this problem again’ rather you learn to say it by questioning the situation thus ‘ how can I handle this problem?’ the reason is this, when you say ‘ I cannot handle this problem again’, you draw conclusion and take your life to a close, but when you question the situation by saying ‘how can I handle this problem’, you send your mind, subconsciously and consciously to go to work to gather data that will proffer solution to your situation. ‘I can’t is a signal for mental laziness but ‘how can I is a license for mental productivity. You see, the more questionable to situation you are, the more your chances for solution increases. When Isaac Newton saw a mango fruit fell down, instead of just saying ‘it falls down’ then pick it and eat, he rather question the situation by saying ‘why did it fall down, why did it not go up’? That question went on to task his mind to discover the law of gravity. Some of the conclusion you draw on issues are the reason you suffer. Because may be through the circumstance was your most desired breakthrough had you question it. When the angel Gabriel brought a surprising news to Mary of how she will be conceived of a baby in her womb, she never concluded by saying ‘this is not possible seeing I do not know a man’ but rather, she question the issue by asking ‘ how shall this be seeing I know not a man’? (Luke 1:34). Learn to question the situation not to conclude on the situation for most secret in the bible were discovered when men dared to ask.

#5 program yourself You are the master of your destiny. You can decide what comes in and goes out of your life. My pastor, Rotini Adetayo always says, ‘you have the right to have, the right to choose, and the right to live’. He also adds ‘ you are who God says you are, you can have what God says you can have, and you can do what God says you can do’. Don’t be a scapegoat. Don’t be a dummy. You can plan yourself for what you want you to do. You can organize your life to operate according to specification. Take for instance, a traffic light. It can order the movement of cars not because it has the intelligence to decide when each car should go, but it has been preset to do so. It is the way the traffic light is automated that it will function. No traffic light will adjust it function out side the preset functions. Your life can some time function that way in certain areas. You can build yourself to do certain key things that can make your life count. You see, what ever happen unconsciously and produce result should be taken and do consciously for repeated result. What ever you do more than once master you.

Look at this! Do you know that those who came to the world with the true answers to people perplexing problems are the once that encounter problems the more? Think about Moses, it was just a bit; pharaoh would have murdered him. Think about Gideon, his greatest problems were the midianites who he was sent to deliver the Israelite from. Think about David, Saul would have killed him. Think about Joseph, the brothers almost killed him. He was in slavery and in prison. Think about Thomas Edison, he failed 999 times. Think about Abraham Lincoln, he fail except the president’s seat. Think about Nelson Mandela, he would have died in twentyseven years prison sentence. A child that was born the same day he was throne into prison was now a man of twenty-seven years old. Think about Jesus, the greatest of all men ever to live on earth, problem still never feared him. Herod almost murdered him, his peers rejected him. Think about Paul, he faced many trials in his entire life. All who are on a mission to others in this world are the

once that faced the most problem. That let us understand that the solutions to life’s problems are manufactured in the threshold of problems. Therefore your service spirit is the screw that let loose the knot of blessing from problems.

CHAPTER SEVEN DISCOVER THE ‘GOOD’ IN THE ‘BAD’ And Joseph said unto them, As for you, ye meant it for EVIL,

Against me, but God meant it for GOOD, To bring to pass as it this day to save much people alive (Genesis 50:19-20)

The evil we feared yesterday was meant for the good we enjoy today.

The wise words of Joseph above are embodied with one of the greatest wisdom that you could ever learn. The statement contains the wisdom that instructs us that there is good in every bad. There is success in every failure, there are advantages in every adversity, and there is position in every opposition. There are quite a number of stories of people living and dead, that I can use to add more proof to the fact that there is a good in every bad. Jesus, through the worse form of dead at a tender age of thirty three, seen as bad, but contain good which is our eternal salvation. What bad could be more, than to die at thirty-three. And what good could be more than to save from sins. Why should he die to save? Why not live to enjoy? There is good in every bad. That is the reason I include this chapter to help you see problem more as a friend and not as an enemy. The two sides of the coin Ye thought EVIL against me but God meant it unto GOOD (Genesis 50:20) In his words, Joseph clearly let us know that ‘bad’ is the other side of the coin to ‘good’. Failure is the other side of the coin to success. Disappointment is the other side of the coin to appointment. That is, the potential of a thing is in the side that is presented, but the effect of it is in the side that is accepted or interpreted. To Joseph, the brothers presented the EVIL side of problem, but he chooses by understanding to receive the GOOD side of it. The wisdom here is that you have the right to choose the side you want to experience in your life. Though situation may be meted out against you for hurt, you can choose by your perspective about life to receive the good part of it. Learn to see good in every situation. Give your meaning to it God meant it for GOOD (Gen 50:20) I read a story of Thomas Edison, how that when his laboratory of about several thousands of dollars caught fire, he sent for his wife

to come and see ‘this miracle’ he gave his own meaning to the disaster by calling it a miracle. The meanings you give to the problem you encounter determine the good you derive from the situation later in your life. You can convert a negative situation to a positive by giving your own meaning to the situation. When Jesus was told that Lazarus is dead, he gave his own meaning to it by saying he is sleeping. Later, he went on to raise him from the dead because he gave his own meaning to the situation. When the brothers throne Joseph into pit and sold him out to slavery and later to prison. He never complains but ever smiling because he had his own meaning to all he went through. Bishop David Oyedepo said, ‘Joseph was the happiest slave that ever lived’. Every man that is ready to make the most of his life reaping from problems must be ready to give his own meaning to every challenge that he faces. Who is behind your meaning? God meant it unto GOOD (Gen 50:20) There is always a reason to succeed in life. There is a reason you must enjoy good in life. That reason is the God of goodness is your God. The consciousness of a good God will strengthen the meaning you give to any situation you face. God is a good God and does not propagate any evil. Joseph understood this, that made the meaning he had to problems had meaning. God behind you is the root of all good you will enjoy. Jesus said; ‘They shall lay hands on you, and persecute you delivering you up…into prisons…and it shall turn to you for a testimony’ (Luke 21:12-13) It is the meaning you give to it, that determines what it turns to you for. Watch the process God meant it UNTO (towards) good (Gen 50:20) Every finished goods, was once a raw material. It took a rigorous process of production which some times take days, weeks, and months to reach a finished stage. Joseph, in his opinion about the thing he went through understood that he was in the process of a better tomorrow. Though the journey was tough, difficult, he held

to his understanding and confession that ‘God meant it UNTO good. The word ‘unto’ is another word for ‘towards’. So in a paraphrase, the statement should read, as ‘the evil you thought was God’s plan towards good for me’. In discovering the good from the bad, the process is so very important. Some times it is in the process that the problem arise. Because no one want to pass through the process. The one simple reason problem overwhelm a lot of people is because they overestimate the event and underestimate the process. Before David could arrive at ‘ goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life’, he had to pass through ‘though I walked through the valleys of the shadows of dead, I will fear no evil’. (Psalm 23:4-6) you need to understand that until there is a process, there will never be any product. Any time spent in the process in never a wasted time. Life and destiny are the offspring of time.

CHAPTER EIGHT FALLING UPWARD THROUGH PROBLEMS When there is a casting down, Thou shall say there is a lifting up (Job 22:29) Problems are not meant to destroy people, but to strengthen people. Problems are not supposed to step people down but to step people up. No one can go up with success, but you can only advance at the presence of odds. All your best effort at the disposal of success has no benefits but your effort at the time of adversities is what adds meaning to your life. Success without failure is not success. Advancement without adversities is not available. At this point in your life, may be you have already fallen flat in your life, and contemplating how you can get up. Problems must have made you look at it as enemies. Don’t give up. This is the time and opportunity to fall upward.

HOW TO FALL UPWARD Falling upward is possible? You may ask. Ye it is. The under listed keys will assist you to fall upward. #1 cultivate a right perspective The outlook to which you see life determine the result you derive from it. Specifically, the view you have about problem enhances the result you get from life. If you see problems as enemies, you will fall downward. But if you well come problems as friends, you will fall upward. You see it is only in your mind that you can stand up while you may be down on the floor in you physical body. Perspective is of the mind. It is your mindset that balances your life and not your math set. When your mind is disorganized, you life is in disarray. Your mind is like a watch; the watch came from the manufacturer with the wrong time or a deferent time zone. If you want to enjoy the right time as it is in your zone, you have to set the wristwatch to the right time. The same way with your mind. God made your mind with the potential to be, but your mind set will be what you want it to be. And the setting of the mind is your responsibility. God will not think for you. In fact a wise man once said ‘ use your brain and give God rest’ God expect you to use your mind for him to help you. The bible says ‘ without your mind will I do nothing’ (Philemon 1:14). So when you cultivate a healthy perspective about the problems you face, it will turn out for your good. # 2 grow in a positive mind group Another important factor to help you fall upward is to choose the right kind of association. The reason is simple, when you are with the right people, right things happen through you. But when you are with the wrong people, wrong thing occur through you. Choose your friends wisely for effective life.

#3Maintain the flow of positive language. In life, what you say is very important to determine what you experience. Positive words create positive experiences, and unconstructive words create negative experience. For you to fall upward, you need to maintain the flow of positive language. You need and accurate mouth for an accurate life.

If you can fail, then you can succeed As I noted earlier, the good and the bad are the two sides of the same coin. The ability to fail is the same ability to succeed the other side of the coin. All you need to is when you fail this side, know that success in near; just turn the other side and the go ahead and succeed. Failure is not falling down, but failure is the road map top real success. The ability to succeed is hidden in the ability to fail. The rates of failure double the chances for success in the life of a man. If you are able to maximize failure, you will succeed indefinitely. There is no reason to fear failure, convert the fear of failure into the faith for success. You cannot truly fear failure without the possibility to succeed. If you think you can fail, then you have the prospect to succeed. THE BENEFITS OF PROBLEMS #1 problems create opportunity for discoveries. Problems post to us the opportunity to know who we really are and what we can do. You cannot truly know yourself until you face an adverse situation which refine you and let you see or discover the real you. It also through problem, that you can really know the nature of people and things. Problems are the mother of discovery. You see, if there were no transport problems, there will be no discovery of cars, canoes, and airplanes. Problems open door for the best invention of our time. #2 problems give birth to professions All careers, professions, business, are the result of finding ways to solving problems. It a search of ways to solve some specific problems that give birth to what we call profession. In fact, the purpose of any business, career and profession is to solve human multiple problems. They to reduce problems and not to create more of it. For instance, teaching profession was created to solve ignorance problems. Medical proffe3ssion was created to solve health problems. So problems calve out ways for people to become professional. #3 problems unlocks your possibility Problems can release you untapped ability and launch you into an unrealized realms in your life. For instance, a man the get into a

compound with walled fence only to be chased by a wiled dog will jump the fence before he realized it. The ability in you will remain dormant until you are faced with a challenge that sends you thinking for solutions. It is troubles That releases you real strength. #4 problems makes way for productivity. As established earlier, that problems give birth to professions, it also give birth to productivity. When a man is in search of how to solve problems he is being productive.

PART THREE THE SEVEN INDISPUTABLE LAWS OF VALUE

INTRODUCTION A lot of people, because of the problems they seems to face, may allow the scars of their challenges to make them look small. They allow inferiority complex to set in and make them look as misfits in the society. May be the societal standard had made them see themselves as nonconformists to the presumed standard of the society. In this section, I want to enumerate the most vital laws that govern and measure your worth in God and in life. The reason is

because, if you do not know how important you are, problems can make you look like a non-entity. God is the author of your value. He custom built you in such a unique and special way so you could function to his specification. If you function less than what he made you to be, it becomes a deadly blow on his personality. You will never be satisfied in life until you know who you are and what you are meant for.

CHAPTER NINE THE LAW OF THE MAKER ‘And the lord said, let us make man in our image, and after our likeness (Genesis 1:26)’ Every product goes to the market with the value inbuilt in it by the reputation of the maker. When the manufacturer of a particular

product is superior, that product cannot be inferior in the market. In fact, the superiority of any product in the market is related to the reputation of his maker. Every commodity can win in the market when its maker has a name in that market. Who made a product, enhances how valuable the product becomes in the marketplace. The class of the manufacturer becomes automatically, the class of his product in the world. Every product receives higher attention in the market, when its manufacturer is high class. For instance, if you go to the stores to shop for shoes, you are more likely to be attracted to ‘made in Italy’ shoes than any other manufacturer in the market. The reason is that Italy has a high-class reputation in fashion than any other competitors in the field. So you trust Italy for quality more, because of their name in the fashion industry. In essence, value is placed on product mostly because of who made that product. If the maker has a superior name in the market, the product will become hot cake in that market. Look at your life in this picture. Consider it in your thought a while. Do you imagine that it is God, the greatest manufacturer that made you? And that he can be trusted for quality product? He never makes mistake in his product. So you are not a mistake. You may have been born out of wedlock but you are not a mistake. God carefully planned your production. Your life as a whole is a product of God’s careful design and purpose. That is the reason you should not let problems make you appear lower than what the manufacturer has on you. The psalmist said, “I am wonderfully and fearfully made” (psalm 139:14). God is your maker, so you have a high-class attention in the market of life and success. God said, ‘let us make man’. So God is your manufacturer. That makes it a settle case on your value and important. If people can place high value on a car just because it is made by a reputable manufacturer, how much more you who have been intricately designed

By the most and ever reputable maker. You carry great worth and important about because God made you. If he made you, you have made it. THE MAKER’S PERSPECTIVE. In trying to establish that every product is highly value because of its manufacturer, that is, your worth in life is establish by who made you, there are powerful concept that could be traced to further elaborate on this truth. That concept is what I call the maker’s perspective. No manufacturer in this world has a wrong perspective on his product. No producer can look down on his product. Every manufacturer himself has a penchant for his brainchild. He seeks ways to make his product look important in the market. He develops plans to decorate it product for acceptance in the public. They do not talk down their product. The same way, God cannot make you and at the same time look down on you. He loves you to be outstanding. He wants you to be great and important in the market of life and success. He believes in your value. That is the reason he said ‘fear ye not, ye are of more value than many sparrows’. God believes in your important because he made you. What the maker thinks about his product. The same way, a manufacturer thinks well about his product, God also think well about you. The bible said: ‘ I know the thought that I think towards you, they are thought of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jere 11:29). God said by himself that he is thinking of you. Even the angels observed this and commented; ‘what is man that thou art mindful of him’ (heb 2:6). Your value is placed on what you maker thinks of you. God feels good of you. What the maker sees in his product. Every manufacturer sees well in his product. No manufacturer will see his brainchild as misfit. God when he made you ‘ saw that everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good’

