THERE IS A STAR IN YOU

1. You were called when you were born and not when you were born-again. 

I loved this little picture the moment I saw it. When you were born, God hard-wired your purpose for living within you. This is in agreement with the book of Jeremiah 1:5...before you were formed.... I knew you and ordained you as a prophet...

The seed of your calling is embedded within you. Most people who are outstanding in life, popular musicians, actors, writers, visionaries and priests and prophets are just expressing the call/gift of God imprinted in them. False teachers are expressing their call of teaching. It is only that they do it the wrong way.

2. You and I are the seed (sperm) that swam faster

The winning sperm.

You were victorious even before you were born. You were a competitor and you out-paced everybody else. You have been a winner before conception. 
One time a man of God, Pastor Yao from CIC was ministering in a prayer seminar and he mentioned one of the most liberating statement. He said you and I are the seed (sperm) that swam faster than the million others to reach the egg (ovum) first and fertilized it. Consequently, he further said the egg then released a chemical substance that repelled all other "guys" (sperms) from even coming near it, sealing you victory and championship. All other sperms were then absorbed by the walls of the uterus rendering them inactive for reproduction purposes.

When concluding this concept, Pastor Yao, asked mind-boggling questions and said;

*what would have happened if you and I were among the other million sperms that failed to swim faster to reach the egg? 

*would we be existent?

Now think about it. The answers are that we would be non-existent, invisible and to rightly put it, "extinct".

Do you now see that it was the plan of God for you to be alive, to exist? So, live you life as a victorious being, as a winner. Winning is embedded in your genetic make-up. No matter your background, educational qualification, financial status or appearance, you are a winner. You posses the source code to a victorious life.


3. There is a star in you.

Everybody has a star. When Jesus was born, his star was seen in the east. Mathew 2:2.
You are supposed to let the star in you shine so bright so as the world will see it. 


You are not just an ordinary person, but unique in the way you were created. Express your purpose for living and refuse adversities to drag you down. You were always in the mind of God at creation. 

4. The case of Esther in the Bible

Esther did not let her situation to discourage her. Esther let her star to shine. The name Esther means STAR.
In the book of Esther 2:5 we read about the story of young lady called Hadassah (Esther). 
There are some discouraging facts about the background of Esther as follows;
*Esther was an orphan  - She had no mother and father. This goes without saying that, she had not experience the full love of parents.
*She was adopted by her cousin, Mordecai
*She was a slave girl - slave do not enjoy the full rights of their own and her self esteem was nurture to develop well.
*She was an immigrant in another country - her rights were limited and did not have any citizenship rights
*She had limited choices - Mordecai carried her with him, she had no option to remain when they were taken into captive by the Babylonians and later by the Persians.


You may be thinking that you cannot rise up above your situation but the life of Esther should inspire you this day. She rose to become queen of Medo-Persia after the demotion of queen Vashti.

Have Mentors in your life

Esther's star shone because she had a life-mentor, Mordecai. Everyone needs a mentor in life. This is a person who believes in you, motivates you and speaks words of encouragement to you. They cheer you to run even faster. These could be spiritual leaders, academic mentors and professional leaders.

Esther was motivated by Mordecai to be the best she could. In life, there are people specifically sent to inspire, motivate and propel you to you destination. These are people who believe in you, who see victory in you. They are a beckon of light to you, they lead you to your elevation by directing and warning you of pitfalls on the way.

When I was studying for my undergraduate degree at the University of Botswana, there was a woman of God by the name of Dr. A. Totolo. She was my lecturer in most of the courses I took. She so much believed in me to get a first class in such a way that scared me. The fear of disappointing her faith in my potential to do much more exceedingly pushed me beyond any university student's limit.
By then I had a lot of responsibilities, I was a husband and a father (I still am), a church elder, student and also doing some part time job as a research assistant on campus.
During the day, I attended lessons and carried out assignments, slept around 7pm after dinner, woke up around 11pm and studied all night through up to 5am. This became my daily routine until I finished my studies. 


When I went to get my results transcript, I still did not have enough faith that I could land a first class. When I got my transcript, I found that I obtained a first class grade with an outstanding GPA (Grade Average Point) of 4.5.

Dr. Totolo's encouragement had paid off and I am forever thankful for her inspiration and academic mentoring in my life. She gave me courage to overcome academic obstacles and focus on achieving academic excellence. She caused my star to shine.
*Who is your mentor in life?
*Is your star shinning bright enough?
*Have you lost the courage you need to continue?
*Do you want to live a life filled with purpose and fulfillment?


Then, connect with Jesus today and he will give you a fresh start. He will unveil your purpose for living and give you hope. You have always been a star, only that you did not know it. Now you know it.

THE CALL OF GOD

This week's blog has been inspired by Dr. John C. Maxwell, one of the greatest Bible Teachers I have ever come across. It focuses on the calling of God and specifically zooming in on the five - fold ministry, also known as the Ministry gifts or Office gifts. It is imperative to know and acknowledge that the calling of God upon our lives, comes in different ways. There is no one way in which God calls us into ministry. Maxwell, (2003) describes this as "The Life You were Meant to Live" explaining it as discovering your God - given Mission in life. Ephesians 4:1- walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called.

