Saturday, 19 May, 2012

Show me your Glory

Written by Hazel Moodley on August 24th, 2009

And he said, ‘Please, show me Your glory.’ Exodus 33:18 (New King James Version)

Moses had an immense passion to see the Lord and refused profusely to go or do anything if the presence of God did not go before him. When God looked at Moses, he looked favourably at him and he reassured him that he will personally go with him, he will give him rest, he promised him that everything will be fine for him.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Uncategorized | | No Comments »

Now, Doesn't That Boggle Your Mind?

Written by Helen Dowd on August 24th, 2009

Do you think God has any problem taking care of all your needs? If you have any doubts, I am sure you will change your mind when you stop to consider the following.

Exodus 14:13 & 14 “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you to day… The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”

Have you ever thought about God’s provision for the Children of Israel in wilderness Exodus 12:31 through Joshua, when the Israelites finally settled in the Promised Land?

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Uncategorized | | No Comments »

Work and Love

Written by Joseph Mazzella on August 18th, 2009

My daughter was having trouble recently deciding on what to major in at college, so she asked my advice. I told her the one thing I wish that I had been told at her age: “Find a career that you love and you will never work a day.” She caught me off guard, though, when she next asked what she should do if she couldn’t get that career right away. What should she do if she had to take a job that she hated?

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Uncategorized | | No Comments »

Why Such Bad Answers?

Written by Rubel Shelly on August 18th, 2009

The headline caught my eye: “Is it OK to live together before marriage?” Although I didn’t have time even to scan the article at the time, I was pretty sure I knew the answer it would offer. Sure enough! When I came back to it, the female writer’s answer was this: “I want to test-drive the car before I purchase it.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Uncategorized | | No Comments »

Read The Small Print!

Written by Steve Popoola on August 11th, 2009

We are faced with a barrage of advertisements every day. They are on television, radio, newspapers, magazines billboard and any space available which the advert companies see as a strategic point to reach people.
These advertisements usually promise us everything you can think of. It doesn’t matter whether what they are telling you as half-truth or no truth at all. What is important is that someone must hear the message and respond to it.
Many companies offer promotions in order to induce customers to  buy more of their products and services. You hear jingles like, ‘Buy one, get one free’ or ‘recharge and get extra minutes free’. These companies know that people like to take advantage of free products or service, so they use these offers as inducement to lure people to consume more.
Usually, there is a hidden agenda which will not be made obvious. Check out most offers on posters or in any print media. The caption will be in very big, colourful  fonts with attractive pictures to go with it. If you are an observant person however, you will see in small print, ‘Conditions apply’. The kind of conditions what would apply may not be easily figured out until when you want to make claims.
How different this is from God’s love towards us! We are told  in scripture, ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16) This is a love that is unconditional, no strings attached, no hidden message. It is so plain for all to see!
I have often said that if God were to stop at giving us Jesus without doing anything further, it would have been fair enough. God however took a step ahead by providing us with the Holy Spirit, so that His presence would always be with us, guiding us and helping us to walk in His will.
The devil on the other hand offers juicy and attractive things. Remember how he tempted the Lord in Matthew chapter 4? The first time he asked Jesus to turn stones into bread. He however attached a condition, ‘If you are the Son of God’. Jesus knew He was the Son of God; He did not need to turn stones to bread in order to convince the devil. The second time, he adopted the same strategy. He took Jesus to the highest point of the temple and told him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down’. He now decides to quote scripture, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’
The first time he tempted Jesus, the devil was rebuffed with a quote from scripture. On his next attempt, he decides to use the same scripture. I am reminded of church folks who use the scripture to defend their wrong actions. I have heard cases of men who attempt to blackmail unsuspecting sisters by telling them God had revealed the sister is his wife, leaving her no choice in the matter. I have had opportunity to advice such sisters to tell such men to wait until God confirmed the same truth to the sister.  On getting this response, the so called brother slinkers off, knowing the game is up.
Lastly, the devil now offers a juicy package the Jesus. He takes Him to a high mountain, shows him the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. ‘He says, ‘All these will I give you, if you will bow down and worship me’. At this point, Jesus had had enough of the devil. He responded, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’
The enemy is still dangling juicy offers to many Christians today. Sadly, a number of  believers are falling prey to the enemy’s antiques. They fail to read the very small print which reads, ‘Condition Apply’.  Of course the devil, just like most of the promotional adverts we are bombarded with everyday, will never tell you the full details. The truth is, no matter how beautifully packaged the item is, there is always a catch somewhere.
God on the other hand, gives us the freedom to choose. You know what you are dealing with ahead of time. There is no room for surprises.
The next time the devil dangles his wares at you, please take my advice, check out the words in small print!
Steve O. Popoola
© August 2009, Biblepraise Fellowship Online.
Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the webmaster of Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepra ise.org. British by birth, He currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria with his wife Maris and their children; Praise, Stephanie and Precious. He works as an IT professional in a bank. He presently serves as Church Secretary and Heads the Music Ministry in his local church . He loves to encourage and inspire through speaking forums. He is the Moderator/Editor of Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address, steve@biblepraise. org