(Genesis 1:31) when God came to Gideon one day, God addressed him as, ‘thou mighty man of valor’ (Judges 6:12). In such strange salutation, Gideon thought there was another man there who could be addressed as such. As far as he is concerned, the problem the Israelites faced from the midianites and made him think he is a nobody. He never believed his ear let alone to ever think that he is a mighty man of valor. But God who is his manufacturer so the mighty man in him and address him so. Though physically he may not look mighty. God sees well about you and declares it to the world. Problems made Gideon looked down on himself, but the maker say no, you are somebody. Don’t let problems wear you down. Rather ride on the wings of the problem and let your name be known. You see, after God was able to convince Gideon that he is a mighty man of valor indeed, he rose up to defeat the entire midianites and became one of the strongest Judges of Israel. The same midianites that was a problem to him became the source through which he became the leader of Israel. You see, the things you call problems are just your promotion in disguise. You will still remain in doldrums until you discover what your maker sees in you. Though you may be dangerously fearful now, God still sees a courageous man in you. May be right now, you are down on poverty role now, God still see a rich man in you. That means you can be rich, no matter what. Though you may be so small now, God sees a great man in you. So he said ‘ though you beginning may be small, yet thy later shall be greatly increased”. What the maker know about his product. It is the manufacturer that has a perfect knowledge on the workability of his product. His knows the ability and the potentialities of all he made. Only Mercedes’ Benz can give perfect specification on Benz brand. Only Honda can give perfect specification on Honda cars. The same way, God is your manufacturer, and he is the only one to give a specification on you. The product has no right to consult any other for knowledge about itself except it own maker. The reason so many people fall a prey to problem is because they never look to the manufacturer for what he perfectly knows about them. God knows you perfectly, because he made you. No wander he said, “before I formed thee, I knew thee, and ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jere 1:5) you

see, you will never go to Toyota, to ask about Peugeot products. Neither will you go to Samsung to ask about Motorola products. The same way you should not determine your identity by the things you face but God should be you source of knowledge. Every manufacturer knows only about its product. What the maker says about his products When you watch adverts on the television, you will best understand what I want to pass across here. One day, I saw an advertisement on star beer, which says ‘come alive’. You see many people have died through alcohol than any war in the world. Yet they still speak well of their product. A lot of children brains had been splashed due to drunk driving, yet they still say that you will come alive if you drink star beer. Every manufacturer says well about his product. God said ‘ye are the light of the world’ (math 5:14). God never said you are bad. He will never say so. If the manufacturer of star beer could still say positive about his product irrespective of its nature, how much more God who made you as a wonder package to this generation. THE MAKER’S IMPUT Another important way to appreciate your value over problems through the law of the maker is to know your maker’s input in you. No manufacturer sends it product the market without spending time to input it what will make it relevance in the market. When a maker wants to keep his name in the market, he spend time to update and make it product according to demand. God, in the same way made you with great treasure. You are not empty. You carry essential commodity. What God input into you is much needed in the world. So you become very important in your world. The bible said ‘ and the lord God… breath into his nostril, the breath of life, and man become a living soul’ (Gen 2:7) man was lifeless until the maker input into him what makes him relevance. What the maker invest in his product Investment is putting aside some thing for gain in the future. Very manufacturer invest quality time, energy, resources, money and knowledge to make his product to be of quality and relevance in the market. God invest all the above in making you what you ought to be.

CHAPTER TEN THE LAW OF THE PRICE TAG For Ye are bought with a price: there fore, (1 cor.6:20)

Every product goes about its duty with the pride of how much it was bought The true value of money is in what it can buy. We were taught in economics that money is what money can buy’. In other words, the value of money is measured by the good it can buy. There is no real value of money except in the product it can buy. Every product has great because of how much it was bought. The dearer a product, the more value it commands in the duty post. For instance, suppose, you buy two cars today, one cost you $8000 dollars and

the other cost you $1000,000, you could imagine how much value you will place on the car that cost you one million dollars over the one that cost just eight thousand dollars. The reason is that you ay more for that product, so you place more value on it over the other. The more money you ay for a product, the higher its value. That is what I call the law of the price tag. The same way concerning you, God paid a dear price on you to buy you that determine how important you are. God is not a bad businessman who will pay much on what has no importance to him. You mean a lot to God and his plan so he bought you with the precious blood of Jesus. God bought you that expensive because he knew you are so significant to him. That is the reason you should not allow problem to detect for you but stand your ground and take the lead. You are not bought on credit The earlier you get this truth, the better. You are not bought on hire purchase. You are not cheap. You are bought with price. So you should understand how you carry yourself. You can imagine, your creator paying a price on your head. Who then can get you cheap? You are very expensive. You are a rare commodity. The most sought after in the market. Never you look pitiable before any problem. You more than them. You are not to be pitied but to be envied even in the mist of angels. He said ‘ ye are bought with a price, therefore be ye not the servants of men’ (1cor 7:23). The purchasing power of the blood As I established that money is what it can buy, it notable that the power of any money to purchase in the quality of good it can buy. The blood of Jesus has the power because it was able to buy you and me as a valuable commodity. The bible says, ‘ the church of God which he purchased with his own blood’ (Acts 20:28)

The blood negotiates One of the powers of the blood is its potential to negotiates value. Money is a tool for negotiation in business. Negotiation is a powerful opportunity to measure the value of the money and the commodity being negotiated for. The more skillful a man is in negotiation, the more value he adds to the money and product in negotiation. The truth is, the blood of Jesus duly and efficiently negotiated for your purchase and won in the deal. The bible declares, ‘ the blood of Jesus speaketh better things (terms) than the blood of Abel’ The legal tender A legal tender is anything issued by statutory authority to be accepted as a means of exchange for good and services. The blood of Jesus was issued by heaven’s statutory authority to serve as our kingdom means of exchange for good and services. That is the reason it has the power to buy you. If the blood of Jesus was used to purchase you and me, it then applies that it was or had

been issued by statutory authority to be accepted for the exchange of good and services. So the blood of Jesus is our country’s (Zion’s) currency. The citizenship Before you can appreciate your worth through your price tag, and accept the blood as a price paid on you, you must recognize the power behind your citizenship in the kingdom of God. Christianity is a country coded in language and the bible is the constitution of a pass worded nationality. Everything about the kingdom of God is built into words. If you don’t receive God’s kingdom as a word, you will never likely see it. The kingdom of is coded in mysteries. And we are the citizens of that country. The blood of Jesus is our country currency. The name of our country is Zion.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE LAW OF FEATURES

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessel, That the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthian 4:7) The feature of every product is the element of that product that will make it has a high command in the market. Features enhance value. The better features a product has, the more value it has over the existing products. For instance, the feature of a mobile phone is what enhances the value of that mobile phone in the market. Some mobile phone is only for making calls only. That is all the features they have. But at the same time some other mobile phones has so many features as, camera, video camera, color screen, symphonic sounds, recording and internet facilities. Such phone has a high demand in the market because of it features. It has high value and worth in the market just because it can do what others cannot do. Further more, when

the television manufacturers came up with a new feature for television that allows it to have color screen, it sends the black and white out of market automatically. Every product always has value due to the feature it has. God carefully coupled the best feature into you; this was done to place you higher than all he created. So, ‘ ye are of more value than many sparrows’ (matt 10:31). And somewhere else, the bible further said ‘ye have this treasure in earthen vessels’ (2 Corinthian 4:6) that is the features that will take you to places. Your worth and relevance in this world lies in the features that God has coupled in you that makes you unique to others. The features of a Motorola phones does not perform the same way with that of Samsung counterpart. The feature of a Mercedes Benz car does not perform similarly with the features of a Toyota counterpart. So God made you to perform your features so uniquely so you can stand out of the crowd and shine. Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He came to die for the lost. That was his feature that made him greater than Solomon. He was the only sinless human that ever lived then, that made him greater than all. Then he said, ‘ as my father hath sent me even so send I you’ so you came in the same quality features as Jesus so you cannot afford to be hidden. You are destined for the best. You have what it takes The feature you have to offer builds value. You cannot increase your worth except by the features you can exhibit. But I want you to note that you have the features already. God did not say you will have treasure, but he said it in the affirmative ‘ye have’ .you what it take already to come to limelight irrespective of the challenges and problems you may face. What you have now is enough to get you started on the part of victory over all you face. Life may place demand on you so overwhelmingly such that it appears that you don’t measure up, but I want to let you understand that you can get through it. You are a point of reference Whenever a product comes to the market with a better and most updated features, that product become the point of reference in the market. It will become the most talked about and the most heard about. Its demand increases, its value increases, and it utility increases as well. The product will become the most sought for in the market. The same about you, God made you with the best features, so you should be a point of reference in the world. God is not the one hiding you. God is not interested in making you a local champion, whereby; only your wife and two children know that you can sing. Only your small community of three hundred people knows that you can dance. God said to Satan in a conversation: ‘ have you considered my servant Job’? That let us know that God was interested in Job being known, even to Satan. The same way he is saying concerning all his children. He wants you to be known. No wander he said, ‘arise and shine, for thy light has come’ (Isaiah 60:1). It who sees you that enhances who values you. You cannot be valued until you have displayed your features. That is the reason God said: ‘ let your

light so shine, that they may see your good works and glorify, your father (Matthew 5:16) Glory here means worth and value. When you let you feature show to the world, it will bring value to your life. Your service spirit In exhibiting your features to enhance you value over problems, you need to understand that service is the vital link it is service that links features with value. The more services your feature is able to offer, the more attention you wheel toward your direction. The more quality service your feature can offer will determine the value you attract. Your incentive in life will be in direct ratio to the value of your service to others. Meaning is added to our life in some way as we serve others. Life at a larger extent is built on dependent factors; that is, we need others and others need us. That is what service entails. The various basics that make life meaningful and valuable are what are derived from dependability. Such essentials as; cloths, water, shelter, and food. That is the reason it is important for us to engage in seeking ways we can serve other in a better and quality ways. If you want to increase the quality and quantity of your value and proceeds, you must in effect increase the quantity and quality of your service to others. The service of an office messenger will never be compared to the service of a lawyer or a medical doctor. The services of a president of a nation cannot be measured up in value to the service of a police constable. The more quality and demanding your service is, the more value you will draw. It is service that unlocks the power of your features. The treasure that God put in you were not for nothing. Dedicated service will unlock your treasure, which in turn ill unlock your value. What you must know is that value and fortune begins as we offer services. Your uniqueness Any product that comes to the market with the features that is common to others will at best attract common attention. Nothing general is attractive. Nothing familiar is valued. Men seem to ignore a thing when it becomes too broad-spectrum. Familiarity breads contempt. The best way for you to loss your taste is for you to continue to operate in familiar ground. Principles don’t change but practices must change. The bible says; ‘now there are diversities of gift but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administration, but the same lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God that worketh all in all’ (1 Corinthian 12:46) the more unique you are in the display of your feature, the more valuable

you become. Your healthiness No matter how powerful the features of a product are, if that product continues to exhibit fault, will be neglected. You will need to be in total soundness, spirit, soul and body to release your full features. When fault entered Adam, his feature became distorted. Adam no longer trusted himself in the market of life. He ran away to hide himself just because of his faultiness. When God asked ‘Adam where are you’ shows that God never hid him in the

first place. When a product’s credibility becomes questionable, that product had lost its place in the market. For instance, when the new of birth flue came on the scene, the value of chicken and turkey in the market was lost. No one wants to get infected with the flue. For you to remain valuable in the market of life over problem, you need to remain virus free. Sin is the virus. God never put sin in you as a feature; rather it is a mal-functioning, so stay free from it. Your faultless feature will take you to lime light.

CHAPTER TWELF

THE LAW OF MODEL

If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new (2 Corinthian 5:17)

Every product goes to the market with the pride of its model. The more newer the model of a product is, the more importance that product assumes in the market. A product cannot not loss its place of relevance if his model in constant update. The more latest a product is, the more tasteful it becomes. It will be a shameful scene for you to discover that the car you drive is 1981 model while your friend drives 2006 model. I was trying to price for cars the other day, I was told that the prices varies based on the model and the year of manufacturing. The cars are expensive if it is more latest and cheaper if it not

latest. Every manufacturer keeps his product in the market by bringing in new models constantly. The same way with you, God understood the situation better. He is wiser than all manufacturers. So he made you in a new model that can never be old or outdated. Never! He said in Christ Jesus, you become a new model. The latest model that is reigning currently. God made you latest specie. Your brand becomes the newest in the system. As we saw earlier, you should be the most valued because you are a new breed, a new model. Look at what the bible says here, ‘they sacrificed unto devils not God. To new gods that come newly up’ (Duet 32:17) every one is fascinated with new things. So even new gods wins their attention. When the worship of God become too dogmatic and stereotyped, men will resort to what are new to them though it may be error. When you are the latest, you become the tastiest. When you are modern, you become moved to. When you are updated, you become mandated. When you are new, you win the pew. You cannot add color to your life when you remain antique. That is the reason even the bible enjoins us to keep updated always when it says; ‘therefore…. as Christ…even so we also should walk in newness of (updated) life (Rom 6:4)’. More so it says; ‘but now we were delivered that we should serve in newness of Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter”(Romans 7:6) God believes in models. When you remain old, it is your fault. But he made provision for your renewal. Stop being crude. Crudeness is rudeness. No one minds you when you are not mined. You will remain undefined when you are not refined. Exploring the model factors There are certain key factors that enhance the release of models of products. The following factors make it possible for new models to be realized. # 1 innovation Nothing, no matter how latest or beautiful it may be is in its best state. Nothing in this world has reached it finest condition yet. Everything still undergoes changes to maintain its taste. That is the reason change is a constant experience. For you to be tiered of change means you are to tiered to live. Living is changing and changing is living. You cannot truly affirm that you exist unless you undergo change. You see, what makes change possible is innovation. An innovative manufacturer cannot be stranded in the competitive market. Innovation adds meaning to things. A products utility cannot appreciate without innovation. All advancements in life come from innovation; from bringing something in a newer way, a quicker way, a economical way and a more resourceful way. Take for instance, a piece of wood that looks like junk. A man’s picks it up and with an innovative mind change the piece of wood to an art. The utility of that wood will automatically appreciate. Even the bible records that ‘ the word was made flesh” that was innovation. God saw that the law he gave to the Jews has become so familiar to them that the no longer place value on it. It has become mere tradition. God was looking for a way to still give them the same word so his word will nod loss value. So he decided to

innovate it. So he made the word to become human. Jesus is that word. He is the result of that innovation in God’ s mind. That is innovation. Innovation is adding color to things that already exist to make it appreciates in his value. Innovation turns obsolete things to usable things. It turns rejected things to accepted things. Innovation allows what was tolerated to be celebrated. The reason you keep seeing cars in deferent models is because of the spirit of novelty. Innovation allows the possibility of bringing old thing in new ways. # 2 ideas Another better way to make new models possible is to absorb new ideas. It is the wonders of ideas that that turns dreams into creams. Ideas turns onesided object to a multi-sided product. When ideas are in place, limitation are removed. So ideas are tools to help you remain updated. Every breakthrough in human existence can be traceable to an idea in the mind of a person. Ideas are the keys to the future of a person. The ideas you are able to generate will help you to solve your problems, overcome huddles, and achieve your objectives in life. #3 creativity Creativity is the ability to generate activities in the face of dormancy. Ideas are ways of doing things, but creativity is finding way of doing things. You will never achieve something valuable until you become a creative thinker. A person who does think different from the usual way. What you need is creativity to launch you to your limelight. You see, imagination is more real than fact. What you see as real today were ones in the hidden imagination of someone. ‘Imagination rules the world’ Napoleon Bonaparte once said. You must grow in your life up to a point were you ideas is able to do what facts cannot do. A point where, though fact may say yes but your ideas could say No. Creativity is when fact says one thing but your creative genius help you to do something entirely deferent for result. Napoleon Hill said; ‘whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve’.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE LAW OF WARRANTY

