It is unquantifiable 'GRACE'

"Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the
LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my
spirit, saith the LORD of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6).


The role of the grace of God in our lives cannot be over emphasised.
No doubt, the factors of diligence, competence and resilience are very
important for success in any life, career or endeavour. But
ultimately, every truly outstanding career I know has been the result
of God's grace. Call it luck, or you could say that person was
fortunate; call it providence, or you could say nature smiled on that
person and that circumstances favoured him. All are different
expressions for what is called the grace of God in spiritual parlance.

Broadly speaking, the grace, favour and mercy of the Lord all point in
the same direction of the God factor in human life. Thus many times,
those words are used interchangeably although they have different
meanings. That God factor will always make the difference and when the
grace of God is absent in a man's life, such a life will be devoid of
that touch of 'luck', that winning edge.

Like Apostle Paul, I will tell you that by the grace of God, I am what
I am, for everything good in me and every glorious point of my life
have expressly been the result of God's grace. It is only the grace of
God that can make a great man out of a nonentity. Scripture is replete
with numerous examples of how God’s grace turned people's lives around
and made of them what nothing else could have.

In our scripture verse for meditation today, Zerubbabel was told that
success would not come by might, achievement and attainment of set
goals won't come by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord. Upon further
examination of the context of that scripture, you will discover that
the Spirit referred to was later shown to be the Spirit of grace (see
verse seven and Zechariah 12:10). I counsel that you too should apply
for the grace of God today.
I want to leave with you three main things that will sustain the flow
of God's grace in a man's life. First, God’s grace flows into the life
of a man who loves the presence of God. That is why we are dismissed
with grace whenever we come to church. The grace of God is abundant in
the presence of God. Secondly, because the word of God is referred to
as the word of His grace (Acts 20:32), God’s grace flows towards those
who treasure the word of God, constantly reading, meditating and
listening to it. Notice that virtually every New Testament epistle
opens with a release of grace to the reader. Finally, scriptures tell
us that God gives grace (and more grace) to the humble.
As you give attention to these things, I pray that the grace of God
will flow ceaselessly into your life and make of you more than you
could ever make of yourself.

A.T. Joel is a Prophet, an Evangelist and presently the presiding Minister at ROSAM CENTRE Headquarter, Lagos, Nigeria. He has being a source of blessing to thousands of souls and highly resourceful in youth evangelism. He is the host of the famous Youth on Exploit(A ministry dedicate to winning young people for God)

For revival, seminar and life coaching section you can reach Him through talktoatjoel@gmail.com, atjoel11@gmail.com, championscorner@yahoo.com and 08029052915, 07068991509

CHECK YOUR FOUNDATION AGAIN

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).

Everything has a beginning; everything has a foundation. The beginning
of a thing will tell how it will be sustained and how it will end. If
a marriage relationship, a project or a ministry has a faulty
foundation, the chances are that sustaining that venture would be
tortuous and it may also end badly. The way a thing is begun could
tell what kind of rewards will follow it, and how enduring those
results would be. It is very correct to say that what you put into the
foundation of a thing will determine what that thing will give back to
you. As we take a very brief look at the subject of foundation, we
shall limit ourselves to the first clause in today's scripture verse -
"IN THE BEGINNING, GOD".

It is true that the Bible says "Better is the end of a thing than the
beginning thereof" (Ecclesiastes 7:8). But for that statement to be
realisable, the beginning of that thing must also be good enough to
provide a solid platform for a better ending. For as another Bible
verse implies, if the foundation of a thing is faulty, even the
righteous has very limited options to make a success of that thing -
whatever it is. That is why everyone of us should recheck the
foundations of the various life projects we are engaged in. The good
news is that something can be done about it if we discover we have
faulty foundation.

In the beginning, God.... The question to ask as we seek to reevaluate
our foundations is: In the beginning of whatever you are engaged in,
who or what was there? When you started out on that venture, was God
involved? If God was not involved, then you started wrongly.
Restitution and making things right should be your next lines of
action. If you are going in the wrong direction, you can never end
right except you change direction. That you have gone very far and for
so long a time, that you have invested so much into the process, or
the fact that people will mock you if change direction - all that
would be foolish excuses to continue building on a wrong foundation.
Wisdom says that you should make amend.

There was a young man in the Bible who's conduct best explains what I
am talking about. He had embarked on a journey in which  God was not
involved. When he realised that he had made a terrible mistake, he
took a U-turn and went back to get things right. He did not try to
patch things up as most of us do. He did not explain away his
predicament. He simply did what was needful and got his life back on
track. They call him 'the Prodigal Son', but I think it would be more
appropriate to call him 'the Sensible Son', for the bigger lesson of
his life was not his prodigality, but his ability to come back to his
senses and make amend.

Friends, that is what we should do as well. May the Lord help us to be
sensible. And I say AMEN for myself.

If He plants it, It is real

“…He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11, New Living Translation).

In the beginning, God created man in His own image and after His likeness. Because God is eternal, and we are made in His likeness, it follows that there must be something that relates to eternity in man’s make up. As the scriptures say, eternity is actually planted in the human heart. To be mindful of eternal things therefore is to be true to our nature at creation. On the other hand, to be unmindful of eternal things or to make light of eternal truths is to do contrary to man’s original nature. Whichever attitude we have, eternal consequences will follow.

