He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD′S, and he hath set the world upon them.

Anyone who desires to be lifted of God should know there is always a price to pay. It was Bishop Oyedepo who once shared an encounter he had with the Holy Spirit who said to him “David, there is room for you at the top if you are interested”. Since creation, God’s intention for His beloved has always been to give them “… a hope and an excellent future” according to Jer 29:11. The problem is not with the intentions of God as He is very clear about it and talks about it very frequently. The problem is with paying the price.

Let us take a moment to review; what is the price of the top?
Let us examine the life of Abraham who for most purposes is our very standard in faith and commitment. I think sometimes about how God can choose a man from an idol worshipping background to make the covenant of eternal blessing with him. I think of how God can so jealously guard a relationship that he invests the blessings of many other men in just one man- Abraham. The answer is “absolute obedience”. The Bible; speaking of the faith of Abraham says ”The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father′s household and go to the land I will show you.” (Gen 12:1).
Can you imagine that? Let me break it down. Imagine your father saying to you pack your loads, leave my house and set out on a journey to a country where I will show you? If you again look at Gen 22, God instructed Abraham to sacrifice unto him his only begotten son and he did. He did because he already laid Isaac on the altar before God provided a lamb. Abraham has a record of following God blindly. He didn’t care so much about consequences and rewards, he just followed.
Very clearly, the will of Abraham was absolutely lost in God’s. This is what the Bible is talking about when it says “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 19:14). A child follows in blind trust, so did Abraham in his absolute trust of God. See brethren, until your ambitions, hopes and expectations are absolutely lost in God’s will, lifting is very much a distant phenomenon.

The second and very pertinent condition is consecration or absolute dedication to the cause of the gospel. It was Peter who asked Jesus “Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?” (Matt 19:27). Jesus responded to Peter and said “And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
See brethren, leaving all for God always results in gaining more with him. In responding to God’s enquiry (in the above story narrated) Bishop Oyedepo answered “God, I am interested”. And God said to him “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness and all these things that others are dying to get, I will add to you”. You see, men who are dedicated are men who do not leave the weightier matters of the Kingdom to pursue “these things”. It is extremely difficult in this materialistic world to retain absolute focus, but this is exactly what God expects of us.

Lastly, the top is for those who work hard. For six days God worked hard creating the universe only to rest on the sixth. Today, many folks rest 6 days and work for one day and they didn’t even create one small value. See, greatness is always a product of work as much as it is a product of Grace. It was Apostle Paul who said ” But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” (1 Cor. 15:10) Let no man deceive you, only men who are diligent in their work will stand before kings.

I beseech you today dear reader, if you passionately desire the top ensure to commit yourself to absolute dedication, give yourself to hard-work and obey God even at the risk of your life. That way, I am certain; you can never miss the top.

I bless the name of the Lord for counting me worthy, this month is my wedding anniversary.
-Mummy Ajadi

14th of this month is my birthday. I thank God for His protection and faithfulness.
-Bro. Valentine Ajibulu

I bless God for His faithfulness in my life and family. This month is my two sons birthday.
-Bro. Akinlolu

I give God the glory for counting me worthy to witness this year′s birthday.
-Sis. Comfort Kuti

18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
19 And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
20 And the Lord shewed me four carpenters.
21 Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.

What really causes embargoes? What really makes it impossible for men to attain unto the fullness of their destinies?
The easy answer would be: “devil and his agents”. While this is not false there is yet more powerful enemy and it is within. Apostle Paul while admonishing the Church in Corinth in 2 Cor 10: 5 talks about
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ”

Let me take a moment to talk about the power of our imaginations. You see, there’s nothing as powerful and as God-like as the imagination of a man. At the tower of Babel the men who gathered said “…Let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” (Gen 11:4). This is imagination in action. At the beginning of creation, God the father said “…Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth (Gen 1:26). That is God imagining the beauty that order and creation would bring. This was the exact reason God said to Moses in Gen 13: 14-17 “…after Lot had gone, the LORD said to Abram, Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west. I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted! Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.”

The problem however is that imagination is neutral, you can either use it for good or evil intents and many people would rather deploy their imagination in pursuit of evil than good. They feed their imagination with wild thoughts that never edify but which are capable of utter destruction. These evil imaginations are the very things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. Evil imaginations stifle spiritual access and Godly interventions. More terrible are the dis-empowering beliefs that many a Christian fondly embrace.