This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him (matth 17:

To strengthen the utility and functional ability of a product, the manufacturer seeks to assure the buyer or consumer of its strength and functional ability by giving the buyer a statement that reassure him of the power of that product. That kind of approach to marketing will add value to a product and it power in the market will appreciate. No product that have name in the market will be without a guarantee. The producer must be sure the product has a warrantee

mark. Some can have six months, one year, two years three years, and even ten years guarantee as the case may be. Until the buyer is assured of the ability of the product by a warranty, there is no possibility of purchase of that product. So warranty is another way to establish the value of the product. Any product with a better warranty is more likely to win in the market than a product without it. God manufactured you as his own product. He could not be less understandable about the power of a warranty, so he issued one on your be half, to assure the world that you are of utmost important to him. You see, there is a statement of warranty on you. You have been issued with a specification to the buyers and the consumers. That is the reason it is so very important for you to function to the degree of the warrantee that God has issued on you. Many try to live their life less than the warrantee on them. For instance, some people, their guarantee is one hundred years, but they refuse to perform up to that, and caused to be returned to the manufacturer prematurely. I think the reason you are not satisfied in your life may be traced to living below the warranty report that God has issued on you. Problems will never overwhelm you should you recognize the power behind the warranty your manufacturer had issued on you. When you understand the length of your ability and operation, it becomes a source of strength and power. This will in turn build your value and importance in the world. The present condition The manufacturer always issues a warrantee on his product for the present condition of the product. He knows what he had invested on the product to satisfy the consumer needs. So the condition of the product is what motivates a warranty. The consumer wants to be sure he buys a solution and not a burden. He needs to be assured that the purchased product is in a better condition and will serve to its specification. When Jesus came into the world, God seeks to assure the world that Jesus as his product that comes to solve the sin problem was in a good condition to do so. So he issued a warranty on him in Matthew 17:5, ‘ this is my beloveth son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him’. The hearing every product receives in the market is dependent on its warranty. So God issued a warranty on you because Jesus said, ‘as my father hath send me so send I you’. So you posses the same warranty as Jesus for better quality and function. Your condition should be as God has issued. Sad to say, a lot still function less than that.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE LAW OF PURPOSE

There is a season to every purpose under the sun (eccle 3:1)

Every product goes to the market with the pride of what it goes to do. The more specific a product’s purpose is, the more valuable the product will be. When what a product comes to do is necessary and needed, that product will increase its value in the market. A sense of purpose creates value. You see, it is the purpose of transportation that makes car valuable. It is the purpose of entertainment that makes football valuable. Everything feels important if their purpose is fulfilled. When light becomes important, bulb will become valuable. God, your manufacturer, is the God of purpose. He has original intent for manufacturing you. He knew what you should do before it create you. You see, no product is created before the purpose is determined. No! Every product is preceded by a need. The purpose of all products is to meet an already existed need. So God created you to fill a gap somewhere. The car was built to fill in transportation need. The water was created to fill in the need of taste. The clock was manufactured to meet the time need. The microphone was created to meet the sound needs. You see, before God made the woman for Adam, he already felt a need for her, when he said ‘it is not good that the man should be alone, I will make a helpmeet for him’ God perceived the need for a helper to Adam. Before he made the woman. So the ultimate purpose of a woman is to complement a man. God said to Jeremiah ‘ before I formed thee, I knew thee… and ordained thee a prophet unto the nations’ (Jere 1:5). So God established that only a need could precede a product’s manufacturing. You are made to fulfill a need. You are built to fulfill a dream. You are design uniquely and specifically to fit in to somewhere and fulfill a purpose that is peculiar to that place. You see, you will enhance your value when you discover your purpose. Your purpose for living is your value base. Remember, a product, which comes to do what is most needed, will become much desired. Your value and important in life will be to the degree of how well you fulfill your purpose. Purpose is the key word to life. Without purpose, life is not complete.

The purpose factors There are some vital links to the subject of purpose. When you begin to sense this factors, you know that you are on the way to locating your purpose in life. # 1 desire This is a vital ingredient for the discovery of purpose. What you mostly desire is a signal to what you are meant for. Desire is an indicator to a destination. Most people find their feat in life through the profession or career they most desired. When your desires are rightly channeled, you will find it to unfold your potion in life. #2 gifting Your gift is another purpose to your purpose in life. Discovered gift is a solution to the question of purpose. It is time for you to look inward you to find out what the creator has put in you. The deposit in you most time can be pointer to the task you are manufactured to handle. Such are the thing that turns you

on easily. What you possess natural flair for is call your gift. Things that you enjoy doing can define your purpose for life. #3 passion This is what makes you react emotionally. Your passion for life can define your purpose in life.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN THE LAW OF DURABILITY Whatever the lord doeth shall be forever

This is a very important law of value in the sense that every product is valued for how long they will last. No perishable product has a lasting value. That is the reason every manufacturer will issue a warrantee on how long his products will last. When a product is made to last, its value will increase. You see, you were meant to last because the bible said what ever God did was to be forever. God made you, so you were meant to last. That is the reason, when the devil interrupted on God’s eternal plan for you, God have to send his only son to pay a final price to redeem you. When you are born again, you receive the gift of eternal life, meaning you will live for ever. When a product won’t last, people will not mind it. Perishable product cannot be more important because of their short-lived ability. You see, we are living in an age when everything is in a fast lane. Fast food, fast plane, fast everything. But we should never put God into those fast lanes. He is a God of durability.

PART FOUR INTRODUCTION

MAXIMISING YOUR POSSIBILITIES IN THE MIST OF PROBLEMS ‘I can do all things through Christ which strenghteneth me’ (Phil 4:13)

Problems are inevitable. You must have them. You cannot travel on the journey of success without a few or more puncture on you tire. So anticipate them. Welcome them. You cannot but ignore problems. You see, all you need is the necessary training that will help you to handle problems. And see them as bread for you strength. In this part, I will outline the keys that will help you to maximize your odds over problems.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN CULTIVATE YOUR PERSON- the seat of all possibilities I can do all things through Christ which strenghtenth me ( Philipians 4:13)

In the market of success, the first product that you will ever sell will be yourself. You cannot truly succeed without you. You are the you, you will use to succeed. You are the first and the most important luggage you must carry along on your journey of life. I always tell people that everything about success in life rises and falls around self. Everything that you will ever use or need to succeed in this life is already in you. Nothing is anywhere else. Some run to America from their native land for greener pasture only to find out that they really needed to look at themselves. So it is very important for you to cultivate your person. To cultivate means to develop, to tend, to plow, to nurture, to care for, be attentive to, to grow. You see, you must carry yourself along your entire life endeavor. A lot of people have left themselves already somewhere and are wondering like they are in the wilderness. Some went to college with themselves but has come out with another. Some have gone into business that have made them abandon who the really are. Quite a lot of men and women right now are in marriages that have caused them their identity. What a life! Until you truly reconcile with your real person, you have not yet started to live. The greatest discovery is the discovery of self. So to maximize your ability to make problems your friend, you have to build yourself. A wise man once said, ‘if you want to change a nation, change a man’ change should begin with you. Daisy Osborn once said, ‘ work on being and not on having, for with who you are, you will have’. The greatest investment in life is the investment on self. Yourself is your greatest asset in life. You are the capital you need to begin in life’s journey. So do not play with yourself. You see, you cannot increase your worth until you have developed yourself. Self is everything. If you look at our text above, you will see that Paul traced his ability to do all things to himself, he said ‘I’ not we, not them, not all, but I. You see, when it comes to success, it has to be entirely a personal affair. No one can succeed for you. The component of your person Man in himself is a triune being. You are made up of three parts of your total being. Your are a spirit, that has a soul and lives in a body. In other words, the three component of your person is spirit soul and body. Your spirit is where you have contact with the divine essence. That the seat of your real person. It is in your spirit that everything about you emanates from. Equally, your soul is where you interpret all that your spirit gathers from the divine essence for the body. Mind is the functional part of your soul. It is in your soul that you interpret all you know in you spirit. So you spirit without your soul will be useless. So all your investment in you person should concentrate on these components of your person. The investment for your spirit Moment in prayers Time in worship Time in meditation Quality quietness

Moment in prayers Prayer is a compulsory spiritual activity. Prayer help to boost the antenna of your spirit for signal decoding. Prayer is never a waste of energy. But it is an investment to your spirit. Prayer is an asset for the prayee. A truly prayerful person cannot be stranded in the mist of problems. Prayer will increase you wisdom in the face of challenges. If you seldom or scarcely pray, you are doing your spirit a great harm. Because you will be so shortsighted in every aspect of your life. Jesus himself, the greatest man who ever lived, prayed on several occasion. He who is the Son of God, so closed to his bosom, why did he ever need to pray? The simply answer is that he was on earth. The divine essence in us need permit ion from us to perform any supernatural feats here. So what prayer does is to make that permission possible. When you pray, you allow you spirit to inform the Spirit of God in you that you need his attention. Prayer is inevitable. It is never an option, but an essential divine action that builds your spirit for effective living on earth. Your are not a mere human being but a spiritual being having human experience. So prayer is very necessary for you. Time in worship Worship is another very important spiritual activity that builds your spirit. It is a source of adoration to God and empowerment to you. Worship is a must to a truly spiritual person. Jesus adds credence to this, when he said; ‘ for God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth’ (John 4:24). So worship is food for the spirit. Worship is to the spirit what sex is to the soul. In fact, in the Hebrew rendering for worship, it means the same thing for sex. The Hebrew word, ‘yadah’ used for worship is equally used for sexual intercourse. So basically, worship has a reproductive and communal power for the spirit. I think in my opinion that worship is the mating point of God’s Spirit and man’s spirit. It is a moment where God’s genes are released into the worshiper. So you cannot overemphasize the power of worship. It is the point of encountering the divine recipe for life. It is in the place of worship that instructions are received. So you must engage in quality worship regularly as an investment for your spirit, which is a component in your person. Time in meditation Meditation is a moment to consider, ruminate, reflect, deliberate and contemplate on an issue to get the nitty-gritty of the subject matter. You cannot understand without meditation. You have to reason with God on your life and destiny for efficiency and effectiveness. That happens for strength to your spirit. Meditation is a compulsory spiritual activity, if you desire to maximize your possibility in life.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

BUILD YOUR ABILITIES

Another word for ability is talents, gifting, skills, potentials, qualifications, capabilities, expertise, and know-how. Your ability is your only source of function. It is your only power base. It what you are gifted to do, that you should be doing. There is no limit to the power within you if you can nurture it. You see, you will never be of worth until you grow yourself, expand the horizon of you operation, and broaden you dexterity. There has been much said about gifts, but too many people still neglect this important area of their life. They are busy being what they are not supposed to be. Your ability is what you can do that you need to grow. You cannot discover new ocean until you loose sight of the shore. When you settle for less, you have put a cap on the best. So cultivate your ability. How to build your abilities There are key ways to building your abilities. # 1 be a learner There is real danger in neglecting knowledge. Knowledge encourages growth. It boosts your ability. You cannot truly advance without the intake of vital information. It is fact that makes you fat. It is understanding that makes you outstanding. You cannot truly know and not be known. Learning is a life style. If you stop learning, you start leaning. In fact, those who are tired of learning are tired of living. Learning is living. Your ability is enhanced truly by the power of continuous learning. That is the reason the bible says, ‘learn to do well…’ (Isaiah 1:17). As far as God is concern, how well you know set pace for how well you do. Learning is to your ability what food is to your body. You cannot do well until you learn well. Knowledge is what should precede action otherwise there will be damage. When you act at the dispose of ignorant, you will reap the fruit of harm. # 2 be a positive thinker. Thinking broadens your perspective and view about issues. It opens you up to options in dealing with the challenges you face. So those who don’t think, stink. The mind is a tool for solution. But it cannot function until you task it with rational options. Without rational thinking, you will never be mind in this world. This is the thinker’s world. You must be a thinker to broaden the power of your ability.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN BE IN PERFORMANCE There is some evil in being idle

Actions promote life, but laziness is a killer. You must dare to release your ability be being active. You cannot maximize your possibility in problems until you become truly on the go. Be smart and smarter. You see, faith is not only believing God but also and much more behaving God. Until you behave your faith, it will only be taken as fake. The bible says, ‘ faith without works is dead’. You will kill your faith if action is not added to it. You see, laziness is deciding on suicide bombing. It is your performance that determines your importance. One of the world strongest man contestants from USA, Jersey Missouri made a profound statement when he was asked by the referee why he choose the crazy game. He said, ‘ life is all about finding what you can do and do it’. The enemies of performance #1 Procrastination This is a dangerous enemy to action. It is when what should be done today is shifted to tomorrow. It is a killer. In fact a wise man said that procrastination is a suicide spirit. It murders ideas and goals. Procrastination hinders action. If you really desire to maximize you life, you need to deal with procrastination in your life. It has destroyed many dreams than any war in the world. #2 Indecision It can be dangerous to be uncertain about life. To waver on issues until much time is lost. There is no benefit in indecision. In fact the bible says, ‘ a double minded man is unstable in all his ways’ (James 1:8) you see, indecision disorganizes every areas of your life. It makes all you do to go in disarray. You become confuse in all areas of your life if any area is suffering indecision. And that will destroy your prowess for purposeful action in life. #3 fear Fear has caused a lot of people to loose out on God’s plan for their lives. It has made so many people to live short of God’s provision for their lives. Fear introduces what does not exist as though it does. Fear magnifies the unnecessary at the expense of the necessary. Fear makes problem look like enemies. Fear breads the eggs of heart attacks. You must destroy fear in your life if you desire to move forward. Fear is a killer of destinies. The things you fear are the reason you remain in one spot for years. The truth is that, the things you have feared all your life are not real. They are vanities. Any danger you encountered is as a result of your fear. What ever you fear can become a reality by the power of imagination. Job said ‘ the things that I greatly feared has come upon me’. Fear makes what is not real to become so if brooded upon. Fear hinders action. Peter was able to take action and walk on the sea at the instruction of Jesus until fear entered him. Even at the very presence of Jesus, he started to sink when he feared. You see, God cannot have faith for you. He

only helps you when you want to sink. But when you are up, you need to build your faith. You can take purposeful actions for your destiny if you destroy fear in your life.