We are faced with a barrage of advertisements every day. They are on television, radio, newspapers, magazines billboard and any space available which the advert companies see as a strategic point to reach people.

These advertisements usually promise us everything you can think of. It doesn’t matter whether what they are telling you as half-truth or no truth at all. What is important is that someone must hear the message and respond to it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Uncategorized | | No Comments »

Thankful and Grateful

Written by steve on August 11th, 2009

Gratitude is the feeling of being thankful. We give thanks by expressing our gratitude for what someone did for us.
These are two words often used interchangeably and are very important to those who profess faith in God through Jesus Christ.
Often we give thanks to God when things are going well for us. It is so easy to be ecstatic and full of praise and thanks to God when we get that new job or get an unexpected raise at work. You do not need to persuade a couple who had waited for years before they were blessed with a child, to give thanks to God.
When however things are not going well for us, do we thank God or express gratitude? Do we even think there is any reason to give God thanks when we are faced with disappointments and adverse conditions?
Not too long ago,  I lost a substantial sum of money to ATM fraudsters. Quite naturally, my initial response was sadness for this loss.  I could not fathom why I would suffer such loss especially when a few days before this time, I was in a discussion with some of my colleagues about loss of money through ATM fraud and I was professing faith in God’s ability to secure my finances.
After my initial reaction however,  I began to think about God’s faithfulness. I began to see reasons to be thankful.  The amount I lost, though significant and substantial, it did not cripple me financially. This same sum of money was far more than what I earned in a whole year  in my former employment.   If I had lost a tenth of that amount three years ago, I would have been in serious financial trouble. The more I thought about this, the more I gave thanks to God.  Since then, God has continued to meet our needs in unusual ways. I still do not know why I lost that money but it has helped me appreciate God for how He has increased me financially in the last three years.
In Gen 37, Joseph had a dream which placed him over and above his brothers.  Telling his brothers about his dream was the beginning of adversity for him. Rather than being elevated, he was humiliated, sold as a slave to the Midianites who in turn sold him to Potiphar. The way up for Joseph was the way down. Eventually, his dream came to pass and he became the source of provision for his brothers and father through the period of famine. One thing that  is important for us to learn, was Joseph’s response to his brothers’ fears of revenge after their father died.  He said, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. (Gen 50:19 – 21)”  He recognized that God took him through adversity in order to preserve the whole nation of Israel!
When we learn to be grateful in adversity, God reveals in due course, the reason for the circumstances you are facing and will surely guide you from adversity to victory. When we however grumble and complain like some Christians do,  we lose focus of God’s plans and design for us.
What adverse situation are you facing today? Praise your way through it. You will be surprised at the results!
Steve O. Popoola
© August 2009, Biblepraise Fellowship Online.
Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the webmaster of Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepraise.org. British by birth, He currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria with his wife Maris and their children; Praise, Stephanie and Precious. He works as an IT professional in a bank. He presently serves as Church Secretary and Heads the Music Ministry in his local church . He loves to encourage and inspire through speaking forums. He is the Moderator/Editor of Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address, steve@biblepraise.org

Gratitude is the feeling of being thankful. We give thanks by expressing our gratitude for what someone did for us.

These are two words often used interchangeably and are very important to those who profess faith in God through Jesus Christ.