Dear friend, if you will break limits the starting point is purging your mind of dis-empowering beliefs and unhealthy negative imaginations. Let me be clear to you: no one can win the battle of life who has lost the battle of the mind. The first limit you must break is the limit of your mind. You must believe for instance that becoming great is your right and that you are entitled to it by the grace that was made available at Calvary. That belief has got to be very strong; driving you in the direction of destiny each and every day. If for any reason you succumb to the pedestrian thinking that “destiny cannot be changed” and “whatever will be will be” it is difficult to amount to much in life.

After you have dealt with limiting imaginations the second step to breaking limits is dealing with unhealthy association. Look for a moment at Gen 13: 14 again “…after Lot had gone, the LORD said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west. I am giving all the land, as far as you can see, to you”. Did you see that?... after Lot had gone… Not before, not when he was about to go, after he had gone. For many a believer their very limit is the associations that they have vowed to always keep. Those associations carry so much weight of disgrace that they effectively neutralize the liberating impact of grace upon their lives. The Bible is emphatic “Do not be deceived, bad communication corrupts good manners”. You can’t stay in the wrong associations and expect the God of grace to waste His grace on you. Please and please dear friend. This is 2021. Review your associations and dis-engage from every unedifying “Lot-like” relationships.

Lastly, limits are broken in the place of action- prayer, fasting and work. In spite of the prophesy that had gone ahead of Judah it took the very action of the “carpenters of destiny” to remake the destiny of Judah. Evil horns have scattered Judah, Jerusalem and Israel that no one except strangers could lift their heads. Their heads were bowed in perpetuity, but thank God for raising the Carpenters to cause a restoration.

Dear Friend, it is time now for you to be the carpenter of your own very destiny. Get up. Don’t sleep. War against these strange horns that have kept your destiny down and I am sure that the God of heaven will give you irrevocable victory and restoration in Jesus name.
Happy new month.

Worry is disquieting thought, fear, care and anxiety about known realities and unknown future realities. It is deadly and has nothing positive to offer its victims other than to load them with stress and disability and diseases.
Worry wrecks havoc on your health. When you worry, you feel a rush of adrenaline; your heart rate and blood pressure go up. Once this happen, you are at increased risk of numerous health problems.

In addition, worry makes the liver to produce excess cholesterol, which causes serious health issues like heart attack and stroke.

Worry is a choice. So choose not to worry by casting all your cares on God.
He cares for you.

Successful parenting attracts great dividends: nothing on earth gives greater delight than the sight of balanced and properly trained child living out God’s purpose for his life. Child training is an investment that pays far greater dividends than any other investment and it is the most fulfilling job which God himself rewards. Great men and women of worth in all ages have attributed their success in life to good parenting. If we spend quality time and resources to train our children now, they will ever live to appreciate us, just like the children in Proverb 31 did.

We can be rest assured that anywhere our children find themselves they will stand for God and make us proud as Parents. If we raise our children in God’s way, they will become assets to the family, to the church and to the nation.

Finally, they will make it to heaven if they continue in the Godly way we have shown them. For Parents who felt they have missed it in this area, it is not too late to start again. God is ever ready to help you. God’s instruction to us is to train our children in the way of the Lord so that when they are old, they will not depart from it. May God help us not to fail in this task and help us to escape the consequences of ineffective parenting in our old age in Jesus name.

“Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet” (Psalms 110:1 NIV). This is the most oft-quoted Old Testament verse in the New Testament. But as we consider now what right-hand-of-God power might look like practically in our lives, I want us to pay particular attention to the verse that immediately follows: “The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, ‘Rule in the midst of your enemies!’” (Psalm 110:2 NIV).

Notice, however, it’s not a promise that the Lord will get rid of our enemies. Instead, God wants us to rule in their midst. This is not a rose-garden promise to remove our enemies, but an invitation to rule in the midst of them. As David expressed it in Ps 23:5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies”. Though we have enemies, we can rule in the midst of them and be “more than conquerors” through Christ (Romans 8:37). Having been raised up and seated with Christ “in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 2:6; Colosians 3:1), we are therefore at God’s right hand, enthroned with Christ in the place of authority. That means we are no longer in a defensive, but an offensive position in relation to our enemies. We are in the midst of them but also looking down on them from above. Knowing that should cause us to rise up in confidence, boldness, and authority.