CHAPTER NINETEEN ADEPT TO VERSATILITY. What I mean by being versatile is to know many ways to do a thing. It is to be multi-skill. You see, in this fast growing world, if you are not growing, you will be left behind. If you are an office messenger, and remain thus, when computer will communicate office to office, you will waste. You will become

unwanted when what you do is no more needed. You are most needed for what you can do, if what you can do is helping people to solve their problem faster, cheaper, and easier. You need to be resourceful in your given area of specialization. If you are a teacher, add human management skill to it. If you are a lawyer, you can be anything else that can help your profession also. If you are a pastor, add human development skill to it. When you become multi skill, you will maximize your possibility in managing problems. You see, there is no future to your dreams without skills. Even though you have known your reason for being here, without skills, you will not be outfitted to fulfill it. No mater how faithful and sincere you are, you will never amount to anything worthwhile without expertise. It is your dexterity that determines your output’s flexibility. You mostly see a devil in your failure. I think, you must be the devil because of the lack of your skills. To be resourceful, is to be result full. To be inventive, is to be incentive. To be creative is to be ingenious. It is only expertise that breeds excellence. You see, one day, my uncle Mr Ini Umoren said something to me that became my reason to strive for success. He said, ‘my son, the world still celebrate excellence, so in anything you do try to break the mediocre line’. He was exactly correct. Excellence is the reason a black man as Kofi Anan is the leader of the whole world. He may be black, but he has what is needed. When your expertise is in place, they will forget your race. The reason you are not wanted is because you are not worth it. Whenever you become updated, you will become mandated. No wander Oprah Winfrey said, ‘excellence is the greatest deterrent against racism and sexism’. That is the reason I always say, if you buy the certificate, you can get it, but you will never buy potentials. You have to cultivate it. How to cultivate skill Information is the gateway to skill. Knowledge is the access to dexterity. The validity of the knowledge in your disposal enhances the value of the expertise you possess. It is only facts that increase marks. So learning becomes your greatest way to build your skills. You see, to be skillful is never just to know, but to possess the working knowledge of a given proposal. It is when you know how it applies that you will attract applause. Learning is your life’s long assert. You should never stop learning until you exit the earth. J F Kennedy said, ‘anyone who stop learning is old, either at twenty or eighty’. Information, or what I call quality information is the only medication for preventing old age. The problem of African nations is that they are traditional explorers. They spend billions of dollars every year to celebrate too many festivals, but there are no investment on quality conferences and seminars that educate people on sensitive and practical aspect of life. Africans value tradition more than ideas. It is only when Africa become ideas explorers that her problems will be turn to progress. You don’t lack because you are black, you only lack because you are ignorant. You are not backward because you are black; you are backward because you are fact less. Information can be found through reading. There was a time in my life that I read such that my father threatens to disown me with the fear that I will become mad. Because to him, those who

read much get mad. You much be a reader to become a leader. You must read to win a seat. You must study to have stamina. Only those who read facts that will eat fat. The books you read will be the reason for the feats you command. So go in an insatiable hunt for insight, because they contribute to your life.

CHAPTER TWENTY BE MENTORABLE I believe that you cannot be mention in life until you are mentored. Further more, you cannot go far until you are fathered. Mentoring is a must for those who desire to maximize their lives in this world. A mentor is a coach, a trusted adviser. He is an instructor. A reliable guide. A counselor, and a tutor. A mentor is the link between dreams and the fulfillment of them. A mentor knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. Where you desire to tread on, some one has gone through there before, so you need his directive to avoid danger. A Mentor points your weakness to you with the purpose of making you better than he met you. You will always need a mentor in life. I remember when I set out to write my first

book, I discovered that I was so uncertain of my ability in completing the book. I was afraid of criticism. So I decided to get a mentor, who could guide me through the process. But I was amazed that in about a few weeks, with the contribution of the mentor I got, all my fears had crumble. I was now with the challenge of meeting the deadline. In fact, I was now afraid of being seen by him as a failure. So I press hard towards the dream. The good news was that, the book saw the light and is now on circulation. A mentor challenges you to be your best. He takes you towards the right procedure to becoming your best. I read a story some years ago of a young man who went to a mentor to be train as a boxer. Afterwards, the mentor sent him to paint the wall, mob the car. The young man became agitated and complaint that he wanted to be a boxer and not a painter or car washer. But unknown to him, that his mentor was taking him through the process of stretching his hands, to gain fitness for the ring. You could be under a mentor now who seems to be taking you off your desired tract. If he is a reputable mentor, stay at it for soon you will come out with the experience that will match your expectations. The benefits of mentoring Harnessed potential It is through the effective hands of a mentor that your potentials are discovered, cultivated, broadened, and refined for competence and usefulness. Your gifts need to be explored for use to benefit mankind. So a mentor helps you to do that. Until your potentials are refined, you will not be defined. Warns of pitfalls Mentors had gone the way you desire to go. So by experience, they have the data in their disposal of where there is danger and where there is safety. They are In a good position to warn you before hand of the pitfalls in the road you intend to tread.

Builds confidence

There is nothing as good as being guided by a person who knows better than you do. You will have the poise and the conviction to go through the way. You will be enthusiastic and optimistic about all you do because at the back of your mind, you know that there is some one trustworthy to see you through. Produces motivation You cannot succeed without motivation. The mentor encourages you to take risk that will help you to rise. He motivates you with words of faith and influence. Paul was about to give up because of what he thought was his weakness, until the greatest of all mentors, Jesus came to him and motivated him by saying, ‘ my grace is sufficient for thee, and my strength is made perfect in weakness’. A mentor will let you know that it is possible though it seems impossible. You need a mentor to be motivated in life, in order to enhance your possibility in problems.

Brings needed support A mentor will be ready to support you at any given opportunity that arises. This could be financially, emotionally, socially, mentally, and materially. Most mentors will help you to handle most of you initial bills for you. Makes networking possible Through mentoring, you gain access to many more other worthy mentors in different fields of life. You can easily connect with important people in your career, business, profession, and job.

CHAPTER TWENTYONE

NOTE THE REFERENCE POINTS

I can do all things through Christ which strenghteneth me (Philippians 4:13)

In life, I have discovered that God will not give you anything but will refer you to where to get it. God will not do anything for you but will tell you where to have what you want. When God want to give Adam food, he refers him to the herbs and green tree. Gen 1:29

‘And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat’.

You see, as far as God is concern, he told Adam, ‘I don’t want you

coming to worry me any time you need food, so I give you the herbs bearing seed for your food’. If you need for, your reference point from today is green tree and fruits for your food. If you need knowledge, God refer you to his word; ‘I commend you to…the word of his grace which is able to build you up’…(acts 20:32). When you need power, God refer you to the Holy Spirit; ‘ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…. (Acts 1:8). When you request for help, God refer you to your wife; ‘ and I will make him an help meet for him’ (Genesis 2:18). When you desire creativity, God refer you to your brain. When God want to prosper you, he refer you to his prophets; ‘ Believe his prophets so shall ye prosper’ (2 chronicles 20:20). This is the reason God is being called Jehovah Jireh. That is the lord our provider. God only provide for what you need. All you need to do is to take note of the different reference points he has stored what you need. You see, to refer means to turn to somewhere for consultation. So, most of the things you see as problems are actually your ignorant of the point of consultation for help. God is so meticulous in his creation. If you need health, God will refer you to a doctor. If you need

financial solutions, God refer you to an accountant. When you need justice, God refer you to a lawyer. This is to promote division of labor. Jesus practiced this law through out his ministry. When he needed a coin from the belly of the fish to pay tax, he knew that he must first catch the fish. So he sent peter; because, peter was a fisherman. So in your effort to be master at problem management, you need to note the reference point in life where God had stored your solution. Some one may ask; ‘why do we pray then?’ Well, we pray to access the wisdom that opens us to our God given provisions. You see, when you pray for a car, God refer you to your brain for an idea to trade for money to buy a car. You will never hold God responsible for your lack because he has provided all you need. Take note of the reference point.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO UPDATE YOUR WISDOM BANK Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom in all thy getting, Get understanding (proverb 4:7)

Wisdom is for sale You will need wisdom than any other thing in life. Wisdom is your capital in life. You see, I have discovered that wisdom is the most expensive mineral resources on earth. Crude oil is not. Gold does not match. Even precious stones cannot be measured up with the worth of wisdom. Wisdom is more crucial in life than all. Wisdom is God’s revenue generating system. Wisdom has greater exchange rate as compared to other resources. That is the reason it is so very important for you to update your wisdom bank. When wisdom becomes important to you, your quality of life will change. Wisdom is what changes your perspective about life from negative to positive. You will become most wanted with the power of wisdom. Your exploits in life will be tied to the level of wisdom that is operating in you. So, for you to be a candidate for

maximized possibility, you must increase your wisdom storage tank. Wisdom promotes inventions. You will gain prominence in life by the increased of your wisdom bank. Wisdom makes you to shine as a star in the world. It makes you super innovative. Joseph became the prime minister in Egypt by the use of the wisdom that worked in him. Daniel saw his way to the position of one of the three presidents in Babylonian empire when he diploid the power of the wisdom that was stored in him. You will not do without wisdom. Wisdom is for sale You see, you will never become rich until you have wisdom to trade for money. The bible says; ‘the merchandise of wisdom much more than the merchandise of silver and gold’. Wisdom is for sale. You will trade your wisdom in life for money. Wisdom is a mineral resource Money is a mineral resource for your profiting. God releases wisdom as a source of revenue generation. The Government raises their revenue from the natural resources, but you will raise your revenue from the amount of wisdom you posses.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE HOW TO MAXIMISE EVERYDAY IN THE MIST OF PROBLEMS This is the day, which the LORD hath made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)

No day in your life should be handle with levity. Attitudes are very important to life; than circumstances. In this chapter, I have put together some vital principles from God’s word to help you give your days a different touch of bliss and fulfillment. Accomplishment in life is in your ability to see life in a peculiar, and unique perspective. I think, the reason most people experience reproach in life is traceable to their approach to life. Your success in life has it bearing on your mind-set about life. These principles will change your life for ever, when you apply them in your daily life. Nugget one Approach your day with a sense of the present Everyday in your life should be approached with the mind of contemporary and current trends. The best and the most current, updated things must be put into your day. You must discover new things everyday, if you desire to

maximize your day. New ideas, dreams, goals, plans, and visions, must be discovered and put into your everyday activities to get the most out of life. In fact, as a born again child of God, you should put yourself into the day as an investment to get the best out of your days. You are the one that counts. If you do not discover new thing for your days, it will remain the same. Now is never too late to start. Nugget two Approach your day as the most expected When you see everyday as the most expected day in your life, it will bring the best for you. God always follow his plans with a daily sequence. See genesis one. ‘the lord daily loadeth us with benefits’( psalms 68:19). You be creative and catch the more ideas when you see every day as the very day you have been waiting for. Truly saying, God has a good plan for you each passing day. No other day could come that will be more better and promising than today. Do not despise a day just because you think tomorrow will be more better. Many people still think that tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year will be better. Forgetting that the future to be better or worse will depend at most on their attitude to today. The best you can do to prepare for your future is to accept today as the day you most want to have and enjoy. Work as such and get the best into today. Treat today as the best you could ever get from God. Work today as never going to get any other again, for the picture you in your mind for the future can be put into the present moment. Nugget three Approach your day as created to you by God Today, and everyday is for you. Everything God created is for you. In fact but for you, God would not have created anything. Never forget that; ‘therefore, let no man glory in men; for all things are yours’ handle everyday as a precious gift from God. It is the most important gift he has given you for your productivity. Today is an exclusive reserve of God for you. Nothing can tamper with the best of today except you. The reason the day seems empty is because you have net treated it as a treasure. Change you approach, and handle it as a treasure from God. It is fashion to fit you.

