Word of the week
Hebrews 12:14 NLT
“Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.”
Pastor EA Adeboye, fondly called Daddy GO, told us a story of how years ago a particular man offended him and he reported this man to the late founder of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pa Josiah Akindayomi.
To his surprise, Pa Akindayomi asked Daddy GO to seek out the man and apologise. What?! Apologise despite the man being the one that did wrong?!
Daddy GO went and apologised to the man. After apologising to the man, the man said to Daddy GO, ‘God saved you that you came to apologise to me. I know I’m going to hell but I was determined to take you along with me.’
Another level of being a fool is to be a fool for Christ.
Being a fool for Christ is when you apologise when the other person is wrong.
But sometimes you have to do this Because some people are hell-bound. Don’t let them carry you along.
My son, Aanu, had an experience in the London Underground some years ago. A guy stepped on his toes, then turned around and asked my son why he stepped on him!
Aanu said he looked at the guy and apologised. I asked him why he apologised despite the fact that it was the guy that was wrong.
Aanu said, ‘I’m not giving this guy an excuse to stab me’.
Wow! Such wisdom in a young man. He must have been in his early twenties then and knife crime was so bad in London at that time. Who knows whether the guy trying to pick a quarrel with him had a knife?
Beloved people of God, you must understand that some people are not going anywhere in life. You must do your best to avoid strife with them so that they don’t cut short your destiny.
Today, Pastor EA Adeboye is acknowledged all over the world as a great man. What if he had refused to apologise to the man that wronged him like Pa Akindayomi told him?
I’m very proud of my son for his conduct when he was provoked in the London Underground. He displayed a wisdom far above his age.
Everything in life is not aggression.
There is something called ‘stooping to conquer’.
That Scripture we read said ‘work at living in peace, work at living holy. You have to work at it because it will not be easy. It will take effort on your part.
May God give us the wisdom to order our lives into continual victory in Jesus Name.
Message of the week
Galatians 6:2,5 NLT
Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
Recently it dawned on me that the only choice my parents ever made for me was the choice of primary school.
Every other choice in my life was mine.
To attend secondary school, I had 2 choices. Though I was 10 years old, my parents asked me ‘which secondary school would you like to go?’ So, I made a choice. They also asked me ‘would you like to be in the boarding house or be a day student?’ I chose to be a day student. The choices of where to go for A levels, university, youth service, who to marry etc were all mine.
Consequently from an early age, a lot of things about my life came under my control.
It’s possible you were not that fortunate and a lot of decisions were forced on you. If that is the case I pray that God will heal you of bad choices made on your behalf.
Even if choices were made for you in the past, a time comes when you begin to make choices all by yourself
This is the time to be careful
Because choices equate responsibility. My life came under my responsibility from a young age and I can’t blame anybody for anything.
Choices are either empowering or disempowering
Your choices don’t leave you the same
Your choices mean that you will bear the consequences whether good or otherwise
Your choices mean that no one is to blame for where you find yourself
My choice will not land me in your circumstances
Your choice will not land you in my circumstances
Everyone will benefit from (or God forbid, suffer from) the consequences of their choices
Choose well
Choose with God’s guidance because your choices have consequences.