Remember the story of David and Goliath? Goliath was insulted that the Israelites would send out such a pathetic, unworthy opponent as David to fight him. He was infuriated when he saw that the man who had been sent out to fight him was “only a youth.” “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” he taunted. “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field” (1 Samuel 17:43–44).
Goliath, the nine-foot giant, armed from head to toe, was an experienced, bloodthirsty warrior. David, the shepherd boy with only a sling, was obviously no match for him.
Yet when Goliath advanced toward him, what did David do? Tremble? Shake in his boots? Start backpedaling as fast as he could? No. Scripture says: “When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:48).
Amazing! David didn’t wait for the giant to initiate the combat. Instead he put his head down and charged toward Goliath. He didn’t fight defensively, using his quickness and smaller size to avoid Goliath’s attacks, hoping possibly to wear the giant down. No. David went on the offensive!
King Saul and David’s older brothers were probably shaking their heads in dismay. How foolish could David be? The lowly shepherd boy must be delusional! Yet we know that wasn’t the case. Why then was he so undaunted and courageous?

What David shouted to Goliath just before he charged toward him provides the answer: “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts” (1 Samuel 17:45). David’s boldness and confidence was in the name of the one in whom he had come: Yahweh. David had set his mind on things above, on the one above, who sits on heaven’s throne.
After he defeated Goliath, David went on to become a mighty warrior, no doubt the greatest in all Israel’s history. “Blessed be the Lord, my rock,” he would declare, “who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle” (Psalm 144:1; Psalm 18:34). Scripture describes his mighty exploits in significant detail.
But the reason David became a great warrior and subdued his enemies was because, first and foremost, he was a great worshiper. That was how he set his mind on things above. Before he learned to wield a sling or a sword, he first learned to play a harp. That’s what we remember him for most: his worship songs found in the Psalms. So many of the individual psalms are attributed to him that Charles Spurgeon aptly titled his great devotional commentary on the Psalms, The Treasury of David. The close connection between worship and warfare is hard to miss in many of them. Consider Psalm 27, for example. “Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident” (Psalm 27:3). He sure sounds like a confident warrior here!

But notice the following verse: “One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4). Often that verse is quoted to underscore the centrality and the priority of worship. It’s the “one thing” David desired.
And as a result of doing that “one thing,” he exulted, “Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord” (Psalm 27:6).

David was a great warrior because he is a great worshiper! He was able to subdue his enemies because his head was lifted up above them. Because his eyes were focused on the Lord, while he was in the midst of his enemies he was looking down on them from above. As he said at the very beginning of this same psalm, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1).

Dear reader, if like David we want this kind of sweat-less victory over every enemy, a life of worship is simply the secret.

Happy new Year 2021.

Hello Children!
You are welcome into the New Year 2021!

I want to invite you to the world of the best and to remind you that there is a seed of greatness laid inside of you. You must rise and shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you (Is. 60:1). Let’s take a look at the life of some children in the bible, and see how they excelled as the best amongst their peers.

The bible records in I Sam. 17:14. David was the youngest of his father Jesse. We remember the story of how David defeated Goliath the giant Philistine who defies the army of Israel. David was courageous and he confronted the giant. Those who know their God will be strong and do exploit.

So, Children, in this New Year, let′s strive to be the best among our peers.

The Lord terminated my reproach; I celebrate God’s faithfulness in the life of my daughter turned One year this month. -Mummy Odunuga

I bless God on behalf of Ikechuchukwu, the Lord saved him from accident. -Bro. Tunde Oduniyi.

I celebrate God’s faithfulness in my marriage, today marks my 12th year wedding anniversary. -Sis. Ronke Bello

I give glory to God for His faithfulness in my family; for not making me a widow in my

prime. -Sis. Folake Akinwumi

I bless God for adding a year to my age. -Sis. Amos.

I bless God for my 10th year wedding anniversary. -Sis. Hope Oyabunmi

I thank God for all round peace and progress in my family, also praising God for my wedding anniversary. -Bro. Olumide

A car ran into our compound and damaged the fence; I bless God that there were no casualties. Also, God add another year to my age. -Sis. Ada Odunuyi.

I thank God for all round promotion in my life and family, also, for my birthday. -Sis. Bose Adekunle.

I bless God on behalf of my family and the church; I thank God for the gift of life for my family. -Mama John

I thank God for saving my little daughter from being electrocuted. -Sis. Majekodunmi

I bless God for the journey of nine month. Also, God saved my husband from an accident. -Sis. Loveth.