Nugget four Approach your day with the mental picture of what is expected There is something in everyday for your benefits. You have to specifically expect that. It is very unwholesome to wake up in the morning with a vague mind. Never knowing in particular what is anticipated from the day. Every day comes to you with trailer loads of blessings and benefits for your use, but your expectations is the only toll that will unlock these. See every day with the

mind to get goods from the day. God made it for you. God is never holding anything back for you. So never enter any day with ambiguity. Always break the day with a ready made plan of what is expected. Determine to discover new thing today and be ready to put the best of your talents, time, energy, resources, and focus into today. Remember, it your day, loaded to do you good. The one you have been waiting for. Nugget five Get into your day with the mental picture of what must be done There is something to be done. Actions promotes life, laziness kills. Don’t let your day go by empty. Deliberately put something productive into the day for a maximize life. It is a pity, a lot of people are so lazy to work. Never attempting any noble course in life. They have dozen of excuses to give at any of their slothfulness. There is evil in being idle. No wander come to abject poverty. Laziness is never an attribute that leads one to anywhere. Even the kingdom of God is a labor conscious kingdom. No one is expected to be satisfied with the status quo. Mediocrity is never an identity of the kingdom of God. Stop procrastinating. There is what must be done now. So get on doing something. Nugget six Approach your day with a sense of collective endeavors You are not alone, and you will never be. Do not try to succeed unaided. Everyone is involve in the business of the day. ‘No one is an island, they say. Never forget; angels are working ministering, today. God himself never sleeps or slumber at all. Jesus is in the right hand of God interceding today. The Holy Spirit is guiding, teaching, reminding, comforting today. You must believe in collective power for success. Always face your day with a sense of networking. That is, grow in a positive mind group. Remember, David had Jonathan, he help him. There must be people working with you for success. Life is always fulfilled in unison. Nugget seven Approach your day with a sense of excitement You should never get moody. Never worry, never sorry, and never sorrow. Jesus said; ‘cheer up’, he meant it. Paul instructed; ‘ rejoice and again I say rejoice’. Brother James advised; ‘count it all joy Nehemiah admonished ‘ the joy of the lord is your strength’. Solomon cautioned; ‘a merry heart is like medicine’. You must get keyed up everyday. There is a force of dynamism in you. Be delighted and shout for joy. Never look dejected. Do everything today and always with a touch of vitality and jubilation. It is a blissful day for you. Enthusiasm is a factor to get you to your summit.

Nugget eight Approach your day with a sense of hunts for contents. One thing you must discourage your self from is to be deceived by packaging. The container can be very beautiful but deceptive. When you purchase a milk, as soon as the contents finishes, you dump the container. That means you only need the contents and not the container. The container only has value as long as the contents is in it. After wards, when the contents is removed, the container becomes useless. In fact it only has added value if you have something else to sore in it. You see, there is something inside everyone, everywhere, every time, and every place for you. The bible always point us inward. Take for instance when it says; ‘while we look not at the thing which are seen, but the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal’(11 Corinthians 4:18). Handle your day for a look out for the inner essence of all things. Nothing ia always the way the seems to be. You must place more value on contents, components, and potentials. Cover is never all that is. Contents fulfill you. There is always something more in what men applaud. What people see is never the end of what should be seen. When you focus all your attention on what is seen, your eyes will be blinded to what is real. The unseen substance of things are limitless and boundless. You must see the invisible, dream the impossible, and believe the unfathomable. Crave for what is more on stuff. Nothing here is in it best state. They are undergoing a process of improvement, innovations, creativity and modification. Even you, you must invest on your inner man everyday to maximize your days. You know, everything worth having start from the inside. So approach your day with a sense of what is in it, and not for what if on it. Your fulfillment is always in your inner essence. Nugget nine Come into your day with a touch of assurance Always be definite, confident, positive, convinced, and sure of what you have, know and be everyday. Paul said; ‘prove all things, hold unto that which is good’ (1 thes 5:21). You must be sure of who you are and what you believe. Paul said; ‘ I know whom I believed and I’m persuaded’ a lot of people go out everyday double minded. Never sure of what to do, where to go, who to be with, and who not to be with. Their only language is; ‘ may be’ ‘ I think this’ ‘that’. They are never sure. It’s sad. Beloved, you need be sensitive to locate your place in this world. Be confident in God and in yourself. Stay confident of who you are and where you are going. Always approach your day with a sense of poise and dignity. Certainty is the bedrock of progress. Nugget ten Approach your day with a sense of absolute displeasure with alternatives to God

God is all you need. Parent may not be there always. Money may not meet all your needs. Even friends may be rare. You see, God is jealous over you. He hates idolatry. Be totally yielded to him without options. Any time you pose a substitute with God, you create an enmity with him. Jesus said, ‘apart from me, ye can do nothing’ (John 15:5). You might do all you could, but realize that without God nothing can be organized. ‘Except the lord builds the house, they that build labour but in vain’. You can discover that God is dependable. You could replace your shoes. You can replace your clothes, but God is irreplaceable. He is one and the same. You need him in order to make it. God is never an option, but the ultimate.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

PROBLEM MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

There are powerful principles that can help you manage the problems you face and benefits from them. These principles will work for you if you use them. #1 value problems Value problems and your potential power to turn the problems to your benefit. Create a catalogue of your challenges and ask yourself such questions as, how much value do I place on the power of this problem and my potential power to turn it to my advantage. Millions other than you equally face the problems you face. So take the problems seriously and release your latent power that is lying untapped in you to turn the problems to your advantage. The more serious you take a problem, the more power you will release to handle the problems appropriately. Your

response to problems and the problems itself will determine the outcome. People have face the most catastrophes with the right attitude and turned their shame to fame, story to glory. The turned their breakdown to breakthrough. Even their scars into stars. #2 play it down Whatever problems you may face, when you value the problems, you need to play it down. Don’t take it to the extreme. Don’t make it so intense that your sense of judgment becomes distorted. Let the problems realize that their pressure on you does not perturb you, and you will be balanced. Your problems should never be exaggerated. #3 be on the going Don’t let problems make you stop your progress. If poverty is your problem, laziness will never solve it. If unemployment is your problem, idleness will add power to it. No mater the magnitude of your problem, keep on the search for solutions. Never be stagnant. Stagnant water always stings. Keep busy and your problem will soon look to you as food. To wait on problem can be dangerous because it can grow into what could not be handle easily. A lot of people some times wait for people to handle their problems for them. Don’t wait for others. Tackle your problems yourself and get the solution.

PART FOUR TWENTY-FIVE

WISDOM SENSE FOR LIVING IN THE FRIENDSHIP PROBLEMS

How to foresee the future But those things which God before had showed By the mouth of all his prophets that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled We are told that when Jesus was twelve years old, he deserted his parent on their way back from the Jewish feast in Jerusalem, and resorted to the temple, and sat in the mist of doctors of the law. He did two profound things that I will love you to note here today. He was “both hearing them and asking them questions” (luke2: 46). Note that he was ‘hearing’ and ‘asking’ questions; both verbs connote action that lead to learning certain key things. Basically, the doctors in questions were the custodians of the vital information in the law and the prophets about the future of God’s redemptive package for his covenant people, to which Jesus came to pioneer. So for Jesus to foresee into that future, he had to deliberately and Attentively listen to those who had the information in their disposal. So for you to foresee into God’s future plan for your life, you have to Firstly, be a good listener, you must locate words that are spoken by proven men of God and listen to it again and again. For “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17) Secondly, be inquisitive, you must try to ask question about things you do not understand, even things of interest to you; things that has to do with your destiny. Ask questions always because, most secret in the bible were revealed when someone dare to ask.

Thirdly, be a versatile learner, we are told that God reveal the future by all his prophets. That is each of the prophets received part of the message. God did not show it to one person. So you must learn from as much people as are available to you who are proven to have the true message of God’s word. Remember, in the multitude of counselors there is safety (proverb11: 14, 24:6). Your future in God is so great, so as you practice the principles above you will truly see into the future that God has destined for you to work on a glorious life. .

Power thought What ever you can do best attracts what you will do more

WISDON KEY TWO

How to practice the word of God

And he answered and said unto them, my mother And my brethren are these, which hear the word of God and do it (Luke 8: 21)

One of the most hidden concepts in the lives of most Christian youth today is the ability to practice the word of God. The truth is, it is in doing the word of God that results in life can be attained; but a lot of youth still struggle with this. Brother James told us that if we are not doers of God’s word, we are deceivers of our very selves; that is the worse form of deception. How then can we practice the word of God? Now, the Greek word translated ‘do’ in the text above is ‘poieo’ which means to grant something a quality or make sufficient. That is, that ability to be given a nature that help something or someone to act in a manner that is consistent with that nature. In other words, the potential of anything or anyone to perform is always in conformity to the trueness of his nature. That is why Jesus said, “make the tree good and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit” (matthew12:33). So to do the word of God implies that you become the very nature of the word. As you keep listening to God’s word, you are being transformed into the very image of the word ( 2 Corinthians 3: 1718) by this, the word will create in you the very nature of God which in turn is

the ability within you that does the word of God. This is the only way to practice the word of God, because it must be “God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his own good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). So let Him work it through you, for he will not accept your mechanical way.

Power thought Until your words go forth, your world cannot come forth.

WISDOM SENSE THREE

Training your mind

But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind Romans 12:2. I discovered something from God’s word that changed my perspective about life so uniquely. I learned from the word, that all I know from God begins in my spirit, because God can only talk to (contact) my spirit, “there is a spirit in man that the inspiration of the almighty giveth understanding” (Job 328) I think that is the reason Jesus said “theyThat worship God must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 2:24).

But the case is different with your mind, because your mind cannot hear God. It is only your spirit that hears God. But the irony is that until your mind understands what you learn from God, it will never be of benefit to you. That is the reason it is so very important for you to train your mind to understand along the lines of God’s destiny for your life. To train your mind, you must: Meditate on God’s word regularly; if you cannot meditate on the word of God, you allow your mind to be dormant. Speak the word to yourself: this is self-talk. That ability for you to talk the word of God always to yourself. We see example in psalm 103:1 where David instructed his soul to carry out certain key obligation to God. He said ‘bless the lord oh my soul’. He has to keep talking to himself, because there is a tendency for his soul to do otherwise if not instructed. So to let your mind to understand, you must keep talking to it. As you practice these principles, you will constantly train your mind in the line of all you know about your destiny in God that will be of benefit to your life.

Power thought Your level of ability attracts your level of responsibility

WISDOM SENSE FOUR

Do you have the capital? Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom and in all thy getting, get understanding Proverbs 4:7

When someone is set to begin a business, he first of all set his mind on gathering the capital that is needed to get started in his business. So seen, the capital serve as an initial fun needed to for him to get started. So the first contemplation of anyone who desires to begin in life is always the capital to get stared with. Even education, investment etc, all need capital. In the kingdom of God, we are told that wisdom is the principal thing. That means, what you need to get started in life as a youth, is not capital in terms of ‘cash’, but capital in terms of the wealth of information, ideas, knowledge within your disposal. That is, in God’s ways of doing things, how well you know determines how better you begin in life. That is the reason he enjoins you to get wisdom; meaning, you only get started in life with God’s wisdom, not on man’s way of getting started. A man may tell you that you are poor when you do not have money in your pocket, but God will tell you that you are actually poor, if you have a lot of dollars, pound sterling, and euro, in your pocket, but lack divine wisdom. So true riches begins when you are full of ideas of God’s ways of doing things. How terrible it will be for you as a youth to live without wisdom! The question is, do you have the capital? That is the wisdom of God. It will get you started well in life.

Power thought Ideas rule the mind but action rules the world.

WISDOM SENSE FIVE

Try to know your real essence not, is Man that is in honor, and undertandeth like the beast that perish Psalms 49:20

Man is essentially a spirit that has a soul and lives in a body. Man is not limited to a body, nor does he have a spirit, but he himself is a spirit. His real nature is spirit, his soul is a tool, and the body is his domicile. You have to clearly understand this when you see, Job 32:8 and Job 10:11-12. if you do not understand this as a youth, the bible say you are like a perishing beast. What a contrast! That is the reason it is so very important for you to get to know your true self in the light of God’s word. The greatest discovery is the discovery of self; this is because, if you do not know yourself, you will live short of your full potential. There is no limit to what you can be and do, if you truly know who you are. Someone once said that we set young men for a fall if we let them envision what they can do without first knowing who they are. That is very true in the sense that you should never be so occupied on what to do, rather first of all, sit down with the bible which is the creator’s life’s manual, and of course the only true mirror that can show you your true self (Corinthians 3:17-18). As you do this, you will discover yourself as God sees you, then your true abilities and possibilities will surface. Study the word of God always, be in the positive mind group, and change your perspective about yourself from that of a mere human being to that of a spirit being, that is absolutely boundless and limitless. That is how God made you, and never try to be less than that Prayer: thank you father for making me in your very image and likeness, As I explore this reality, I develop myself to my true essence, in Jesus Name, Amen. References: Jeremiah 1:5, 1 Thessalonica 5:23

Power thought When you overcome opposition, you will locate your position.

WISDOM SENSE SIX

Understand your value Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows Matthew 10:31

The bible clearly outlines certain key factors that establish your value in God. These factors are what I will let you think about today. Before then, I want you to understand that the way the world measure value is quite contrasting to the way God does it. The world will celebrate you when you have money, popularity, properties, and so on; non of these is bad in itself anywhere, but God will tell you that all those phenomena are the result of exploring your value factors. That is the reason I seek to delineate the factors in God’s word that you can use to measure your value: Your maker: one of the most vital sources of true value is the maker. The fact that all product are valued because of the manufacturer is not hidden. Every one seems to place value on goods because of who made it. For instance, you will value shoes that are labeled made in Italy than the one that is labeled made in Ghana, the reason is simple, and you trust Italy for quality shoes than Ghana. In that same light, you should know your value by your maker. God made you (Genesis 2:28), and you can trust God for quality before you consider anything else. Your ability, people also place value on a product because of what it can do. For instance, you will value a product for its performance not for its name. The bible says you can do all things through Christ (Philippians 3:13), in other words God demonstrates your value by what he has send you to do. The price paid on you, if you buy a pen $1000 and another $5, you will know how most you value the one you bought for one thousand dollars, because it cost you more. God paid a costly price to buy you, that is the blood of Jesus ( 1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23) by this, in God’s sight you are so valuable to him because he is not a wasteful business man. He knows your value before he bought you so costly.

