Dearly Beloved,

IT IS FOR YOUR GOOD!

"For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome" (Jeremiah 29:11, AMP).

"It is good that one should hope in and wait quietly for the salvation (the safety and ease) of the Lord" (Lamentations 3:26, AMP).

Since about four weeks ago that my wife decided to nurture the chicks that suddenly became motherless…

Dearly Beloved,

WHO KNOWS THE HOUR?

"Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come?" (Ecclesiastes 9:12 NIV).

The death of Reverend Josiah Adegoke Adeleke (1967-2005), my mentor, friend, and brother in Christ, in a ghastly auto accident with another friend, Reverend Chris Tayo Orodiji (1973-2005), on Tuesday January 11, 2005 is still a mirage to me. In spite of the fact that I was there at the mortuary giving them final bath and dressing in preparation for their burial,…

Dearly Beloved,

MY YEAR OF DOUBLE HONOUR

“But you shall be named the priests of the Lord, They shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast.  Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs” (Isaiah 61:6-7 NKJV).

I do not usually believe in tagging a year…

Dearly Beloved,

OUR PRAYERS FOR YOU IN THE YEAR 2015

Praise the Lord for witnessing another year 2015!

As usual, Opeyemi (my wife) and our children (Boluwatife, IfeOluwa, Michael and Abraham) are joining me to welcome you into the New Year with these prophetic prayers adapted from Isaiah 61:6-7 (NKJV). This New Year:

- The Lord will give you a new name;

- He will find you worthy to serve Him;

- You will enjoy the goodness of God in all your…

Dearly Beloved,

WHAT IS MAN THAT YOU CARE FOR HIM?

“Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. O Lord, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him?” (Psalm 144:1-3 NIV).

As the year 2014 comes to an end, I am looking back and reflecting on my life and activities in the…

Dearly Beloved,

DO NOT WAIT TILL DECEMBER 31

“As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:1-2 NIV).

One of the contacts on one of my BBM lists contacted me recently and wanted me to counsel him on how he could overcome the…

Dearly Beloved,

UNTO US A SON IS GIVEN

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6 NKJV).

Christmas season every year has been dedicated to the celebration of the Child Jesus Christ that was born “...wrapped... in swaddling cloths, and laid... in a manger” (Luke 2:7 NKJV) in Bethlehem some two thousand…

Dearly Beloved,

O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him’” (Matthew 2:1-2 NIV).

The Christmas season is here again! It was like yesterday that we celebrated the last one last year. Thanks be to God for sparing our lives to witness another season. While some…

Dearly Beloved,

BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL! (Part 2)

"Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits?" (Psalm 103:1-2 NKJV).

This is the continuation of the study on Psalms 103 and 104 started last week. We examined who God is especially in His greatness manifested in His creation which made the psalmist to exclaim to his soul to bless or praise the Lord. In this second part of the…

Dearly Beloved,

BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL!

"Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty?" (Psalm 104:1 NKJV).

The book of Psalms is full of praises of, and prayers to God. Psalms 103 and 104 are distinct out of the other psalms because of their description of who God is and what He is doing to us that make Him deserve our worship, adoration, praises and thanksgiving.

Let us examine first who God is in Psalm…

Dearly Beloved,

THERE IS A BETTER FUTURE

"The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. The sorrows for the appointed feasts I will remove from you; they are a burden and a reproach to you" (Zephaniah 3:17-18 NIV).

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'"…

Dearly Beloved,

WHAT BELONGS TO CAESAR?

“[Jesus] said to them, ‘Then give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God’” (Luke 20:25 ERV).

We were in a Sunday School class recently when a participant privately told me that we can sin at times since Jesus Christ said that we should give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. He further said that giving to God what belongs to God is when we come to church to worship Him. I immediately refuted his opinion and…

Dearly Beloved,

SERVE GOD WITH JOY

“Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything...” (Deuteronomy 28:47 NKJV).

The first fourteen verses of Deuteronomy chapter 28 are well known by many people because of the promises of God that are there. On the contrary, few people care to study the remaining fifty-four verses in the chapter because of the curses in those latter verses. However, those verses full of curses…

Dearly Beloved,

DO NOT BE AT FAULT

"You want something but don't get it…. You do not have, because you do not ask God" (James 4:2 NIV).

My children used to get sets of biscuits every morning as they go to school for refreshment apart from the food they take for their breakfast. My wife and I forgot to give them the biscuits one day, and none of them remembered to remind us as they normally do. When they came back from the school, the elder one, my son, accused us their…

Dearly Beloved,

BE A LIVING SACRIFICE

“So then, my brothers, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer” (Romans 12:1 TEV).

Some days ago, Muslims throughout the world celebrated the Eld el Kabir celebration that commemorated the divine provision of ram for Ibrahim when he wanted to sacrifice his son to God. In spite of the…

Dearly Beloved,

WHAT IMPACT WILL YOU MAKE?

“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:20-21 NIV).

I am always fascinated by the life of Frances Jane van Alstyne née Crosby (March 24, 1820 - February 12, 1915), more commonly known as Fanny Crosby whenever I sing any of her…

Dearly Beloved,

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!

"Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses" (1 Timothy 5:23 NIV).

The above Bible passage has been one of the most misinterpreted and misapplied ones. In fact, it is one of those controversial verses of the Bible. Drunkards and those that are inclined to drinking too much wine and alcoholic drinks are quick to refer to it in support of their action. However, as I was in a…

Dearly Beloved,

WILL JESUS FIND US WATCHING?

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour” (Matthew 25:13 NIV).

The story of the Ten Virgins is one of the popular parables of Jesus Christ. It tells of ten virgins that were waiting for a bridegroom. Interestingly, five of these virgins were wise by having oil in their jars along with their lamps while the other five were foolish by not having extra oil thereby not preparing for any eventuality. The…

Dearly Beloved,

WHEN SUCCESS COMES

"Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they travelled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter" (Exodus 15:22-23 NIV).

The people of Israel had just recorded a great success - God delivered them completely from the oppressing Egyptians by making them pass through the Red Sea on dry ground and completely…