RELENTLESS

 Arise, Shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee...and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and the kings to the brightness of thy rising-Isaiah 60:1,3

     A number of times we lie in our rooms with so many questions and ideas in our minds. More often than not, these questions hardly ever get answered and our ideas never reach incubation stage. We tend to abort our ideas early and conceive others. At the same time, our lives are like a Merry-go-round: full of ups and downs.

 Most of us have been exposed to situations that haunt our minds to such an extent that we are mentally crippled or paralysed by fear and mediocrity. The essence of living has been snatched away from you by the past that haunts you. Your experiences of the past have somehow captured you and enslaved you in an atmosphere of mediocre, failures, fears and nightmares and you do not know how to escape from them. The mind has reached a state of hardness from external stimuli. Even if we try to talk you out of the current state of mind; it will be like drilling through a rock that refuses to break.

Many people have been right there where you are and have broken through such state of mind and changed the world. The bible is full of examples of men and women, young and old who have been in similar situations or worse but they emerged victors. They had to take a bold conscious decision to defile the odds of life, detach from mediocre instillations and become giants against their own failures and challenges. Today we refer to them as conquerors and heroes. You can be one. You can emerge from the same situation as a better man or woman and be written in the world’s history books as such.

Today’s youth have to deal with a multitude of challenges ranging from family rejection to being left alone to be parents of small babies and siblings, academic failures to unemployment, from rape to teenage pregnancy and HIV with minimal to no support at all, peer pressures to absolute bullying at school and in the communities, drugs and alcohol to imprisonment and many others. In a world full of these challenges, how do you emerge a victor even with scars of war? Or even, how do you inspire others to do better?

The world offers us a stage where excellence defines who we are and not our integrity. The material achievement have become the label ascribed to by many young people without which life is not as fulfilling as should be. The systems that have been highly pronounced by media present us with a challenge of defending the reality of life against the shadows mostly known to be genuine.

When an angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon in Oprhah, (Judges 6:11), he was dealing with poverty, war, and mediocre. He and his family were faced with poverty while the entire community was in the midst of war. His family was among the least. He had concluded that he is nothing; a looser, least of the least and waiting to die when the Lord appeared to him and called him a mighty man. He gave him a label description that no one else ever ascribed to him. I am sure it came as a great shock to him, a shock that many still experience when they are told they are better than what they actually think they are.

That is similar to what many of us have had to deal with or are already classified as such by the community and our peers.

He had to first wrestle in his mind with the new identity that God was presenting to him. There was war in his mind between his current identity and the new identity which God was inviting him to live in. You have to break away from the old identity that was imposed to you by circumstances and your upbringing into the identity that God has originally placed on you from the beginning. God knows you better any living being on earth. He knows what you are made of and all your capabilities. He knows how to take you from where you are to where he has originally created to be.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11(ESV).

BIBLE HEROES-YOUR BUILT-IN DIVINE TRAITS

The transition from the current state to the realisation of the plans of God for your life will require bold faith. You will be faced with many challenges in life that requires transition. Some of these challenges are addressed in this book. You will, at some point in your life, be forced to make a decision to break out and away from the inhibiting circumstances that life currently presses on you to a better, yet challenging but fulfilling journey.

For example; David had to deal with his family not considering him as candidate when God needed to anoint a king from his father’s house. Even though he was ultimately anointed to be King, the fact that he was not considered by his own father could paralyse the confidence of a young man. But he did not let his father’s recognition or lack thereof define who he was meant to be.

Young Esther had to give up her youth into marriage to a king in order to save Israel (see Esther 4). I think some of the youth and teenagers are dealing with this aspect. Being faced with a responsibility to father or mother a child you did not have time to plan for. A large number of households are child headed in Africa. They are forced to do so because their parents are not there to do it for them for one reason or another.

Young Abel was killed by his own brother for giving a pleasing sacrifice before the Lord. Joseph, when he was still young had a big dream which his brothers did not believe in. Instead, he was hated and sold to slavery by his own brothers for having such a dream.