Power thought Your performance determines your importance WISDOM SENSE SEVEN What happen when you are born again? Which were born, not of blood,

Nor of the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God (John1: 12-13)

To be born again does not necessarily means that you make resolutions to live right; neither does it means for you to turn a new leaf as it is always said. More so, it does not suggest a renewal or correction. But what really occurred when you are born again is that God gave birth to you as his son, it is when he totally forgiven your sins, and implanted into you his divine nature. That is, from the moment you are born again, you no more belong to your old life again; neither do you refer to them as reality. But only Jesus and his word now becomes your reality. What God needed to do in your life, he has done it. All he needed to put in your life to make it accepted by him; he has put it there. He gave you his nature of righteousness and goodness (2 Corinthians 5:21). You became more like him. All you need now is keep growing in that grace till Jesus comes. Keep learning everyday about Jesus and his covenant of love for you, by studying the bible, listening to messages, praying everyday and going to church regularly, these will help you to grow. However all he needed to give you, he has already given you. Keep thanking God always as you grow in him into his fullness. You are his child when you are born again. Power thought Everything that is, has the potential of what should be

WISDOM SENSE EIGHT Life winning substance. The word that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life (John 6:63)

To a lot, life is a mystery. Yet to many too, life is seen as magic or myth that could not be understood. Perhaps to many, it is a product of luck, fate, and

accident. They wander aimlessly, yearning hopelessly at their presumed misfortune meted out to them by their mythical perception of life. They cursed nature. They yell at almost every thing as the source of their problem. They ask, ‘when will I ever get out of these’? ‘How did I get here’? ‘Who will save me from these burdens of mine’? To them, their ordeal seems uncountable. Their jinx seems to be increasing everyday. What a situation! I want to ask you some questions today, are you part of the masses above? Do you seem not to understand life? Is life a myth, mystery, or magic to you? Are you merely living your life as a product of fate? Does evolution wins your intellect? What is your perspective about life? What is your life view? What does life mean to you? How do you understand life? What is most important about life, and what is less important? Your perfect cognizance of the reality of life will bring you into fulfillment. That is where I am driving at here. To answer most of the questions above, you need to sit down with the bible and get the real meaning of life. That will help you to win your battles of life. The word of God is the only solution. Power though Life and destiny are the offspring of time

WISDOM SENSE NINE

The God factor

Those who do know their God shall be strong and do exploit (Daniel 32:11)

To many, even Christians, God is still a mystery. The reality of the presence of God is to them a mirage. They cannot fathom how God could ever be involved with anything that has to do with men. To them, it is impossible to ever know God. I do not know the reason they think that way, may be, merely because of their traditional, religious, mythical, and nominal perception about God. Their limited minds are deceived to look at God as a being that is so very huge, and unfathomable, high and very wrathful. To them, yet God cannot deal with any

human at all. If this is how you see God, you will never fail to have problem, and a lot of them. You see, a man that will never be overwhelmed by problems is a man that sees God as a father. He knows that God is always with him. Not just with him only, but with him to do him good (Jeremiah 32:41). You must know that God is for you, with you, and in you. God cannot let you alone. He is with you to succeed. God cares for you. How wonderful will life look like for you to fully grasp the fact that God almighty cares about your welfare. Your success in life depends on this to a larger extent. He thinks about you. He is making plans for your future. God loves you: the love of God is too amazing. A lot of people need to be loved. May be that is the reason for the so much sexual problems we have in our society today. Youths, men, Ladies need to be loved. So you have to fathom that God loves you. He does. The bible says, for God so love the world. So you go about life with the consciousness of God’s unchanging love for you. God needs you. Do you have problem about being needed? Do you ever think that no one needs you? That may be the source of your problem. But you need to understand that God needs you. He needs you to be by his side. He needs your fellowship. You must understand that God trust your ability to be the best in his hands. .

Power thought When you are below inspiration, your chance of error increases WISDOM SENSE TEN You are a possessor Whoever believeth in him should not perish, But have everlasting life (John 3:16)

To totally be in charge, and make your life count in this world, you must discover and recognize what you have in you. If you are empty, you life will be empty. But when you are full of potentials, gifts, abilities, skills, ideas, and initiative, your life will be radiating with unquenchable radiant that chart the course of your existence. You are not empty. God has loaded potentials in you by redemption. You carry the divine elixir within you. There is a winning force within your person. The real you, is waiting for your discovery and exploration. You see, a lot of Christian youths are looking for help where there is no help. They are crying

for solution while the very solution is in their hands. What they say is opposite of what they have. They talk failure, disappointment, rejection, and all kinds of confusion towards their life. They say ‘where is my solution’? The bible instructs in Romans 10:6-8 that we should …say not in your heart, who shall ascend into heavens (that is to bring Christ down from above) or who shall descend into the deep? (That is to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But …the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart: that is the word of faith, which we preach. That is touchy! In

other words, all you need to get to where you want to be in life is absolutely within your reach. It is right within your sphere of contact. You can touch it, you can handle it, and you can discern it. They are qualified in term of infinite realities. It is within your reach to make you rich. Do not run anyhow again. Sit down and discover your rich uniqueness that the maker has stored in you. You must be a possessor to take your position.

Power thought If nothing works within you, nothing works for

WISDOM SENSE ELEVEN You are in control When a man is in control of his life, nothing happen in his domain without his knowledge. No one takes him for granted. No one regulates his life for him. He may have adviser, counselors and mentors, but none of those can actually detect for him. He operates within the auspices of facts available to him through his learning, imaginations, and intuition. He is not moved by public opinion or view. He does not allow outside forces to deter him. As far as he is in total harmony within him, no external aggression is of important to him. You must come to a point in your life where you are totally in control of all that resolve around you. The whole of your life must be in your control. Do not allow any wicked forces to be the reason for what is happening around you. When God is in charge, it means you are in shape. You are complete and whole. Be decisive. Jesus said ‘I give unto you power to tread on serpent and scorpion, and all the power of the Enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you’ (Luke 10:19) that is authority. That is control. He said ‘I give you’, meaning you have it. When you have it, you are in control. Power thought If you are born in poverty never let poverty be born in you.

WISDOM SENSE TWELF You must have a guideline This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth…. That thou mayest observe To do according to all that is written therein :( Joshua1:8)

You are taking charge of your life because you have been given the blue print for life. You have been given a set of instruction to run by. You are not just doing things anyhow, but you are within a set of values that control your existence. You know where to go, what to do, where to be and where not to be. You know what to say. Your success was decided before you get started. You are on tract with destiny. Nothing is happening around you without order. The bible is the greatest and the most authentic book ever read by people. It is the only final authority on any issue in your life. It is your first, continuous and last resort. Don’t go left and right, back and front, that’s the devil’s job. Settle down with the creator’s life manual. Study it, Meditate on its contents. Talk it always to yourself. It is your reservoir of wisdom. Through it, you know the will and the mind of God on any issue about your life and destiny. That book call the bible will put you in charge of your resources in life. It will make you wiser than your peers, even your teachers. The bible is your blue print for life. Remember if you don’t have a guideline, you will be sidelined.

Power thought If you don’t have a guideline you will be sidelined WISDOM SENSE THIRTEEN Create your own future! Lift up now thy eyes, and look… for all the land Which thou seest, to thee will I give it. (Genesis 13:14-15)

The word of God, which we read and listen to always, is powerful, quick and sharper (Hebrews 4:12). And the word does not fail at any time, place or purpose it is used according to God’s will to get result in life. But there is something very crucial I want you to note today, That is, the word of God is not only supportive, but it is also and even more creative. The word is not just for you to use to support yourself but it is for you to use it as an instrument or a guide to create a desirable future. The word is not sympathetic but initiative. For instance, the word of God does not just support you having a baby, but the very baby is created by the word. The word does not just support you to be rich, but the word is the only authentic instrument to create lasting wealth and riches. The word does not agree with you to succeed but it the word itself that create good success (Joshua 1:8). You see, a lot of believers just quote the bible as a support or perhaps all they know about the bible (God’s word) is to look at how the word agrees with what they are doing. But the basic usefulness of God’s word is that, it should be the initiator not the alignment. Not when things are spoilt then you look for the word.

Power thought Where you desire to be in life must be created in you.

WISDOM SENSE FOURTEEN Get over your past But this one thing I do, forgetting those things, which are behind, And reaching forth unto those things, which are before, (Philippians 3:13)

Your pass is over; your future is born in you. One of the ways you will get over your pass mistakes, failures, disappointment, setbacks and guilt, is to consider your pass as dead. Mike Murdock said, the pass is in the grave, your present is born, and your future is in the womb. That is the truth. The bible said ‘remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old’ (Isaiah 43:18). Because old things are passed away, behold all things are become new (2 Corinthian 5:17)

To pass away is a figure of speech that stands for being dead. The negative pass was dead in Christ and the future is born. So do not see your past as real again but rather see your future as more important that the past…. This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind. ( at the back) and reaching unto those things which are before( in the future) (Philippians3:13). Get over your pass, it is gone. Set your mind on a positive future, and your life will never remain the same.

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Power thought When the future is born within you, your past should be over behind you.

WISDOM SENSE FIVETEEN Have a dream and set goals And Joseph dreamed a dream, and told it to his brethren (Genesis37:5)

You can never make it in life without a dream. It is not enough to be good. You must have a vision that is strong in your heart, that no policy or criticism can hinder. A dream is the seed of the future. It is your mental picture of the desired future. The only future that is assured of is the one that begins as a picture in you. You see, anything God will ever use you to do in life will first be conceived within you. What is your purpose for being? Why did you come here in this generation? Why didn’t you come years before or later, why now? There must be a reason for your being on earth. Discover your purpose and build your dream around that. Remember, ‘without vision the people perish’ get a dream and a vision and never let it go. Set goal for your future. Goals are dreams with deadline. Or dreams with timing and priority. Goals are interpreting your dreams into scale of preference. Get serious with your life today for your future in God is so great to toil with.

Power thought Whatever you are gifted to do, is what you should be doing.

WISDOM SENSE SIXTEEN Be creative and innovative In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis1:1) Creativity is the art of discovering something new everyday. Innovations and ideas is the sure way of success in life. Nothing around you is always in its best state; that is the reason innovation is necessary for you to take all around you to excellence. Creativity and innovation begins in you. Everything you could ever need for your dream to come true is inside you ‘he had also set the world in their heart’ (Ecclesiastes 3:11)” and “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27) more so, ‘greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world’ (1 John 4:4). So

look inward and imagine the future you want to walk into, the job you want to get, the wife or husband you want to marry, the business you want to begin, the school you want to attend, and even the amount of money you want to have, and create it from within you. All is in you. If it is not in you, it is not for you. Stop running around looking for help. The only help you need in within your reach right now. What is in you will make it for you.

Po wer thought Where you desire to be in life must be created in you

WISDOM SENSE SEVENTEEN Build positive habits Search the scripture daily……..(acts 17:10) Whatever you cannot do everyday is not your behavior……uko James Habits are powerful. They are objective. They have the power to decide your future. In fact, your future is in you daily routine. What ever you do on a daily bases which become your behavior can fix your future. You have to be careful of the things you do daily. Habits are daily lifestyles that culminate into behavior which can decide a future. Know that if your daily habits are negative, you are approaching a negative future, and if positive, you are approaching a good future. I have discovered that, even careers are products of habits. Yes they are. For instance, if you decide to be a lawyer, you get to the university and put yourself under study habit for six years and that’s it. You become a lawyer. You even need to make in an habit while practicing law to remain updated in the profession by reading journals and periodicals Profession is the child of routine Life is input and output You see, you will never get out of life, what you did not give to it. It is a law that cannot be broken. Your tomorrow is in your lifestyles today. What you choose as your habit today are deciding your future. You must be careful. There is no accidental future. There is no magic in life. The one you are now you created it yesterday, and your tomorrow are being constructed now by the things you are doing now. Be wise. No body can build your future for you, even God only play a part by giving you the principles on how to live in his word. So you see, it is your responsibility to create a future for your self by choosing positive and productive lifestyles. Such habits as, prayer, studying, thinking, planning, exercising, integrity, honesty, and off course, working. Avoid habits as lying, smoking, sex outside marriage, drinking alcohol, laziness, haste, procrastination, stealing, and dishonesty, excessive sleeping. Refuse these negative habits and build the positive habits daily. Remember, whatever you do more than once master you. Practice makes perfect, they say. You can create a great future for yourself and avoid mistakes.

Power thought: To be out of God is to be wrong

WISDOM SENSE EIGHTEEN Pray always Men ought always to pray and not to faint (Luke 18:1)

Supplication is useful. Prayer is never an option, but a necessity. It is vital. It is inevitable, and very crucial in your life in this world. You see, you will never succeed alone. You cannot succeed without the divine back up. That is the reason prayer is very crucial in your life. Payer is a kind of communication with God, and you see, you can never talk to God and he fail to show you the way to escape danger. He will. There are certain things that will never have happened in your life had you prayed. Think about that. More so, there are mistakes you will never have made if you took time to pray. I read a profound story years back that I will love to share with you. A woman in the USA was traveling to somewhere in a car, while on her way she just sensed a burden in her spirit, so she alighted from the car and sat down by the road side and started praying in tongues until the burden left. Then she continued her journey. On her way home she discovered that robbers came to her neighborhood to rob, but only her house was exonerated from the loot. When she found out, she discovered that it was the exact time she had prayed, that the plunder went on. You see God has given us a weapon to use in our life to breakthrough impossible situations that are beyond our human abilities. Mike Murdock says a lot of thousands of dollars had been saved in his ministry as certain mistakes were revealed in his prayer alter. He calls it ‘the secret place.’ Prayer works. If you had never, or scarcely pray in your life, you are putting your self in a big danger. To avoid mistakes in your journey, you must pray always. Pastor Cris oyakilome said prayer is a spiritual fertilizer; he said it is a means of raising your spiritual antenna. Prayer submerges your human nature and builds your divine nature, which is gotten when you are born again. Prayer builds you. It helps you to develop your heart in love. A truly prayerful Christian cannot be in confusion.

But it is necessary for me to let you know that your confession in prayer is very important. Do not be negative in your words while praying.

. Power thought When you pursue God’s command, you will meet man’s demand

WISDOM SENSE NINETEEN Understand your uniqueness Ye are… A peculiar people…(1 peter 2:9)

You are not part of the masses. You must know that. You are a unique being in your specie. Nobody is like you, and no body will ever be like you. No body can do what you can do. If you understand this you will come out of error automatically. You see, you will never avoid mistakes, when you are trying to be like others. Mistakes will abound in your life if you try to copy others. John Mason in his book, the enemy called average said, ‘many people waste their lives time trying to change how God made them’. God is not a photocopier, he is a creator. God does not photocopy people, he creates them. God does not duplicate lives, he changes lives. David said I am wonderfully and fearfully made, and my soul knoweth very well. You see, if you understand your real difference from others, which will remove you from envy and jealousy. Your freedom from error is in your real value of your distinction from others. There is no fingerprint alike in the whole world. So don’t copy others. Have you ever come across a book by John Mason, Imitation is Limitation? That is it. You place a limitation on your potentials and abilities when you try to be like others.