Often we give thanks to God when things are going well for us. It is so easy to be ecstatic and full of praise and thanks to God when we get that new job or get an unexpected raise at work. You do not need to persuade a couple who had waited for years before they were blessed with a child, to give thanks to God.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Uncategorized | | No Comments »

Just A Heartbeat Away

Written by Steve Popoola on August 11th, 2009

Sometimes at the end of the day I would wonder, ‘where did the time go?’ This happens most times when I was extremely busy at work or on a project and I lost all sense of time while battling with the assignment.
Looking back at my forty plus years on earth, I can’t help but think, ‘where did all those years go?’ Yet as I think of this, the clock in my living room continues to count the seconds without stopping. It goes ‘tick-tock tick-tock’ without caring about my concerns about the movement of time. It makes me remember the various sayings about time, ‘Time waits for no one’ and ‘A stitch in time saves nine’
My thoughts are not really on the issue of time now but rather on how we get so caught up in the now that we don’t even think so much of eternity. When eternity is mentioned, some of us have the attitude which says, ‘oh boy, eternity is a long, long, time to come’. So we focus on the now. We are more interested in the stock prices than the statistics of saved/unsaved people. We are concerned more about the world price of oil while many for whom the ultimate price has been paid, are steadily heading to hell. We worry about changes in our body and seek ways to care for it while our spirit starves due to lack of adequate spiritual nutrients.
We live our lives as if heaven and hell is something we should be thinking of when we become senior citizens. It is becoming less fashionable to preach about heaven and hell in our churches. I can’t help but wonder when I walk the streets of Lagos and see all the banners and posters put up by various churches promoting their conferences and special programs. It is very common to see themes like, ’7 ways to prosperity’, ‘Overcoming poverty in your life’, ‘Your enemies shall bow’, ’6 steps to financial success’ ,’Visit Jesus Baby factory’ and the list go on.
Please don’t get me wrong, I am not saying prosperity is wrong or seeking victory over our enemies is not important. My fear is that the church is getting caught up in the now at the expense of eternity and many of us are beginning to lose sight of our future in Christ.
Check out your prayer life. When last did you pray about the salvation of souls? When last did you meditate about eternity? You bet I am asking the same questions from myself as I write this.
The fact that some prophecies have not been fulfilled in the Bible concerning Christ’s return, gives some of us a false sense of eternity being very far into the future. Let us understand this, the prophecies my not be fulfilled in our lifetime but the minute our heart stops, our eternity begins.
Let us not lose sight of eternity. It is of utmost importance that we keep focus of the fact that we are closer to eternity every time the seconds count. The day of the Lord draws nearer each day we live. We cannot afford to become complacent because eternity is just a heartbeat away.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
(1John 3:3 – 4)
Steve O. Popoola
© June 2006, Biblepraise Fellowship Online.
Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the webmaster of Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepraise.org. British by birth, He currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria with his wife Maris and their children; Praise, Stephanie and Precious. He works as an IT professional in a bank. He presently serves as Church Secretary and Heads the Music Ministry in his local church . He loves to encourage and inspire through speaking forums. He is the Moderator/Editor of Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address, steve@biblepraise.orgSometimes at the end of the day I would wonder, ‘where did the time go?’ This happens most times when I was extremely busy at work or on a project and I lost all sense of time while battling with the assignment.
Looking back at my forty plus years on earth, I can’t help but think, ‘where did all those years go?’ Yet as I think of this, the clock in my living room continues to count the seconds without stopping. It goes ‘tick-tock tick-tock’ without caring about my concerns about the movement of time. It makes me remember the various sayings about time, ‘Time waits for no one’ and ‘A stitch in time saves nine’
My thoughts are not really on the issue of time now but rather on how we get so caught up in the now that we don’t even think so much of eternity. When eternity is mentioned, some of us have the attitude which says, ‘oh boy, eternity is a long, long, time to come’. So we focus on the now. We are more interested in the stock prices than the statistics of saved/unsaved people. We are concerned more about the world price of oil while many for whom the ultimate price has been paid, are steadily heading to hell. We worry about changes in our body and seek ways to care for it while our spirit starves due to lack of adequate spiritual nutrients.
We live our lives as if heaven and hell is something we should be thinking of when we become senior citizens. It is becoming less fashionable to preach about heaven and hell in our churches. I can’t help but wonder when I walk the streets of Lagos and see all the banners and posters put up by various churches promoting their conferences and special programs. It is very common to see themes like, ’7 ways to prosperity’, ‘Overcoming poverty in your life’, ‘Your enemies shall bow’, ’6 steps to financial success’ ,’Visit Jesus Baby factory’ and the list go on.