Have you ever felt like your own family hates you for the good things you are doing? Can you survive the rejection and exclusion from your own family?

These are some of the things that the youth today still face in one form or another. The challenges facing youth in the 21st century are such that some end up joining gangs to compensate for the pain they felt in their upbringing, some turn up to be bad husbands or wives because of their poor upbringing, some never enjoy their youth because of words uttered to them when they were still babies. Words such as; you are stupid; you will never amount to anything; you are ugly, I hate you and so on and on. These have left scars in the hearts of many young boys and girls and ripped them off of their great future.

Many of us have faced similar challenges in our individual lives. These and other challenges have made some to give up from life. Some ended their lives, some just totally resigned from pursuing their dreams. At the same time there are others who faced the same challenges before or at the same time as we did but they emerged victors. The difference is the mind-set.

INDIPENDANCE  FROM IENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE

Someone told me this story which I find intriguing:

There were two young men born and raised in one family of the same parents. Their father was a heavy drinker and a drunkard. When they grew up to independence, one grew up to be a drunkard like his father; the other never tasted alcohol and was very successful. When they were asked on separate occasions as to how did they turn out to be what they turned out to be. They both gave the same answer: my father was a drunkard!

What is the difference between the two guys? This scenario explains what you and I are exposed to and what we can do. We can all be in the same situation but we do not have to become what the situation dictates for us. We should exercise the power of choice and boldly move from dictated and imposed realities to the real purpose God created us for.

With this book, I want to encourage every young man and young woman and show you that you can come out from the walls withholding you. I want to show you that you can be free from the place of low self-esteem, deal with the words once spoken to you, emerge a strong and confident person and show the world what you are made of. You are born of God and you can overcome any thing the world throws at you (1 John 5:4). Arise, stand tall and shine for your glory is risen upon you (Isaiah 60:1). Be bold.

INFLUENCE: You are either influencing or being influenced

Influence is plainly defined as the power to affect, control or manipulate something or someone,the ability to change behavior or conduct. It can be in both negative or positive depending on the energy employed. 

The most influencial, effective, powerful and succesful people in the world have so many things in common, one of them being "influence". They have surrounded themselves with possitive people. These may be people who are like minded with them or those ahead of them. They never suround themselves with medioctrity thinkers or quiters. the pople in their circles are people who add velue to them.

BEING INFLUENCED!!

Now, lean back and take a short break and ask yourself this question (try and answer it openly); what kind of people are within your circles? Is it people who inspire you to be better than you are or those that keep on subtracting something from you and demotivate you? Could it be you are being influenced to do less than you are capable of or to stretch beyond the sky? Perhaps ask yourself; do I add value to the peole around me?

When each day passes, take a look at your life and see what is inflencing your life. Young Samuel in the bible was inflenced by ELi to become a prophet, Elisha was influenced by Elija, Nelson Mandela was infleunced by his great friends and fellow polititians (OR Thambo, Goven Mbeki, etc), Donald Trump is inflenced by, among others his legal advisor. the kind of people who suround you will either bring the best out of you or kill it. "bad company corrupts good mennars".

A friend of mine wrote this on facebook: "a real woman can help a man achieve his goals in life".. a nother man was told by his wife while complaining that she was smiling and hugging other men (her former lovers and friends): If I had married one of these men, he would now be a CEO of a big company, a pastor of a great church, father of great and succesful children, author of many New York times best selling books and a multi-bilionair".  The man acknowledged that had it not been for his wife he would have not achieved all that his wife had just brought to the attention of his remembrence. she was the infleunce behind him.

The opposite can also happen too. consider your friends.

INFLUENCING!!

As defined above, you can be an influence too. as long as you can be in contact with any one, you can become a person of influence. would you rather be a person who influence other to be come the best they can be or sit back, relax and watch doom fall over them while you could have changed their destiny for the better by a simple encouragement and support.