The man who God used to pen the Bible verse we are looking at today had engaged himself in seeking every other thing in this world apart from eternity. He consequently became a very successful individual by every human standard. He was the wealthiest man of his time, a great wise king that other kings ran to for counsel, an unparalleled player in the women game, and of course an outstanding scholar. After a long life of superlative enjoyment, he came to an amazing conclusion, summarized in his famous words – “vanity of vanities; all is vanity”. The sad thing is that thousands of years after, man is yet to hear Solomon, the preacher.

Eternity! It is true that eternity seems so far away but we know that it will come one day. It is also true that we must live and enjoy today first before tomorrow comes, but we must know that eternity is as certain as today. Therefore, every sensible human being ought to be mindful of where he would spend eternity. God wants us to view things from eternal perspective, and use time to prepare for eternity because, as a friend would always say, whatever we do in time echoes in eternity.

And someone might wonder, just how long is eternity? The best illustration I can give is as follows. Scientists speak of the 'googol'. It is figure one, followed by 100 zeros. How many years would that be? The googol is inconceivably large. But then think of the 'googolplex' which we believe is the googol raised to the power of a googol. Any mathematics professor in the house to help us calculate how many years that would be,  and how many googolplexes are conceivable? It is said, that if this number were to be written out, there would not be space on earth to contain the pages required. In fact, they would more than fill our galaxy! But when the so-called 'googolplexes' are ended, we probably would just be finishing the first day of eternity.

You don't want to spend that length of immeasurable time in regrets, sorrow and pain, do you? No, you shouldn't because God has made provision for you to have a blissful eternity. But it's a choice that you must wilfully take. Remember that God "has planted eternity in the human heart". Our responsibility then it is to cultivate and nurture this divine planting so that it will yield for us the fruit of eternal joy, love and peace with God for ever and ever. You go about making that quality choice, first by making Jesus the Lord of your life, and by reordering your priorities in life.
~

Recipes for Godly Home II

A husband should fulfill his obligation to his wife, and a wife should do the same for her husband" (1Corinthians 7:3, International Standard Version).

"The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights (goodwill, kindness, and what is due her as his wife), and likewise the wife to her husband" (1Corinthians 7:3, Amplified).

As I promised some time ago, the marriage blog is back, lets savour this and probably next week we continue from here.

Marriage is about responsibility: I take responsibility for my wife's actions and she takes responsibility for mine as well. Adam did not understand this, and the human race is still suffering the consequences of that indiscretion. With responsibility comes the issue of accountability: I am accountable to my wife as she is to me. If you are not ready to be responsible and accountable, don't bother to get married.

You may not agree with me, but I think that the best place to test how responsible a human being could be is in a marriage situation. That is why I consider every man who is happily married to be a truly responsible person, even if he is thought to be irresponsible elsewhere. The same is what I would like to think of a woman who could hold her home. If you are familiar with the biblical story of Nabal and the meaning of the man's name, you would know that any fool could make money, head a big corporation, and even govern a state. Yes, I admit that it would require some skills and proficiency to achieve all that. However, it will take a lot more to keep a wife (or husband as the case may be), hold a home together and nurture a successful marriage. That is why a married man or woman is traditionally referred to as a responsible person.

Marriage is about giving and sacrificing for the other person. From the point at which a man gets married, he is no longer permitted by the laws of God as shown in the Holy Scriptures, to live for himself. He must thenceforth live for his wife and the family he is bringing to being. The same goes for the wife. The moment a woman gets married, she no longer has a life of her own to live. She must live for her husband and her children. But some people cherish their freedom so much that they cannot submit to that sacrificial lifestyle which God has ordained for marital unions. Such a man or a woman has no business getting hooked up in marriage.

Because of all the above, self centredness is never welcome in marriage. I have often heard people say that the average person is naturally selfish. I consider that selfishness to be the most constant culprit at the heart of every marital crisis at the end of the day. That nature must be dealt with and jettisoned by anyone who wants to have a happy marriage. The day Eve was created (and by implication, the day Adam got married), Adam stopped talking about himself except when it had to do with the woman. When you stop singing of how your spouse hurt you, and you start thinking of how to be a blessing to the other person, most of the problems we have with our relationships will be eliminated.

Whoever claims to love must also show it by being responsible, liberal and self sacrificing for the object of his love. Let us learn from the Lord, our God who took responsibility for the sins of the world, gave up His only begotten Son, and sacrificed Him so that it might be well with mankind - the object of His love.

A.T. Joel is a Prophet, an Evangelist and presently the presiding Minister at ROSAM CENTRE Headquarter, Lagos, Nigeria. He has being a source of blessing to thousands of souls and highly resourceful in youth evangelism. He is the host of the famous Youth on Exploit(A ministry dedicate to winning young people for God)

For revival, seminar and life coaching section you can reach Him through talktoatjoel@gmail.com, atjoel11@gmail.com, championscorner@yahoo.com and 08029052915, 07068991509

~

Comm'on all is well

For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield; the Lord bestows [present]

grace and favor and [future] glory (honor, splendor, and heavenly

bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly"

(Psalms 84:11, Amplified).

