The Bible is the greatest blessing bestowed by God on men. It has God as the Author; salvation for its ends and truth without mixture for its matter. It is pure. As a child of God we need to be who we are in Christ Jesus as said in Colossians 2: 9 – 10, “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body (you and me).  So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.” You need to make each day a master piece by being fruitful, and live each day wisely as you relate with people around, both family and in your work place. Drink from good books – especially the Bible, just as the Book of Joshua said, “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” To be a child of God is not mouth-talk, but living it out so that men will see the Bible (you read and study inside your room) in action. In the Book of Daniel chapter one, we see a man who has learned to not defile himself by his environment. In chapter two, we see a man who has learned to not allow challenges of life affect him negatively rather he takes all to God in prayer. In chapter three, we see the friends of Daniel whose faith were being tested yet they stood their ground. Even though every other person has joined the “band wagon,” they chose to stand with Living God rather than bow down to the golden image. In chapter four, we see a man who told the king his sins in his face and pointed to him to look up to God even though he was under the kings pay roll. In chapter five, we see a man who has seen fame, power, money, yet he remained humble. His trust in God was more than anything you can give him. He chose to interpret the hand writing on the wall without accepting gifts or position. In chapter six, we see a man who has chosen to die worshiping and praying to his God rather than any other person.

God is able to do just what He says He would do, don’t give up because of trials and persecutions that come your way, all of it is to pave your way to the top just as it did for Daniel. Be committed to what has been given to you to do and never allow anything (jealousy, accusations, rejection, etc) or anybody (your pastor, deacon or departmental leader in your local church or fellowship) hinder you from getting your blessings, thereby causing you to leave the church when you are not supposed. Remember that Jesus told us that we should take heart that as long as we are in this world we would have trouble. Don’t see it any longer as a new thing. If God had given me the option, I would’ve chosen to be a business man rather than a pastor, but why should I be a business man and keep struggling all my life when I know I can succeed perfectly well without a struggle as a pastor. From the time I gave my life to Christ till date, I have seen and gone through so many situations under men and women of God including members, but it has never occurred to me in my wildest imagination to quit rather it has motivated me to pray more for them (church leaders, nations, and workers in the body of Christ). Daniel had a situation facing him to either stop praying or obey the law (a way to bring him down) signed by the king which states that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except the king—will be thrown into the den of lions. Daniel never gave it a thought rather he went out and opened his window and prayed more. This is not the kind of situation you would want to find yourself in but it can be another type where you are told to do an impossible task or a hard one which may be a cause for concern, never allow it weigh you down. Don’t start complaining to your colleagues about the task you are told to do by your demanding boss, stop complaining and whining like a baby crying out for the mother’s breast. Get on with the job, commit all to God in prayer, and allow the Holy Spirit direct you on what to do. I tell you with a positive attitude you are bound to overcome always despite all odds.Our spiritual victory is not only a testimony to others here on earth but to unseen witnesses as well.  We have choices to make regarding the trial of our faith because heaven is watching our response to our trials and afflictions.  Hammering trials break off the rough edges of sin in our lives. Grinding hardships chip away superficial spirituality. It’s a sad thing that the society has become so fake that the truth actually bothers people. Your attitudes towards life in general and your fellow brother determine your altitude. Feed your spirit and starve your flesh; feed your goals and vision, and starve your distraction; feed your faith and starve your doubt. God values you more than anything, and in the time of any given situation, He wants you to be a problem solver using the gift He has deposited in you at any given opportunity because we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them (Romans 8:28).

God values you more than anything, and in the time of any given situation, He wants you to be a problem solver using the gift He has deposited in you at any given opportunity because we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them (Romans 8:28).

Many of the younger generation hear of war but have never been to war including me, with the exception of those in the military and those living in the war-torn countries. Many do not know what it is to be a Prisoner of War (POW). Watching from a far distance like sitting in your office or sitting room or bedroom to watch what is happening in Syria and other countries affected by war is a totally different thing from experiencing it. Imagine you are doing well as a businessman, student or whatever you are doing presently, and you hear a loud blast and it is the building opposite you that got blown and everywhere is chaos in a twinkle of an eye. As you are about to run with others you got rounded up by the enemies, and you were all marched in a single file into a waiting army truck. And the next thing is you find yourself in an underground cell with your fellow students and top leaders in your country, I bet the first thing that would come to your mind is for you to wake up from this horrible dream.

Now you are following, imagine Daniel and his friends a prince in his father’s country turned into a slave overnight in Babylon. This is to tell us that being a Christian does not exempt you from troubles in this world as long as you are still alive but there is one thing you must be assured of that no matter what is happening that the God of the whole universe is surely looking out for you and will favour you when the time comes. That favour can come in form of allowing your enemies martyr you knowing that you are going to see Him as you close your eyes in death. The other favour from God can come in form of you being singled out by your enemies and giving you a position that would come with so many good things by the virtue of God’s gift in your life. My question is, that gift of God in your life how “faithful” and “diligent” have you been using it? Proverbs 18: 8 says, ‘A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men’. This is why as a child of God you confess, you must not be doing things in trial and error for our God is not a God of trial and error. He has given each of us gifts and talents that would make us exceptional in life and the ability to make wealth.

Are you still wondering what you should do as a young Christian? Beloved, I encourage you to go to God in prayer and hear for yourself what He would say concerning your purpose here on earth. The Lord’s desire for all us is to prosper in the works of our hands. One thing I want you to know is that not even the prison cell can stop what God has given you (Read about Joseph in Gen 39: 19 and Gen 40). Apostle Paul was also a man who was imprisoned most of his life until his death yet he wrote more books in the New Testament than any other disciple. What differentiates a child of God from an unbeliever is the presence of God. God was with Daniel and his friends (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego). No matter the situation you are in it does not matter, but what matters is your attitude, perspective, actions and most importantly whose report do you believe – God or the situation report. Beloved always maintain a positive attitude all the time even when around people who are negative. That way you will always see the power of God manifesting in your life both in the good and dark times. Have you been called to serve the public as a child of God, my dear you have to start somewhere but you must learn that a man/woman whom God chooses for His work must go through the fiery test and how does it come –  in form of those, you are working with hating, trying to frustrate your work, giving negative reports about you for no reason even though they earn more than you. You must learn how to trust God the more (Proverbs 3: 5 – 6), forgive (Acts 7: 59 – 60) and allow the Holy Spirit to guide your steps (Psalm 37: 23). When you complain and keep going from one pastor to the other for prayers without you understanding that this is the way God uses to deal with hidden pride, impatience, hostility, etc, then you start fighting the people instead of praying for them. You start making excuses for your failures and bear in mind that a man of excuses is already displaying failure. Stand up now and get moving and never again see yourself as a prisoner of war.