I see many people cheering on the sidelines while others cramble and fall and plainly admit when these people fail and say "I knew nothing will come out of that". That is not the way to live. Leave a legacy behind. In every human contact and interaction you have, strive to be remembered for the good work you have done.

It does not take any extra special attributes to influence other. It is as simple as living your life. you just do what you are able to do and do it best. Make a choice that you will never "shout" a negative criticism to anyone. Decide to be the best. just by being you, many can be turned. As a metter of fact, every living person has someone constantly watching them. they may not be talkign with you, nut they are looking at what you do. other they do it because they see somthing in you and they would like to do it.

That is why in a family where in the father or mother prays or is in business, there is a high posibility that one of their children will tun out to be like them or even better. In a family where there is one person educated, I believe there is more chances of having more people aducated in that generation than where there is none. And that I say because the first role models that we have come from within our families.

It's crowded at the bottom

It is crowded at the bottom.
Life has categories in every area you can think of
There are more sluggard men than there is more diligent men...true?
There is more poor people than there is rich or wealthy
There is more illness than available medicines
There is more death due to illnesses than there is healing???
It is crowded at the bottom

There is more people with ideas than those realizing or living their ideas
There is more low income earners than there is high income earners
There is more people doing hard-physical labor than there is doing office work
There is more unemployed in Africa than there is in America
There is more dying black businesses than there is thriving
It is crowded at the bottom
Life is frustrating at the bottom
It is more painful at the bottom
There is less or no joy at the bottom

80% of businesses profits are made from 20% of its workforce
Yet there is more employees contributing to the 20% of the profit
They just doing hard labor, yet earning less
Less than 5% of world's population control the wealth of the world
Because the crowd feels threatened to go up hill
It is crowded at the bottom
It is crowded at the bottom
The lazy ones run there too
The poor ones are found there
The unemployed are found there
Those that are put to forced labor are found there

The Wonder Of Life

The generations of man kind from eternity past has forever wondered through the many questions of life. Questions whose answers are yet to be unveiled to man kind. The black book says the wisdom of man is foolishness, and the supernatural wisdom and understanding of the Most High is unfathomable. And the futility of our existence is not meaningless after all! Now that is an irony of life!

You may think right now, that you have read the most self contradicting statement this week, right? Wrong!! It’s not contradicting, it’s a fact. A fact that we all have to concur with. “The meaninglessness of life is not meaningless at all”. The teacher wrote, “Everything is utterly meaningless”, and he then shows that despite the meaninglessness of the life we live, it is expedient for one to find satisfaction in all their toiling. Meaning: find why you are toiling and you will be satisfied. The entire human race has tried to find meaning to life, purpose of their existence and more. Some have found their purpose and made a momentous contribution to the entire universe in their time. Whether it is in a short space of time, they made their mark because they discovered the reason they were born.

Think of Bill Gates, the Microsoft Mastermind, you are reading this paper because he made the software. Think of Mother Theresa, words can’t express her impact fully, Nelson Mandela, he gave democracy a meaning.

Find your meaning. Are you where you are supposed to be? Are you doing what you are meant to be doing? Are you in the right circle of influence? Haven't you exploited too many resources in vain? The answer to these questions lies in the depth of our honest self. It is fulfilling to go to bed and look through your shoulders and boast to say “I’ve added value to one person”.

The worth of life is found in many things, some are just shadows of the realities. The real of meaning of life is in living out your calling. Establishing our true whys in life will ultimately open a well of pride, a sense of contentment and a new inspiration. It will raise within you a new courage and strength in your day today life. Even the greatest man to ever live, Jesus said; I must be about my father’s business. Saving humanity was all that motivated Jesus to go to the cross and die a cruel, humiliating and excruciating painful death.