Please don’t get me wrong, I am not saying prosperity is wrong or seeking victory over our enemies is not important. My fear is that the church is getting caught up in the now at the expense of eternity and many of us are beginning to lose sight of our future in Christ.
Check out your prayer life. When last did you pray about the salvation of souls? When last did you meditate about eternity? You bet I am asking the same questions from myself as I write this.
The fact that some prophecies have not been fulfilled in the Bible concerning Christ’s return, gives some of us a false sense of eternity being very far into the future. Let us understand this, the prophecies my not be fulfilled in our lifetime but the minute our heart stops, our eternity begins.
Let us not lose sight of eternity. It is of utmost importance that we keep focus of the fact that we are closer to eternity every time the seconds count. The day of the Lord draws nearer each day we live. We cannot afford to become complacent because eternity is just a heartbeat away.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
(1John 3:3 – 4)
Steve O. Popoola
© June 2006, Biblepraise Fellowship Online.
Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the webmaster of Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepraise.org. British by birth, He currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria with his wife Maris and their children; Praise, Stephanie and Precious. He works as an IT professional in a bank. He presently serves as Church Secretary and Heads the Music Ministry in his local church . He loves to encourage and inspire through speaking forums. He is the Moderator/Editor of Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address, steve@biblepraise.orgSometimes at the end of the day I would wonder, ‘where did the time go?’ This happens most times when I was extremely busy at work or on a project and I lost all sense of time while battling with the assignment.
Looking back at my forty plus years on earth, I can’t help but think, ‘where did all those years go?’ Yet as I think of this, the clock in my living room continues to count the seconds without stopping. It goes ‘tick-tock tick-tock’ without caring about my concerns about the movement of time. It makes me remember the various sayings about time, ‘Time waits for no one’ and ‘A stitch in time saves nine’
My thoughts are not really on the issue of time now but rather on how we get so caught up in the now that we don’t even think so much of eternity. When eternity is mentioned, some of us have the attitude which says, ‘oh boy, eternity is a long, long, time to come’. So we focus on the now. We are more interested in the stock prices than the statistics of saved/unsaved people. We are concerned more about the world price of oil while many for whom the ultimate price has been paid, are steadily heading to hell. We worry about changes in our body and seek ways to care for it while our spirit starves due to lack of adequate spiritual nutrients.
We live our lives as if heaven and hell is something we should be thinking of when we become senior citizens. It is becoming less fashionable to preach about heaven and hell in our churches. I can’t help but wonder when I walk the streets of Lagos and see all the banners and posters put up by various churches promoting their conferences and special programs. It is very common to see themes like, ’7 ways to prosperity’, ‘Overcoming poverty in your life’, ‘Your enemies shall bow’, ’6 steps to financial success’ ,’Visit Jesus Baby factory’ and the list go on.
Please don’t get me wrong, I am not saying prosperity is wrong or seeking victory over our enemies is not important. My fear is that the church is getting caught up in the now at the expense of eternity and many of us are beginning to lose sight of our future in Christ.
Check out your prayer life. When last did you pray about the salvation of souls? When last did you meditate about eternity? You bet I am asking the same questions from myself as I write this.
The fact that some prophecies have not been fulfilled in the Bible concerning Christ’s return, gives some of us a false sense of eternity being very far into the future. Let us understand this, the prophecies my not be fulfilled in our lifetime but the minute our heart stops, our eternity begins.
Let us not lose sight of eternity. It is of utmost importance that we keep focus of the fact that we are closer to eternity every time the seconds count. The day of the Lord draws nearer each day we live. We cannot afford to become complacent because eternity is just a heartbeat away.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
(1John 3:3 – 4)
Steve O. Popoola
© June 2006, Biblepraise Fellowship Online.
Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the webmaster of Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepraise.org. British by birth, He currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria with his wife Maris and their children; Praise, Stephanie and Precious. He works as an IT professional in a bank. He presently serves as Church Secretary and Heads the Music Ministry in his local church . He loves to encourage and inspire through speaking forums. He is the Moderator/Editor of Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address, steve@biblepraise.org
Sometimes at the end of the day I would wonder, ‘where did the time go?’ This happens most times when I was extremely busy at work or on a project and I lost all sense of time while battling with the assignment.
Looking back at my forty plus years on earth, I can’t help but think, ‘where did all those years go?’ Yet as I think of this, the clock in my living room continues to count the seconds without stopping. It goes ‘tick-tock tick-tock’ without caring about my concerns about the movement of time. It makes me remember the various sayings about time, ‘Time waits for no one’ and ‘A stitch in time saves nine’
Posted in Uncategorized | | No Comments »

What In The World is Longsuffering?