God has got your life all figured out from the present to the future.

Everything about you and me is all planned for by our heavenly Father.

His objective is to extend to us, out of His bounty, all the good

things we need for a fulfilled life here on earth. Our own duty is to

walk uprightly with Him as well as before Him in our dealings with

fellow men.

The primary dictionary meaning of the word 'upright' is to be vertical

and erect. From this, we get an idea that to walk uprightly, our first

responsibility is to be in a correct vertical relationship with God.

Your spiritual life or your relationship with God is what really

defines your life. If you are nothing in that department, you are

nothing everywhere else, regardless of your achievements in those

other areas of life.

A lot of folks are yet to realise that being correct with God is not

an 'elective' or even a 'required' course. It is a compulsory course,

and if you happen not to have registered for it, your life career is

automatically grounded. The point is that you have failed a compulsory

course and therefore, you cannot graduate even if you got an 'A' in

all other courses. That is why the Bible says we should seek first the

kingdom of God and its righteousness. But don't forget that the other

'courses' in the department of relating appropriately with fellow men

in the sight of God must also be attended to. We will have time to

discuss more on this in subsequent occasions.

Let me conclude by drawing your attention to the fact that what we are

talking about concerns everyone of us who has been admitted into the

University of Life. Remember that our scripture verse for today began

by telling us that the Lord God is a sun and shield. That is a kind of

idiom, implying that for as long as you exist under the sun, you

should listen and apply these words to your life. The Lord help us all

in Jesus' name.

A.T. Joel is a Prophet, an Evangelist and presently the presiding Minister at ROSAM CENTRE Headquarter, Lagos, Nigeria. He has being a source of blessing to thousands of souls and highly resourceful in youth evangelism. He is the host of the famous Youth on Exploit(A ministry dedicate to winning young people for God)

For revival, seminar and life coaching section you can reach Him through talktoatjoel@gmail.com, atjoel11@gmail.com, championscorner@yahoo.com and 08029052915, 07068991509

Morning Dew: All you need is to understand this

"For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome" (Jeremiah 29:11, Amplified).

Today's Bible verse has always been a source of encouragement to many in all generations. Isn't it wonderful indeed to know that the Lord, God almighty has me in His thoughts at all times? For me, as I wade through the challenges of life, it is a huge relief to know that God has plans for my welfare and my peace. It is a welcome reassurance that the God of the universe is constantly rooting for my success and for my good, not for my defeat, failure or evil of any kind. I rejoice in the Lord, my God.

But in order to maximally benefit from this divine privilege, there are a few things that I think you should give your attention to. Let us discuss two of such things.

First, God says that He knows the thoughts that He has towards you. Do you also know those thoughts? How much of God’s plans for your life do you know? You can begin finding out God's thoughts and plan for your overall welfare by doing a diligent study of the Bible. Prayerful meditation in the Scriptures will help you to receive from the Holy Spirit the thoughts of God as they relate to you personally.

It is very important to know and believe God’s plans for your life so that you and God won't work at cross purposes. For example, if God has a plan to make you the best medical doctor in the world, and you are busy trying to become a businessman because you are fascinated by the money in the business world, God’s thoughts of peace and welfare will become irrelevant to your life. Yes, you may be successful in business, but you may have forfeited the peace and presence of God.

Secondly, we must be ready to cooperate with God by not deliberately working against His plans. Rather, we must consciously walk in the direction of His thoughts for our lives. If God has a plan to give you a good home and make you successful in marriage, and you go about committing fornication and adultery, how then would God's plan for you come to pass? It would not matter how well he believes God and how well he prays, a man who keeps beating his wife cannot experience God’s plans for a blissful marriage. Similarly, a woman who is abusive to her husband will definitely miss out on God's plan for a happy home, even if she is the most devoted worshipper in town.

It will be helpful to always keep in view God thoughts for our lives. That way, we will hardly work against His plans. To help you keep God’s thoughts in view, write them down as they are being revealed to you. Don't be so lazy as not to take proper record of God’s dealings with you. Periodically go over them so that they will be fresh in your memory. Then they will come in handy to guide your decisions and actions as you go through life.

A great life lies ahead of you.

A.T. Joel is a Prophet, an Evangelist and presently the presiding Minister at ROSAM CENTRE Headquarter, Lagos, Nigeria. He has being a source of blessing to thousands of souls and highly resourceful in youth evangelism. He is the host of the famous Youth on Exploit(A ministry dedicate to winning young people for God)

For revival, seminar and life coaching section you can reach Him through talktoatjoel@gmail.com, atjoel11@gmail.com, championscorner@yahoo.com and 08029052915, 07068991509

New and fresh Jahdiel releases another Single

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New Music: Jahdiel – Obulu Jesu

Remember her! Jahdiel is a gospel artiste famous for her single ‘Heritage.’ She’s back with another hit single “Obulu Jesu’ (Thank You Jesus) produced by Xcel.