BECOMING A SIGNATURE ( FOR FRESH STUDENTS)

“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and Power who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil and God was with him” Acts 10:38

INTRODUCTION:

What do you think is a man's greatest need? Someone recently mentioned they would like their tombstone to read "He made a difference” Whether we speak of achieving our full potentials or only of surviving to the next level, men invariably talk about their need to be significant; A desire to become significant in their own area of gifting.  A man's most innate need is his need to be significant; many of us are here for that same chief reason.

Frankly speaking; we cannot get the significance we speak of if God is not with us.  Jesus our role model, it was said of him "how God anointed Jesus…who went about doing good and" why? The answer is not far-fetched; God was with him, God had signed on the pages of his life with Holy Ghost and Power. He was God's handwriting for untold wonders.

Authentic lasting significance is hid with Christ, Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches if a man remains in me and I in him he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do NOTHING (John 15:5). In other to become a SIGNATURE, to be APPROVED for greater exploit, we must let God sign on the pages of our life with His unusual threshold of dominance.  Let us look at the three principles to becoming God's signature while on campus.

THE PRINCIPLE OF AUTHOR:

Hebrew 12:2 says "Looking unto Jesus the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross”.  Being significant and having authority is your birthright.  At creation, God created a masterpiece (Gen. 1:26) "And God said let us make man in our image, after likeness: and let them have dominion over...”, The impending question is; who is the author of your authority?.

            The release of your personal authority is linked to the origin of your gifts and power. We must endeavour to discover the true SOURCE of the authority that is inherent in you. For you to make distinction in your school, you must let God be the signatory of your life. The only way to be approved of your studying is to make God the source of your authority. Surrender all to Him. Elijah asked his people “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if baal is god follow him” I King 18:21. Who will you follow today? If your answer is God, then He is ready to sign on your life provided you do the following:

·         Confess Him as your Lord and Saviour – Rom 10: 9

·         Be baptized with water and Holy Spirit – Matt 3: 11, Act 2:38

·         Study the bible everyday – Joshua 1:8, II Tim 2 : 15

·         Pray without ceasing – Luke 18:1

·         Attend fellowship – I John 1:7

·         Flee from sin – I Corin 6:20, I Tim 6:11

THE PRINCIPLE OF AUTHORIZATION:

Having known the author of your authority, the next phase is to be authorized (to be APPROVED). You do not only have authority within you, you also need the authorization to carry it out to the world. You must strive (Study hard) to start fulfilling life’s purpose.

God authorized Moses to lead His people after he was able to fulfill the necessary requirements; he was schooled for 40 years in the wilderness. He left the palace to be with God’s people. He sacrificed his ego to put on the mantleship and signature of God.

Jacob also wrestled with an angel all night; his rib was shifted just for a new name; God’s signature and approval for a new beginning. Seek God’s authorization (approval) for distinction today by studying hard. The question now is how do I study?

1.      ATTEND ALL YOUR CLASSES

·         Absorb Classroom material

·         Make presence known/participate

·         Earn attendance point

·         Sit at the front

·         always do your assignment

·         get past questions

2.       GET ORGANIZED

·         Use a planner (time table)

·         Stay current with due date/course/information

·         Plan ahead

·         Visit the library

·         Develop your professional vocabularies

·         Reinforce your learning

3.      STUDY EARLY AND OFTEN

·         Know how best you study

·         Make sure work is done before socializing

·         Study with friend to gain support

·         Attend tutorials

·         Meet with seniors in your department

4.      MASTER YOUR LECTURERS

·         Understand their course expectations

·         Understand lecturers on personal level

·         Respect and Communicate with lecturers when you are struggling

5.      USE TIME WISELY (BE A GOOD TIME MANAGER)

·         Break larger project into smaller and easy to tackle one

·         Tackle harder work first

·         Take break as reward for work

Do not over-extend yourself (learn to say no)

·         Practice writing against clock

·         Get information i.e. visit department, faculty  and press council board on regular basis

THE PRINCIPLE OF AUTHENTICITY:

No person is truly authentic until he is manifesting his inherent authority. We must understand and become our true self. The good news is that, God has given you that authorization your area of gifting (Gen 1:26) to become the authentic of His creation, that is why nobody can do it just like you. In being authentic you must:

·         Not do things to impress others

·         Not imitate and keep bad friends (watch out for cult members, aristos etc.)