I am not saying you should not learn from others. No, I am only saying try and be yourself. Find about your true person in the light of God word. Don’t try to do what others are doing. Find out what you can do well with your talents. Whatever you are gifted to do is what you should be doing. Because Mr. a is doing it or saying it does not make it right for you, neither does it means you should do same. For instance, if your friend is a musician and is making it does not means you will make it in music. You need to find out which area you are gifted. Know your gift, live your life. Your gifts are unique to you. It opens special doors to you. Even in character, if you see people enjoy evil, does not mean you should join them. Stay aware of your real difference from others. Be yourself. That is one of the steps to correcting and avoiding mistakes in life Power thought What ever you can do best attracts what you will do more.

WISDOM SENSE TWENTY Approach your day with a sense of hunt for contents. There is something inside everyone, everywhere, every time, every place, for you. There is always something in it for your good. Never forget that. The bible points us inward; it says While we look not at the things which are seen, But at the things which are not seen: for the things Which are seen are temporal, but the things which Are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).Handle your day with the look out

for inner essence of all things. Nothing is always the way they seem to be. You must place value and worth on contents, component, and potentials. Never be deceived by the decorated beauty of the container. Packets may be catchy, but they are deceptive. Cover is never all there is. It is the content that fulfills you. There is always something more to what men applaud. What people ever see is never the end of what should be seen. There is always more in it. That is the reason. There is something more to what is visible. If you focus all your attention to what is seen, your eyes will be blind to the reality of things. The unseen substance of things is limitless. And boundless. See the invisible, Dream the unfathomable, and believe the impossible. Crave for what is more in stuff. Nothing here is in its perfect state. They are undergoing a process of growth, improvement, innovations and creativity. Even you, you must invest on your inner man every day. Every thing worth having, start from the inside. So, approach your day with a sense of hunt for what is in it, and not what is on it.

Power thought Whatever you will do in the world around you must be envisioned in the world within

WISDOM SENSE TWENTY ONE Dare to be outstanding Yea, have I strive to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, Lest I should build upon another’s foundation: (Romans 15:20) I have discovered that in life, you will never get anywhere or perhaps get far remaining in the crowd, doing what everybody is doing, going where everyone is going, choosing what every body is choosing, always living life in the surface; waiting fore people to detect things for you. Even for jobs just because people are making it in the job. You see, Jesus said “you are not of the world”( John 17:16), that is you are not part of the masses. You have been selected out of the crowd and chosen for outstanding purpose. So it will be unwise for you to now be living like the world. Discover your peculiarity, and deploy the power of yo0ur difference to create something that no one has ever done before. No one has ever been like you neither will anyone ever be like you. You are the only you available on the whole earth. Be yourself and live your life for no body can ever do it as you could.

Power thought Where you desire to be in life must be created in you

WISDOM SENSE TWENTY TWO Ups and down is the devil’s idea Then the lord said unto Satan, whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the lord and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from working up and down in it. (Job 1:7)

Some years ago, I came across a sticker in a room written, “Recognize people on your way up, for you may see them on your way down”. That kind of statement is a very subtle trap from hell. When I read it, I laughed and ask rhetorically, “Am I going up to come down”? Never! Again I say never! The devil is the originator of ups and down life. That is the reason he said to God that he is going to and fro and up and down in the earth. What do I mean in essence? That is your life should be in one direction always. And that is the path of perpetual progress. Never accept ups and down life, for it is not God’s will for you. God never takes a man up to bring him down. Neither does he condone it. He said,” I know the thoughts I think towards you, they are thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah 29:11) so get it into your mind today and never forget that your progress in life is unending and never to be reversed by any power. For “the path of the just is as a shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (Proverb 4:18).

Power thought If you are born in poverty never let poverty be born in you.

WISDOM SENSE TWENTY THREE Nurture your potentials Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given the by prophecy, With the laying on of hands of the presbytery. (1 timothy 4:14) When I was in the polytechnic, I felt so sad to observe so many young me full of undiscovered potentials, which were cheating their way through school. They cheated in examinations, bribe the lecturers to pass, or even quite a number of young ladies will even open their precious laps to lecturers just to get grades, so they can pass. Why did they do all these? So they can get the certificate. To their mind, the greatest source of their hope is the certificate they will get. That is, if they could just get it, life will be promising. But, you see, they were totally wrong, education is never to get certificates, but it is a process of developing your mind in order for you to be able to tackle the challenges of life. When you do all forms of cheating just to pass and get the certificate, you may get, no doubt; but never forget that, you will never cheat to get potentials. You have to sit down and cultivate your potentials for they are the only source of true and lasting fulfillment in life. Be an itinerant learner, by this you will explore the goldmine that is reserved in your person.

Power thought You cannot increase your worth, until you have developed yourself.

WISDOM SENSE TWENTY FOUR How to connect to your next phase of destiny And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: That will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way. (1 Samuel 9:8) The story of how Saul got to the throne is one of my most inspiring biographies in the bible. He set out in the morning looking for his father’s lost ass, and ended up the next day as the first president of the only God chosen nation as at that time. “But how”? You may ask; when you study the story closely, in 1 Samuel 9 from verse one to the end, you will discover that in verse seven to nine, he did something that even his father never told him to do. When he came to a point in their journey where there was no seeming hope that they will succeed in it, when all effort proves abortive, they decided to meet a prophet to show them their way. By wisdom, he knew that they should have a seed to sow in the life of the prophet that will connect them to their destination. That is the connection seed! With that seed, he got to the throne. I want you to think about it a bit. May be there is something in your hands that can serve as a link to that your most desired place in life. There is a future in that seed you posses. The seed of time, energy, resources, money, knowledge, and ideas. Never keep it; sow them in the soil of other lives and reap the harvest of a beautiful future. It is how much you give up that lightens and fasten your way up.

Power thought Anything you don’t develop interest for, you will not be selected for

WISDOM SENSE TWENTY FIVE Incorporate with God

But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible but with God all things are possible.

When someone wants to establish a company, by requirement in the constitution of a given nation, will first all incorporate the company with the government. That will help the company to operate with the executive and legal authority, whereby no one can hinder the scope of operation of the company. He will have the right to buy and own properties as far as the company is concerned. In like picture or pattern, you as a young man need to incorporate your life, destiny, business, schooling, Job, career or profession with God. Your personal and family life should have divine incorporation document. When you do this, the scripture you read above tells us that all things are possible with God. In order words, there will be no limitation to you and all that concerns you in this world. It is a spiritual law that cannot be broken. That is the reason Jesus kept saying “ I and my father are one”( John 10:30) So integrate you life with God today and wheel into the realm of impossibilities in all your endeavors.

Power thought When you pursue God’s command, you will meet man’s demand

WISDOM SENSE TWENTY SIX

Be a multi skill believer The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; (Psalm 92:12)

When I first met the bible verse you have just read above, I decided to make a case study of the palm tree, to know how God wanted me to be, that he could liken me to the palm tree. I was amazed at my findings, when I discovered that only the palm tree has about three hundred and sixty produces. If I may mention just a few, the palm tree produces; palm oil, palm kernel, palm kernel oil (used for soap and cream making), broom, the stem is used for mushroom cultivation, the stump is used for planting due to high fertility. I will give you an assignment to go and find out more about the palm tree. You see, the palm tree will remain in one place but its products are reaching the whole world. You see, there is no human being born on the earth that does not benefit from the palm tree. If you do not eat oil, you will bath with soap, and the palm tree contributes to the production of the soap. For God to say that you will flourish like the palm tree means that you should dare to be versatile. A young man who is diverse in skill and dexterity will never be turn down in life. He will be ready to act at any open opportunities that warrant itself to him. Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me” (Philippians 4:13) that is to say, the power of Christ in you will energize you to be multi skill in your approach to life. Dare to take your place in life and be what you have been empowered to be. If you are a teacher, add computer knowledge to it. If you are a pastor, study human relations alongside. If you are an accountant, add marketing ability to it. Be resourceful and multitalented, and your destiny will add color.

Power thought If nothing works within you, nothing works for you WISDOM SENSE TWENTY SEVEN Be the right person

Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Daisy Osborn once said, “Work on being and not on having, for with what you are you will have” being should precede having. When you start struggle for what to get in life and neglect to develop yourself, you are heading to disaster in life; do not let anyone deceive you. I agree with someone that said, “We set young people for a fall if we let them envision what they can do without first considering who they should be”. In other words, you should never be preoccupied with what to do, but rather settle down and work on yourself, in character, integrity. Develop yourself in all aspect of sincerity and goodness and suddenly your true possibilities will surface. Nothing is right to the wrong, but to the right person, he knows how to walk in the path of rightness to achieve his purpose in life. So the question to ask you today is “who am I”? What have I become over the years”? When you can answer these questions, you can now ask “what can I do”? Then will your true fulfillment in life emerge.

Power thought To do the right you must be the right person

WISDOM SENSE TWENTY SEVEN Think and Talk big Think on these things (Philippians 4:8)

Thoughts and words are living things. The are creative in nature. In fact, the way you think and talk is the way you are. (Proverb 23:7) thought and words create experiences. Whatever you experience in life positive or negative is from your thoughts and talks. You can only create a future by the words you say. Words are the vehicle of creation. Never say negative. Always talk your belief into existence. Remember, ‘…as ye have spoken into my ears so will I do to you:’(numbers 14:28). Your mind understands only when words are spoken to it. In other words, when you know anything thing by intuition, it only takes your confession to create an effective understanding in your mind. So your positive talk is very important to create a future you desire in your spirit. Speak your faith into existence. If you believe you can be rich, speak riches not poverty. If you believe you will be great in life, speak greatness, and never talk as a pauper. Your words shape your mood. The way you talk establishes the way you act most of the time. For instance, when you say, ‘I can’t’, you have created a negative force of action within you. So as a matter of fact, through out that period, you will act ineffective in any thing or place. Say word as ‘I can make it’. For surely, you can make it. You can do it, if you know it.

Power thought Until your words go forth, your world cannot come forth

WISDOM KEY TWENTY EIGHT Take action everyday! Even so faith if it hast not works is dead, being alone.( James 2:17) Action promotes you, but laziness kills. Procrastination is the thief of time. Take actions toward your dreams today. Any time Jesus heals people, he told them to take action. He always said to them, ‘Take up your bed and work’ ‘go and sin no more’ ‘go and show yourself to the priest’ Jesus believe in action as a proof of faith. No wander he said, ‘I must work the work of him that send me’. If you do not take action, you will never get to anywhere in life. Get up and go. Promptness is the seed and test of obedience. Any time God gives you an idea about your future, how do you respond to it? Men who became great in the bible and in

contemporary days are men who learn to respond to signals as fast as possible. Speed is necessary for success. You see, you do not need patience for action; you only need patience for result. That is why the bible says; you have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God ye might receive the promise (Hebrews 10:36) patience is always needed after action and not the other way

round. Take action for your future today.

Power thought Profession is the child of routine.

WISDOM SENSE TWENTY NINE Respect the Guidance of the Holy Spirit Howbeit, when he, the Spirit Of truth, is come, he will guide You into all truth…. John 16:13 It is one thing to know the voice of the Holy Spirit, It is another thing to follow his voice… Kris Oyakilome

The Holy Spirit speaks. He teaches. He is a real person sent by God to accomplish a unique task in our lives. He holds a special assignment to fulfill in our lives as Christians. The scripture above informs us that the Holy Spirit is sent to guide us into all truth, notice that it did not just say truth, but all truth. The apostle John also had the same understanding, he penned down. But ye have unction From the holy one, and Ye know all things...1 John 2:20-27 You see, the Holy Spirit teaches you all things. Get it, that when Jesus says all things, he meant all things in its entirety. Not just all, but all truth.

Truth, as you know is the opposite of error or mistakes. Sadly, to say, if the Holy Spirit is not leading you, mistakes will be the order of the day. Without the leading of the Holy Spirit you cannot avoid error and mistakes. You see, it is very dangerous to live your life a s a believer without the leading of the holy Spirit. .

Power thought Anything you don’t develop interest for, you will not be selected for

WISDOM SENSE THIRTY Build positive friendships I am a companion of them that fear thee, And of them that keep thy precepts (psalm119: 63)

Not all in church are godly. Never forget that. Not all are truly friendly. That is the truth. There are folks in church, or living close to you, who are the devil’s children. You need to be careful of your choice of friendship. You can only grow and avoid mistakes in the positive network of friendship. You cannot succeed alone. You need companion to thrive. Positive friendship builds you and makes you avert mistakes. You cannot thrive alone. Jesus never tried to succeed alone, He had the disciples. They took over from him. David believes in friendship, he had Jonathan, that saved his life. Paul had timothy, he ministered with him

Daniel had shad rack, meshack, and abednego, they prayed with him. Despise wrong friendship. Get rid of the wrong people that always get you to do evil. You must value your destiny in Christ more than anything. It is the value you place on your self that help you. You have to love God more in your life. God love you more. He paid a dear price for you; to get you out of the mess Adam put all men. You are so precious to your heavenly father. Never forget that. You are his treasure You are his darling You are his pate. He has need of you. Stay conscious of that. You are the apple of his eyes. So you need to detach yourself from people that keep you far from God. Mick Murdock said weakness is contagious, conduct allows becomes conduct approved. Any wrong thing you allow around you, affects you. Anything you tolerate will remain. Anything you refuse to give in to, diminish around you. Summit yourself therefore to God Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James4.7) Mick Murdock shared a story of a woman whose son went to jail for keeping company with drugs addicts though he never took drugs in his life. Choose the right kind of friends today. Power thought Whatever you are gifted to do, is what you should be doing.

WISDOM SENSE THIRTY ONE Build positive habits

Search the scripture daily…(acts 17:10) Whatever you cannot do everyday is not your behavior

Habits are powerful. They are objective. They have the power to decide your future. In fact, your future is in you daily routine. What ever you do on a daily bases, which become your behavior can fix your future. You have to be careful of the things you do daily.