Written by Steve Popoola on August 10th, 2009

Longsuffering is not a word that is common in our every day English. It is however one of the very important virtues of a Christian. I checked out the dictionary meaning of this word and got the following, ‘enduring injury, trouble, or provocation long and patiently’.
I have discovered that the virtues of a true Christian is a reflection of the nature of God. Our generation is one in which the human rights movement has a significant influence in the body polity of the people.
I believe in the respect for human rights. Without respect for human rights, there would be so much abuse and disrespect for the lives of individuals.
I wonder however what would happen, if God were to exercise His full rights as God. I know for sure that I would not be alive today if that were so. The scriptures tell us that, ‘For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Roman 3:23) ‘For the wages of sin is death’ (Romans 6:23)
The demand of God’s justice is that as a result of our sins, we deserve death. So how come we are not dead? The answer is in the second part of Romans 6:23, ‘But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’.
Longsuffering is a branch of God’s goodness. It is the ability of God to delay the just execution of His judgment upon those deserving of it. He continually waits for the sinner to turn to Him even when the sinner cares nothing of Him.  He waits for the saint who is walking in disobedience even when he hears the still small voice calling him to turn back to Him.
So many times God’s people tended to query God’s longsuffering character. Jonah could not understand why God would not go ahead to rain His judgment on Nineveh as contained in the message sent through Him. After all, Jonah had just gone through the harrowing experience of living in the belly of a whale because he did not want to deliver God’s message to them, probably because he thought that Nineveh deserved that judgment and did not need the opportunity to repent.
The prophet Jeremiah was compelled to ask God, ‘You are always righteous, O LORD, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? (Jer 12:1)
Many of us are very impatient. We listen less but speak more. Other people’s point of view is less important because we believe our doctrine is the authentic one. We have little patient for the weak in faith. We whip those who falter with hurtful words which push them away from God and the church, rather than draw them to Him. This negates
The instruction of the Apostle James, ‘My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry’ (James 1:19)
As God’s children, we are also expected to exhibit the virtue of longsuffering. Daily we face people who would push us to the precipice of anger. How long are we prepared to go in accommodating those who wrong us? Are our rights so important that we ignore the inner prompting of the Spirit to quietly resolve issues with those who wrong us?
Longsuffering does not mean standing by without doing the right thing, it means giving our antagonists the opportunity to see God’s peace through us.
Steve O. Popoola
© June 2009, Biblepraise Fellowship Online.
Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the webmaster of Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepraise.org. British by birth, He currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria with his wife Maris and their children; Praise, Stephanie and Precious. He works as an IT professional in a bank. He presently serves as Church Secretary and Heads the Music Ministry in his local church . He loves to encourage and inspire through speaking forums. He is the Moderator/Editor of Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address, steve@biblepraise.org

Longsuffering is not a word that is common in our every day English. It is however one of the very important virtues of a Christian. I checked out the dictionary meaning of this word and got the following, ‘enduring injury, trouble, or provocation long and patiently’.

I have discovered that the virtues of a true Christian is a reflection of the nature of God. Our generation is one in which the human rights movement has a significant influence in the body polity of the people.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Uncategorized | | No Comments »