·         Not live extravagant life

·         Love yourself (have healthy self esteem)

·         Speak positive about yourself

·         Have confidence in the abilities God has given you

You cannot be approved if you have not worked according to the edict of God. And as a student your approval is directly proportional to how well you have studied hard like a workman who needed not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of TRUTH (II Tim 2:15)

Insignificance - Loneliness

Do you feel as if you have no value? Does life seem to prove that you are a nothing?

Do you ever wonder if your life counts for anything? We all struggle, at times, with thoughts that life is meaningless and that our lives actually matter very little to anyone. If we run with this thought we will soon develop feelings of loneliness and despair. Maybe you have even thought that you are so insignificant that it would be better to end your life than to take up space on this planet.
These feelings that you do not count for anything special are not unique to you. Some of the most successful and important people in the world … the A list of celebrities and media darlings … struggle with who they are and why they exist. You can try to prop up yourself by work harder, by taking risks, or by trying to make life as fun as possible. This might bring significance for a time but ultimately it will fail because you know that these accomplishments are meaningless.
So, here’s the deal … you do not find true meaning, life with a purpose,  until you turn your live over to the only One who matters and He is Jesus Christ. In order to enter into a relationship with God you have to be perfect because God is perfect and in Him there is absolute love and righteousness. Well, then how can you journey with God when you know that you have fallen woefully short of perfection? The answer is: you can’t. You can’t walk with Him based on your qualifications because you are not perfect; none of us are. We have all fallen short of God’s perfection and that is called sin.
But, God loves you so much that He gave His son, His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the price for your sin by dying on the cross thousands of years ago and then by bring raised from the dead on the third day. Jesus is alive today. He wants to be in relationship with you. He wants to give you true love and happiness. And only He can give you that because only He is perfect.
Do you really want to find significance and life with meaning? Turn to Jesus Christ. He has a specific plan for your life and He will journey with you. If you are willing to listen and to do what He says, He will guide you through life and even give you life in eternity. Trying to find significance and a life with purpose through your works or through relationships is like chasing after the wind. It will be fun for a short time but at the end of the day you will have nothing to show for it.
So, this is your decision … and you can make a life changing decision just by asking Jesus Christ to come into your life.

As you travel life’s journey, you can take the road from insignificance to significance. Pray this prayer...
"Dear Jesus, I am tired of the feelings that my life is meaningless and that I do not matter to anyone, I am lonely. Please forgive me of my sin and bring meaning and fulfillment into my life. I surrender my heart to you and ask that you take control of my life now. Thank you.

CONDITIONAL LOVE

I think that every emotionally healthy person wants to love and to be loved. We want people to love us as we are. We want to feel accepted no matter what we may say or do. When we make a mistake, we want to be forgiven and we don't want to experience rejection. We want to be loved unconditionally.

A problem comes though when we do not reciprocate unconditional love. For example

, there will never be real love expressed between two people if both individuals are seeking to have their needs met. How can two people make a relationship work if both define love as, "if you love me then you will do what I want"?

There is only one person who can truly love unconditionally. His name is Jesus. See, God is perfect and demands perfection from us. But, we all have fallen short of living a perfect life and that is called sin. The penalty for sin is death. But, this penalty is too great for us to pay! The Bible says that God demonstrated the meaning of love to us in this that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Jesus laid down His life for us as the ultimate act of unconditional love.

He accepts us for who we are, for what we have done, and even for what we have neglected to do. But, now He is asking us to accept Him unconditionally as well. He wants us to accept His love by giving to Him our heart, mind, soul, and strength. He wants all of us. When we give ourselves over completely to Jesus then we are "fully known, fully accepted, fully loved, fully valued, and fully celebrated."

Jesus will never leave you, quit on you, belittle you, or even condemn you. Did you know that the Bible says that Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world but to save the world? He came to show you what love is.