In his booklets, Million Leaders Mandate, Dr. Maxwell gives five Biblical Principles about our callings,;

1. We all have been given a purpose for our lives
2. We are most fulfilled when we are fulfilling our purpose
3. Not everyone uncovers their God-given purpose
4. Our purpose is built from our personal inward design
5. We will be judged on our obedience to our God-given calling in life

Dr. Maxwell elucidates how God called leaders in scripture and identifies at least 4 ways that God revealed someone's purpose in life. He summarizes them as follows;

1. Thunder-bolt

This is when God reveals one's purpose in a moment or an event and it becomes instantly clear that one has been called or commissioned  by God. It can be described as a sudden transformation of someone from a relatively unknown and or an upside down kind of life to a more conspicuous, visible and commissioned lifestyle. The experience of Paul the apostle's conversion on his way to Damascus describes this kind of call. Acts 9:1-16. Some of you have probably experienced this kind of visitation by God that completely transformed your lives.

2. The Call from Birth

In this way, according to Dr. Maxwell, God reveals your purpose early in life such that you always remember being called. An example is that of Jeremiah. God said about him, "Before I formed you..., I knew you..., I sanctified you and ordained you as a prophet unto the nations (Jeremiah 1: 5). Some of you have been received the call of God from as early as you remember.

3. A Growing Awareness

God reveals your purpose in a general sense. As you move towards it , He provides the details. I have tried to illustrate this point using the image above. As you move into a city at night, what you see is a flood or a galaxy of city lights. You are unable to distinguish one light from another, or perhaps where each light originates, whether its a street light or a light from a specific building. As you move closer to the lights, you start to get clarity and details about where each sparkling light comes from.

In this sense, the more you move towards doing what you are convicted to be your calling, the more you become crystal clear of who you are and what you are supposed to do.A typical example is that of Joseph in Genesis 39:1-23.

4. Walking through open doors

God reveals your purpose over many years, step by step, as you capitalize on opportunities. A relevant example is that of Esther. The book of Esther outlines the story of an orphaned girl named Esther. She was not only an orphan, but also a slave and an immigrant. Esther found herself selected to go through a rigorous process of the search for the Queen after the demotion of queen Vashti.

Esther was the most favorable of all the competitors and became the first non Medo-Persian Queen. Esther through the proper mentoring of her cousin Mordecai, capitalized on opportunities that came her way up to the top. She walked through open doors. Someone once explained this concept by giving an example of modern automatic doors popularly found in Kiosks and airports. as you move towards the doors it senses your approach and automatically opens for you without having to touch it.

Opportunities come your way and as the Psalmist puts it, "goodness and mercy follows you". Opportunities come through different ways, like education, connections/networks you may have, promotions, business deals and sometimes through awkward means where you feel that you are going through a trying moment of your life. It is for the purpose of you preparation.

These experiences are the key to unlocking your destination in life.

When doors start to open for you, its like you become visible and you seem to "stand out" in a crowd. You appear to have been ear-marked for success, progression, promotion and acceleration. It is this opportunities that catapult you to your destination such that what others achieved in many years, you only achieve in a few months, achieving more with less effort.

Reference

Maxwell J. C, 2003, Million Leader Mandate - Notebook Four, Equip.

CHARACTERISTICS OF BIBLE TEACHERS - AN ANALYSIS

"If there is a counterfeit, then there should be a genuine product". I liked this phrase the moment I heard it. As much as there are false teachers out there, there are also true Bible teachers who are inspired by the Holy Spirit to bring order to the body of Christ.


Teachers and the teaching ministry


The Greek word for a person who teaches is "didaskalos" which means, "one who teaches or to gives instruction". Didasko means, simply, "to teach".


The teaching ministry is a necessity in the body of Christ, to teach the principles of the word of God, restore order and management of the Church. There are a lot of issues that you can frown at in churches because the teaching ministry is not well grounded, not recognized or just ignored. Teachers are there to restrain wild behaviors in the way the ordinances of the church are administered. They crystallizes procedure and operation for the perfecting of the church. When this office is influenced by the prophetic, amazing things will happen in our churches. The two are not only very compatible but they do complement one another. Acts 13: 1 -3.


Let us look at some of the characteristics (Attributes) of a Bible Teacher;

"To the writing of books there is no end.."

Ecc. 12:12 .

1. Finds greatest joy in learning
2. Presents truth in a logical and systematic way
3. Validates truth by out the facts
4. Loves to study and do research on issues
5. Enjoys word study
6. Uses Biblical and other life illustrations
7. Is intellectually sharp and apt to teach
8. Is self disciplined and principled
9. Is emotionally self - controlled
10. Is more objective than subjective
11.  Gets upset when scripture is used out of context
12. Has strong opinions and convictions based on investigation of facts
13. Feels concerned that truth be established in every situation
14. Motivated to study without being asked
15. Has good self image and is confident 
16. Speaks easily and well, but also a good listener
17. Good at analytic,critic, reasoning, summarization and application

"TEACHERS TEACH"

Examples of Bible Teachers were;

• Apollos  - Acts 18:24 - 28, 1 Cor 3:6
• Aquila and Priscilla - Acts 18:1 - 3, 24 -28, Rom 16:3 - 5
• Timothy  - 1and 2 Timothy, Acts 16:1 - 3
• Barnabas (Son of encouragement)  - Acts 13:1 - 3

SMART TEACHINGS

A 21st Century Bible teacher must be technologically inclined. Apt to incorporate and use ICT as an enabler to teaching the body of Christ, to connect people with content and people with people. The use of PowerPoint and projection, laser pointers and appropriate knowledge and information aggregators like digital concordances, Bible dictionaries and Commentaries come in hand to enhance teaching. Connecting people with people through the use of networks like Facebook, twitter etc.  

  

A vast sea of information of knowledge is available to a Bible Teacher in the super - highway of information, the network of networks (internet) has a potential to eliminate the digital divide often found in our     churches and among Christians. A Bible Teacher customizes this information after careful evaluation and authenticity of its source, re-packaging it with proper illustrations and the influence of the spirit of God for ministration.