Confidence of the Believer

Written by Steve Popoola on August 10th, 2009

On one of my official trips to Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, I had reason to visit one of the branches of the Bank where I work. While waiting for the meeting I was scheduled to attend, I overheard some staff arguing over a software application which was being tested.
I walked over to where they were and explained the workings of the software with them. While one of them seem to be satisfied with my explanation, the other appeared less satisfied and probably wondered about how I knew so much about the software. I smiled as I told him, ‘Trust me, I developed this software and I know every detail about it’. Realization crept into his face as he reconciled my previous explanations with this new found knowledge.
I was told the story of a man in the United States, who was driving a Ford car along the highway when suddenly, his car stalled.. He was fairly knowledgeable with cars and wasted no time in bringing out his tools. After several futile attempts, he gave up and decided to call his mechanic.
Just as he ended his call, a man parked his car in front of his, came down and inquired what the problem was. The man explained that the car developed problems while he was driving. When the stranger asked if he could have a look at the engine, the man told him, ‘I have done all I could but could not get the car to work. I have called my mechanic and he should be on his way now.’
The stranger nodded, looked at him and said, ‘I am Mr Ford and I built this car. There is nothing about this car that I do not know’. Guess what happened next?
Confidence comes from a full assurance or belief in something. It comes from having a knowledge of something that works, in spite of situations where it appears not to be so. Man’s confidence however fails. There have been times I have sweated through a software program I developed, for hours and sometimes days because I did not know where the bug was. At that moment, I could not with confidence, tell anyone the software worked. Rather, I would advise a suspension of usage pending the time I am able to discover where things went wrong.
There is something however, that we can totally rely on with absolutely no room for error or failures. That thing is the word of God. Once spoken, God’s word is established and never changes. It has remained true and faithful through the centuries in spite of man’s efforts to disprove it.
The Psalmist said, ‘I will worship toward Your holy temple, and give thanks to Your name for Your mercy, and for Your truth; for You have magnified Your Word above all Your name’ (Psalm 138:2) God’s word is His bond. No wonder He said in Isaiah 55:11, ‘so shall My Word be, which goes out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in what I sent it to do!’
Now if God, who spoke His word can be so sure of His word, how much more should we trust His word! This is the confidence of the believer! There are so many promises in His word towards us which only requires our faith, our firm belief that God is able to fulfill His word.
The driver of that car, knowing that this was Mr Ford standing before him, would have no doubt that his car would work. Yet, we balk at God’s word. We can’t seem to appreciate that the one who speaks to us is the one who created us along with all that exists. There is no impossible in His vocabulary, oh may I correct that, the only impossible thing for God, is that He cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18) This further gives proof to potency of God’s word.
A confident believer is one who implicitly and explicitly trusts God’s word. He does not look at the circumstances facing him, rather he focuses on what God has said concerning the situation. He knows that God will do what He says He will do and confidently waits for it to happen.
A confidence based on human knowledge, skill, power and possessions is misplaced because these things do not last but confidence in God’s word is sure and proven over and over again by those who have trusted His word.
Steve O. Popoola
© June 2009, Biblepraise Fellowship Online.
Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the webmaster of Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepraise.org. British by birth, He currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria with his wife Maris and their children; Praise, Stephanie and Precious. He works as an IT professional in a bank. He presently serves as Church Secretary and Heads the Music Ministry in his local church . He loves to encourage and inspire through speaking forums. He is the Moderator/Editor of Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address, steve@biblepraise.org

On one of my official trips to Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, I had reason to visit one of the branches of the Bank where I work. While waiting for the meeting I was scheduled to attend, I overheard some staff arguing over a software application which was being tested.

I walked over to where they were and explained the workings of the software with them. While one of them seem to be satisfied with my explanation, the other appeared less satisfied and probably wondered about how I knew so much about the software. I smiled as I told him, ‘Trust me, I developed this software and I know every detail about it’. Realization crept into his face as he reconciled my previous explanations with this new found knowledge.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Uncategorized | | No Comments »

The Peace of God

Written by Steve Popoola on August 10th, 2009

Peace is an essential commodity. Everyone wants peace but many do not know how to attain it. Many do not even understand what peace is. We think that peace is the absence of violence and if only we can get the formula to stop all wars and conflicts, there will be peace in our world.

Just a few days ago, I watched President Obama of the United States speaking in Cairo, reaching out to the Arab world with persuasive and passionate words. His speech was applauded by a lot of Moslems watching and listening to his speech, describing it as a departure from the policies of the former Administration’s policies. Will Obama be able to bring about peace in the Middle East? I do not doubt his sincerity to promote peace in the Middle East, particularly between Israel and Palestine, however I doubt if his efforts will be enough to bring about peace in that region.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Uncategorized | | No Comments »
« Older Entries