Once we experience His love, we must step forward quickly to embrace it. The Bible provides an excellent description of unconditional love and gives us a pattern to follow. What is real love? Here is an example,

"Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, ... Love rejoices with the truth. Love believes and endures all things. Love never fails."

The longing of your heart to be loved unconditionally can be fulfilled only through Jesus Christ. You must admit your sin, believe in Jesus, and follow His ways. If you do, you will experience unconditional love. Once you have experienced love unconditionally, you are then able to know how to love as well.

As you travel life’s journey, you can take the road from conditional love to unconditional love. Pray this prayer with us...

"Dear Jesus, I want real love and to be loved unconditionally. Please forgive me of my sin and show me what is real love. I surrender my heart to you and ask that you take control of my life now. Thank you."

What is True Wisdom?

I have read stories about intelligent men who have devoted their lives to the pursuit of wisdom and glory for themselves. At one point in my life, I thought they were great men who have transcended the limits of human understanding and have shown the best of human abilities. I was wrong. I had the chance to read the lives of several artists and writers and was inspired by their accomplishment. Yet, I was discouraged by their own plot, their own story, which they did not have the power to recreate.

Then I asked, what was their wisdom for? If such wisdom would push an artist to kill himself, a writer to become an hermit, or a philosopher to despise his neighbors, then what was their wisdom for? "For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief." (Ecclesiastes 1:18) If such wisdom would make man proud and declare himself equal with God, then I don't want the wisdom of the world. Many people have turned away from God and even denied His existence, because their newfound theories claimed man came from animals. That is foolish! The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, and their ways are vile. (Psalm 53:1) 

Human wisdom is foolish. "Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" (I Corinthian 1:20) The wisdom of the world can never replace the Word of God. "There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord." (Proverbs 21:30) God will bring to light their folly. "The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have?" (Jeremiah 8:9) "The wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish." (Isaiah 29:14)

Remember this: "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." (I Corinthian 1:25) The wisdom of the world does not make us intelligent before God. "We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know." (I Corinthians 8:1.

<<<more to come on your REALITY NETWORK (dei scientia est potentia), keep your fingers crossed>>>

Spring Cleaning

Read 2 Kings 21:1 through 25:30
Josiah heard God’s Word and set about a cleaning that would exhaust the world’s most fastidious housekeeper. He oversaw the tearing down of idols and altars, the burning of fetishes, and the slaughter of illegitimate priests. He determined to rid his kingdom of things displeasing to God.
The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem (2 Kings 23:4).
When God’s Word pinpoints things in our lives needing change, we must be as ruthless as Josiah. Perhaps we fudge on our expense report or gossip about others. God’s Word speaks to these and other matters. He wants us to live lives pleasing to Him.
It’s not an easy process to perceive ourselves in the light of God’s Word, but it is necessary so we can confront our idols and put them where they belong.
Thought for Today: God’s Word shows me what God wants from me and for me.
Quicklook: 2 Kings 23:4–9

Consequences

Read 2 Kings 14:26–29; Amos 1:1 through 2:16

Perhaps we learned it in the principal’s office after committing a misdeed or when a traffic court judge determined the fine for our traffic infraction. But at some point, we all learned that our actions have consequences.

God judged Israel’s neighbors for atrocities they committed. When His attention turned to His chosen people, their “crimes” centered on how they had treated the living God as well as their fellow countrymen. Judah and Israel were living in moral deterioration.

Because they have rejected the law of the Lord and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed, I will send fire on Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem (Amos 2:4,5).

Our attitude toward God and His Word has consequences. If we follow the instructions He has so plainly laid out for us, He promises blessing. The reverse is also true. If we persist in ignoring what He wants us to do, we will have to live with the consequences which may not be very pleasant. God leaves the choice to us.

Challenge for Today: Keep what God says in His Word front and center in your life.