Habits are daily lifestyles that culminate into behavior, which can decide a future. Know that if your daily habits are negative, you are approaching a negative future, and if positive, you are approaching a good future. I have discovered that, even careers are products of habits. Yes they are. For instance, if you decide to be a lawyer, you get to the university and put yourself under study habit for six years and that’s it. You become a lawyer. You even need to make in an habit while practicing law to remain updated in the profession by reading journals and periodicals Profession is the child of routine Life is input and output You see, you will never get out of life, what you did not give to it. It is a law that cannot be broken. Your tomorrow is in your lifestyles today. What you choose as your habit today are deciding your future. You must be careful. There is no accidental future. There is no magic in life. The one you are now you created it yesterday, and your tomorrow are being constructed now by the things you are doing now. Be wise. No body can build your future for you, even God only play a part by giving you the principles on how to live in his word. So you see, it is your responsibility to create a future for your self by choosing positive and productive lifestyles. Such habits as, prayer, studying, thinking, planning, exercising, integrity, honesty, and off course, working. Avoid habits as lying, smoking, sex outside marriage, drinking alcohol, laziness, haste, procrastination, stealing, and dishonesty, excessive sleeping. Refuse these negative habits and build the positive habits daily. Remember; whatever you do more than once master you. Practice makes perfect, they say. You can create a great future for yourself and avoid mistakes.

Power thought To be out of God is to be wrong

WISDOM SENSE THIRTY TWO Recharge your account regularly Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee..(2 Timothy 1:6)

When you purchase a mobile phone, particularly, the global system for mobile communication (GSM), where you have to get connection by a service provider through their Sims pact; it will never be all through with just getting connected. You have to constantly recharge your call account to be able to make calls. After some specified period of time, mostly ninety days depending on the particular service provider, if you refuse to recharge your account, you will be disconnected from the network and loose your number. In the same way, in God’s kingdom network, you have to constantly recharge your account to maintain you place in the network. You may ask, ‘brother James, how do I recharge my count as a Christian’? Good! The under listed answer the question; Firstly, you recharge your account by prayer; you need to be instant in prayer to keep you place in God’s network. Prayer is an energizer. It is a booster to your spiritual antenna. Secondly, you must meditate regularly on Scripture and any other helpful Christian and secular materials. When you meditate, you suck the juice that is embedded in facts. Meditation fetch out the truth from the fact. It makes you see the reality of hidden matters. Thirdly, you must speak a positive language. Negative words dampen you perspective, but positive words sharpen you view. You must speak healthy words always to keep you account recharged. Especially to speak in other tongues. It edifies you.

WISDOM SENSE THIRTY THREE Deal with the cause of your problems My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. (Hosea 4:6)

In psychiatry, there are several means to dealing with mental disorders. For them, there are way such as; psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, and psychosomatic medicine. Among all these, the one I want to illustrate with is psychosomatic medicine. According to them, psychosomatic medicine entails that, to deal with a mental disorder, you stop the cause of it. For instance, if a man suffers mental disorder any time he takes alcohol, the best cure for that mental problem is to stop taking alcohol. Similarly, in your life, you need to always deal with the cause of your problems first. The bible portion above let us know that the only cause of any problem you could ever face is traceable to ignorance. That is, if you can deal with ignorance, you have solved your entire problems. The truth is, if you lack money, your problem is the ignorance of how to make money; nothing else. Also, if you lack good health, your problem is link to the ignorance of how to live healthy. Everywhere, every time, the source of all problems people face is the level of ignorant that operates in their life. So right now, as you read this, determine to deal with ignorance with perfect hatred, for that is the source of all you problems.

Power thought. Lack of knowledge is never unavailability of knowledge.

WISDOM SENSE THIRTY FOUR You have what it takes Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. (Acts 3:6)

Mostly in life, you are faced with circumstances that seem to make you look unqualified or as a misfit in life. Experiences that you have appear to make you think you are below the required level of achievement. You may even think you are under the dream status in life. May your discovered status in Christ seems to be greeted with a measure that does not match with the physical phenomenon you see. Most people wander why! Well when you ask the right question, you will get the right answer. I want to let you know that you have what it takes to meet up with the teeming demands that come to you daily. Though it may seem above your limit, you can get it done. One day, peter was confronted with a similar demand when he met a cripple in the beautiful gate. The cripple demanded what peter never had naturally, but peter discovered that there is something he has that can still get the job done, and even better. He went on to say ‘… such as I have give I thee’ (acts 3:6). You see, if you could look a bit further, you will discover that there is something you have, or readily possess now that can solve that financial crises, marital crises, career tussle, and spiritual problems in your life. All you need is to discover them as peter did and deploy them to your advantage. You have what it takes.

Power thought When you have what it takes, you take what it has.

WISDOM SENSE THIRTY FIVE Identify what you have The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. (Ps 16:6)

The challenge with most people in life is not that of possessions, but that of discoveries. People are not poor because the lack what it takes to be rich, but because they never discover what it take to be rich, which they have. Every body has something, only that most don’t know what they have. The bible says, ‘ the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal’ (1 Corinthians 12:7). So every one has something, including you. All you need to do now is to identify what you have and use it for your profiting. Mike Murdock said, ‘everything you need is already in your life awaiting your recognition’. I think that the most important subject should be the subject of discoveries, because all that is there is not known. That is why it is so very important for you to set your life on a discovery channel. By doing so, you will constantly be able to identify what you have. The bible adds; ‘ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. (Matt 7:7-8)

How to identify what you have #1 make the right consult: until you have a reference, you will never become a reference. No one will be crowned a professor until his references are in place. What you have is there but you need to find it with the right reference. There numeral example of people who possessed the kind of gift you do and made mark with it. All you need is to consult their mind through their books, tapes, meetings, and even presence. When a widow in 2 kings 4 consulted Elijah, she found out she had the oil that could produce all the money she needed to pay her dept. she became an oil merchant overnight, just for the right consult she made. There is someone you must meet. There is information you must get to change your life. #2 don’t overlook you: most people, in seeking solution for their life, never realized that they could be of help also. When the widow met Elijah, he pointed her back to herself, by questioning; ‘And Elisha said unto her, what shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil ( 2 kings 4:2). You are the solution first.

WISDOM SENSE THIRTY SIX You are problems resistance When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. (Isa 43:2)

When my friends and I were growing up, we used to purchase some wristwatches for ourselves. As young chaps, we were used to swimming in a neighborhood river. Mostly, we will dive into the water before we realize that our watch had been spoilt because of the entrance of water. We spent money often on watches until one day when we were told there is a watch call water resistance. According to the, the manufacturer had felt the challenge of watches being spoilt by water and made another brand, which could not be spoilt though it enters water. We were joyful to discover that our ordeal had ended. We will now be using water resistance watches. This will give us the freedom to dive as fast as we can, knowing our watch will never be spoilt again because of water. If you read Isaiah 43:2 very well, you will see that God had made you as a problem resistance. God noticed before hand that there are problems on the way of your destiny, so he custom built you to meet up with the task. Like those watches, God had made you sickness, poverty, lack, oppression, and problems resistance. Go ahead, for though they appear to be there, they cannot harm you. You have a custom built power to resist them. Remember he said; ‘resist the devil and he will flee from thee’ (James 4:7) and also ‘ if they drink of any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them’ (mark 16:16). You are problem resistance.

WISDOM SENSE THIRTY SEVEN You are a first class citizen He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created (James 1:18 N I V).

Expert, into what they call first world, and third world nations has categorized the world. That is, they say, there are, developed nations, developing nations, and the under developed nations. According to them, your standard of living should be measured by which part of these categories you hail from. Those from the so-called underdeveloped or developing nations are seen as those who should be help. That account for the fact when those in the other part see you, they will always welcome you with ‘ hello’ how can I help you’? Though the world has this perspective, God’s view id totally different. If you are a Christian, whichever continent you come from, you must realize that you are a first class citizen. God made you so by reason of your new birth. You don’t need to be downcast, inferior, or in a doldrums. Only know that in God eyes, you rank first. You have the fist place. In God’s scale of preference, you rank high. The bible is so very clear about this when it said;’ And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; (Deut 28:13) with this so obvious, comprehensive, plain, lucid, and apparent

information, every other ranking of you is wrong and false. You are a first class citizen.

WISDOM SENSE THIRTY EIGHT Understand God’s wealth sharing formula

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. (James 1:17-18)

Every nation has a formula for sharing their national cake. That is, a given country has her formula for distributing the national wealth among her constituencies, regions, provinces, states, or local government. The formula, as it is, is determined by a number of factors, such as could be, the population of the region or state, the mineral resources available in the region or state, or the population of the labor force of the deferent states. The wealth is shared dependent on the rankings of each state in respect to the factors mentioned. Similarly, here I want you to learn an important wisdom. The scripture we read above tells us that there are allocations that come down from the treasure room of God above. And that treasures are shared based on the ranking of each person. Those who are God’s new creation are rank first in receiving from the kingdom cake. You need to understand this so you can position yourself to receive your due always when it comes. Most of the time we mist out on our due because we are not sensitive enough by knowledge to receive from the release of the kingdom allocation that always comes towards us daily. The bible confirms this when it said; ‘the lord daily loadeth us with benefits’. Gird up the loins of your heart and be always ready to receive for it is meant for you.

CONCLUDING NOTE ADVERSITY; A TONIC FOR ADVANCEMENT.

Every adversity, every unpleasant circumstance carries with them the seed of equivalent or greater benefits. One of the wonder filled characteristic of human being is the potential to turn minus to a plus. To move from zero to zenith. The human being has an inherent power to become a star out of scars. A man can use a breakdown to break record. It is possible. That is the ability to turn lemon into lemonade.

Every open door is at the threshold of oppositions Paul said; ‘a great and effectual door is opened unto me, but there are many adversaries’ (1 Corinthians 16:9). Adversities are not foes to kill a man but a man’s approach to them is what makes them enemies. There is a wall of differences between a man who has problems and a man who makes problems look big. Worry is a magnifying glass for problems. It makes problem to hurt instead of to instruct. Worry makes problem to inflict instead of to inspire. Worry makes problems to lessen us instead of to be a lesson to us. The way you look at adversities is very crucial to life. You see, the time of adversity is a special time in which you can do your best or worse. It depends on you. Everything centers on you; either to allow adversities to stop you or to advance you. Instead of allowing adversities to break you, you break record with them. Adversities will help to develop your mental and spiritual muscle and enhance your potentials. Adversities are raw materials for God’s miracle production. They are essentials and necessary ingredients for life. And I know that every individual has the innate power to make problems turn to his or her advantages. Every opportunity carries its own adversities that needed to be discovered and use. Every man that closes his eyes to adversities will never encounter advancement in his life endeavors. On your journey to milk and honey, there are Giants on the way. God will never get the giants off the way. The remedy is to face them. Running from opposition is never escape from them, but postponing them for future. Any problem you refuse to confront today may back front you tomorrow. An unconfronted problem is a reschedule problem. It is never a break away from. The power of God on your life will greatly be useful when you face opposition. You will never know what you can do until you face a problem at a point where there is no seeming help except to release is in you. The bible confirms this when it said about Sampson; ‘and the spirit of the lord came upon Sampson, when the lion roared’. The bible also adds to that when it says; ‘ when the enemy rise up like a flood, the spirit of God will raise up a standard against it’. The power of God is always release through you at the disposal of adversities. So if you run away from problems, you will never experience the power of God. The challenges you face are the breakpoint of success and failure. No one loves adversities, but you must welcome a lot of them with joy because they will surely come even without invitation. When David faces the lion that came to take his father’s sheep in his care, he received an experience that will help him to kill goliath in the future. That is the reason he used it as an instance of the power of God behind him. To him, if God could help him kill the lion yesterday, it is more likely to hand over goliath’s head to him today. Every problem you solve today for your

benefit has a future schedules of winning. But every problem you dodge has a future schedule of losses. It is up to you. There is no war free zone in the realms of life. Every switch in your life will take you to a new and

stronger devil to confront and conger. You will never become anything of worth when you stay at comfort zone. It should not be as convenience but as demanded. Life demands that you must face adversities as a promotion examination before you cross the poverty, failure, and mediocrity line. Problems are never solved through negligence. So wake up to the task. No society has ever realized her heroes in the time of peace. It is always through the hottest problems that heroes are born. There is no champion without a contest. Without the wrestling ring, you cannot be a world heavy weight champion. Every champion is born to tackle a problem that has become a jinx. Jesus was sent to handle the sin problem. Moses was sent to settle the slavery problem of Israel. Every champion is realized at the bend of crises. There is always a solution Dr T L Osborn said; ‘every problem carries in itself the seed of its own solution’. There is no problem that you cannot solve. There is no adversity that can be stronger than your ability to win over them. The bible says; ‘ There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)’ that is the reason you

should think positively always. You can do even the mere impossible and

dare the not dare able. There is a wise word that says ‘when there is a will, there is a way’. The bible says, ‘ I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:19). You need to understand that there is no problem without the solution. All you need is an insight into the problem and you will see solution in it. If you ask the right question, you will get the right answer. There is an answer to that your long awaiting question. Key into the principles in this book and your answer will be delivered to your hands. As this books draws near going to the press, I will love to end it by telling you again and again that every problem comes with promotion potential in itself. My friend once said, testimony is not faith money, but worked money. You need work to release the power of problems to your advantage. Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo once said, ‘ don’t let your going through stop you going to’. You

should never allow what you are going through to stop where you are going. Don’t let what you are down with stop what you are up to. Everything you will ever get in life will be through a fight. Remember, miracle is a twin brother to obstacle, and adversity is a married couple to advancement. The answers you need lies in the questions you have. The opportunities you have been waiting for are the once coming to you wearing a cloth called problems.

Knowledge is vital In facing adversities, you cannot truly separate the vital place of knowledge. You see, the bible declares that if a man faint in the day of adversity, his strength is small. And the same bible says that a man of knowledge increases strength. So it is knowledge that becomes the vital link for the handling of adversities. You cannot truly know and not own. Knowledge is your basic need for the time of adversities. The things you suffer are at the mercy of the things you don’t know. If you don’t know, you will be ignored. So arm your self with vital knowledge that will empower you to pass through your challenge and come out a star. It is your turn to shine.

About the author Heritage James is prolific, forthright and intelligent young man. He has a disciplined in mass communication from the polytechnic. His vision is to take God’s glory to all nations. And his purpose is to awaken the value consciousness in the redeemed. He is burdened with an overriding passion to see God’s people experience the fullness of life. His ministry spans from crusades, conferences, seminars, and has been a source of tremendous blessing to many believers in deferent parts of the world. He receives invitations from churches and corporations to speak in topics that handle the sensitive and practical aspect of life. He is also a graduate of the reputable word of faith bible institute (WOFBI) A training wing of winners’ chapel int’l.

Pastor Heritage James is open for invitation from churches, corporations, and schools. To invite, please call: +233-242-705-703, +233-244-099-907 Or email: [email protected], [email protected]