Find your whys and your life will reach a new climax. Find your purpose and you will stop wondering, complaining and be much fulfilled and you will be celebrated. There is no torment on earth equals the torment of living a life unrewarded for the gift and solution lying dormant within you. So what???? No mater how hard you can try to deny or argue with me, you were born to serve, to add value, to tend this garden named earth. You were born for people. You are here on an assignment and you better start finding it and work on completing it while you can. The sooner you find your reason for being here, the faster you accumulate in your value and the bigger the impact you make.
   

the voice of reason-Conflict of choice

The Voice of Reason-Conflict of choice



Faraz



Stop And think about it

The journey of life is like a race cource; some route is flat striet, some sharp curves, some steep slope and high hills. All presented at different times to all individualls. somemhow you are gonna go through some hill, some valleys, some curve. you can not avoid going through them.

the way of life is designed in such a way that, every day is a school day. the longer you remain sleeping in your days, the longer it will take you frommgraduating froim one level tom onother. You just cannot automaticly skip a training course at a particulaer level, you have to attend classes, get assignment and be tested. when you have proven to be competent, you get a promotion. That is the reward; you get a promotion.

Now, think a little about how manny classes of your own life course have you skipped or cheated your way up. it is not really fulfilling to know that you have cheatednyour way up. eben though it can be exciting to look at yourselfn with that mediocre eye and boost to have attained this and that, but if you did not work hard for it, you dont seem to see the value in it. that is why it is good to review our ways and gaurd our hearts with all deligance.

I just want tonhighlight but a few thing right now about life.
life is not a joke, dont laugh at it
life is not a game, don't play  with it
life is precious, value it
life is beauty, nurture it
life is a garden, till it
life is like a river, remoce debris from its banks,
life is like an ocean, it knows how to discard all that is not acceptable in it. so dont die in it

think about what you are doing, the things you'd rather do in order to  get ahead in comparison to the things you should do. Think about what you'd rather say in oder to gain vaue and respect at the expense of your friend or just onother person. 
have we really, i mean really started to live as life where in we are all  brother's keeper or we are just becoming more selfish and more self centered? The way of life know how to pay us back for everything we do, whether bad or good, we just can not escape the harvest our lives.

so think about it.

THE VOICE OF REASON

Every day, we are faced with the challenge to decide, to evaluate our steps, to rethink our thoughts and to review our deeds. Sometimes these deeds include how we acted at work, the attitude you portrayed to your manager, your client, etc or maybe the way you spent your day. Some of these things may have passed your day without really getting to your special attention, or maybe you ignored them, or anything of that nature. That does not rule out the voice of reason within you.

The voice of reason within you is the same voice that helps you decide what to wear on a particular day for a specific event. it helps you structure you communication with people. It is the same voice that help us uphold our moral nature and values. The voice that really matters to each one of us.

The Holy Spirit in me
God gave each one of us the Spirit that helps us in all things! He said the holy spirit will help in all things! That did not outrule how we behave at work, in front of our parents, friends, etc, at church and in any public. He is meant to help us in all the things we do each day, including how we spend time with our own self.

You it is suprising to realise that what people say most often is not what they are or what they do when they are alone! Someone will speak about prayer n how powerful it is meanwhile that person never even makes a second for prayer! Have you ever seen that? I mean, a man talks of how women should be adored, pamperd, spoiled; how they should be loved while he himself has injected so much pain in the very woman he is with today.

The holy spirit with you is to help you do those things which, somehow seemed very dificult to do. He will help you pray those prayer that you wondered how to really make them effective. He will help you pray, talk, read, work, etc. In fact he will help to excell in everything that you do everyday in your life.

Reason
Take time to think right now and ask yourself; am I really living to my expectation, to my purpose? Am I really living or just existing? Most of us are afraid to confront ourselves. We are afraid that if we really do confront ourselves in our own closet, we will find monsters in our names, we will find abusers, liers, haters, pretenders, molesters, cheaters, thieves and so on and so forth.

I believe, as long as I'm still afraid to take time and really look into my own life, I'm missing out on the possibities and opportunities to change and be a better me that I can be!



Are you the better you that you can be?