Quicklook: ConsequencesAmos 2:4–16

EASTER IN THE AIR: THINGS YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW

Take any festival and you will find that it has its roots that can be traced back to religious history. Hence, it is no surprise that the many festivals that we celebrate across the world have been spawned by a spate of significant events in antiquity. These important events etched an indelible impression on the collective minds of the people who felt the need to commemorate it, lest the posterity overlooked its importance. Thus, a slew of celebrations came into existence. The history of Easter is no different. It is one of the oldest and the holiest of festivals for the Christians. It is a day revered by the people who celebrate it with immense religious ardency. After Jesus' crucifixion, all his apostles were distraught thinking that they will never get to see him again. However, on the third day from his crucifixion, Christ rose from his dead body. Known as the Resurrection of Christ, this holy event brought joy and relief aplenty to his followers who began to celebrate the day to commemorate the resurrection of Christ. However, there are many interesting facts associated with Easter. To know more on it, explore the information below.

Easter Trivia

• The name Easter owes its origin from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess who symbolizes hare and egg.
• Easter always falls between March 22 and April 25.
• Pysanka is a specific term used for the practice of Easter egg painting.
• From the very early times, egg has been considered the most important symbol of rebirth.
• The initial baskets of Easter were given the appearance of bird's nests.
• The maiden chocolate eggs recipes were made in Europe in the nineteenth century.
• Each year witnesses the making of nearly 90 million chocolate bunnies.
• Next to Halloween, Easter holiday paves way for confectionary business to boom.
• When it comes to eating of chocolate bunnies, the ears are preferred to be eaten first by as many as 76% of people.
• In the catalogue of kids' favorite Easter foodstuff, Red jellybeans occupy top most position.
• Americans celebrate Easter with a large Easter egg hunt on the White House Lawn.
• Easter Bonnets are a throwback to the days when the people denied themselves the pleasure of wearing fine angels for the duration of Lent.
• Easter is now celebrated (in the words of the Book of Common Prayer) on the first Sunday after the full moon, which happens on, or after March 21, the Spring Equinox.
• In medieval times, a festival of egg throwing was held in church, during which the priest would throw a hard-boiled egg to one of the choirboys. It was then tossed from one choirboy to the next and whoever held the egg when the clock struck 12 was the winner and retained the egg.
• Some Churches still keep up the old tradition of using evergreens - symbolic of eternal life - embroidered in red on white, or woven in straw, but most now prefer displays of flowers in the spring colors of green, yellow and white.
• The custom of giving eggs at Easter time has been traced back to Egyptians, Persians, Gauls, Greeks and Romans, to whom the egg was a symbol of life.
• The date of Passover is variable as it is dependent on the phases of the moon, and thus Easter is a movable feast.
• The first Easter baskets were made to look like bird's nests.
• The maiden chocolate eggs recipes were made in Europe in the nineteenth century.
• Easter is a “moveable feast” celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon which happens on or after March 21, the Spring Equinox.
• The first symbol of Easter was a chicken breaking out of its shell (Christ's resurrection).
• The tradition of giving eggs at Easter time has been traced back to Persians, Egyptians, Gauls, Greeks and Romans, to whom the egg was a symbol of life.
• The name Easter originates from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess who symbolizes hare and egg.
• The traditional act of painting eggs is called Pysanka (origins from the Ukranian word pysaty, “to write”)
• 76 percent of people eat the ears on chocolate bunnies first.
• The first chocolate eggs were made in Europe in the early 1800s and still are one of the most popular treats associated with Easter.
• Every year, the White House hosts an Easter Egg Roll on the front lawn. The tradition was started by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878. In 1878 President Hayes and his wife Lucy officially opened the White House grounds to the children of the area for egg rolling on Easter Monday. The event has been held on the South Lawn ever since, except during World War I and World War II. During the war years the Easter Egg Roll was held at the National Zoo, and other Washington locations.

Easter Colors
If you have celebrated Easter in childhood, you must surely remember the fun that you had with chocolate bunnies, hot cross buns, marshmallow chicks, brightly colored eggs, new outfits and bright hats that are the main Easter attractions.

Easter History
Easter marks the final day of the liturgical period in the Christian calendar. It is the end of month long fasting, prayers and the repentance for one's sins. It was only in the second half of the 2nd century when the festival was first celebrated in Rome.

Easter Island
So you think you know all about Easter? Well, there is no doubt that you may be aware of the tradition and history of the Easter, but have you ever heard of the Easter Island? Most likely not. Yes, this is because very few are aware of this Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the south eastern most point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people.