HOW CAN WE USE THE POWER OF SILENCE?

 

Do you know that if we are truly desirous of saying only what is useful, we will hardly spend 33% of the time we spend talking presently? Instead of noble silence, we indulge in talking about all things under the sun, what we understand, and what we know nothing about. We have an opinion ready on any topic. This talking epidemic suppresses our ability to perceive intuitively and observe things naturally. It does not promote clarity of thought; it causes inner turmoil instead of promoting inner peace. No wonder we have the saying: Silence is golden! We, therefore, need to cultivate silence. When we do this, then we can also benefit from the power of silence.

We will touch on three ways in which we can use the power of silence for our benefit. 

1. To nourish our thoughts and bring them to fruition:

When we think about something and retain the thought in silence, it begins to grow, it expands and other similar thoughts from the countless thoughts floating all around us are added to our initial thought. As we continue to stay in silence on the matter, we get more clarity and the thought is able to become deed with time having gained strength through silence. Everything we do starts from a seed; the seed of that first thought. It is this thought that grows into a visible manifestation when nourished. Silence is the nourishment our thoughts need in order to grow and mature into deeds.

2.   To attract what we need:

As mentioned earlier, the thought retained in silence will attract similar thoughts to itself, change and evolve into a new and stronger form. It will get to the point where this reinforced thought begins to break through your personal aura so that others notice it. They may say you have changed or that they are seeing a new you! This development then draws to you like a magnet, all the people and resources you need to bring into fruition that which you seek in your thought. This attraction is what people describe as good luck or being at the right place at the right time. But your nourished thoughts are really the cause of your attracting what comes to you! Please note that this works for good and for bad thoughts; hence the need to always think about that which is good so that we will attract only goodness into our lives. Furthermore, this thought which has matured can rise above the ordinary and go further into spheres of higher thoughts from where it can draw inspiration which then guides you into bringing the thought to reality in a much more advanced form.      

 3. To aid our earnestness when we pray and to foster our desire to do only what is good.

Prayer time is a time dedicated to God. If we are to pray at all then it must be sincere, serious, and solemn. When we pray in quietness, the power to express ourselves intuitively is increased through silence and our prayers can rise to the Luminous Heights and our petitions can rise to the spheres of grace. When in our life’s journey we have come to the point of making the firm decision to do only that which is good and turn our back to sin forever, the power of silence helps us to stay the course. This good volition mentioned here has the power to protect us from the repercussions of our former evil deeds. It is tantamount to the forgiveness of our past sins. This power of good volition, this great protection Is also nourished by the power of silence!

Clearly, the Lord our God in His mercy has endowed us with the strength for everything! May we have the courage to use it only for the good!

 

 

TIME AND TRUTH

 

Sometimes, profound discussions happen on buses. Years ago, a bus conductor in Lagos, Nigeria told his passengers that he does not buy the idea conveyed by the words: “olden days”. There is nothing like the olden days he said. The olden days are what have extended to this very day he affirmed. The young man spoke with courage. What he said is not in line with the popular view. The majority believe that time passes and that time changes.

 

But does time change? Does it pass? New knowledge available on earth today makes it clear to us that Time stands still! We are the ones that go through time to learn from it. Time never changes. It records all things and it is eternal. We, therefore, are the ones who go through time to learn from what has been recorded in it. We learn from this and we grow, we mature. It is just the forms of time that change and this is what we as men can relate to and which makes us conclude that time changes. Only the forms change but not time itself.

 

Again, when we observe ourselves we notice that we too remain the same inwardly. Our inner core the spirit remains what it is even when our body is manifesting outward changes. Our body can be young, it can be old, but our inner core remains forever the same. I am sure you too have noticed this.

 

Truth! This is the eternal unchangeable! It is Eternal. Again, as we reflect on this we see that what we consider as truth today we see later as error and yet again in this, we yet find grains of truth. Even then the Truth remains forever the same, it does not change. We are the ones who are getting to know more and more and growing and maturing in the process.

 

As we contemplate Truth we realise that it is Divine. It is well above our own origin. Closely linked to Truth are Love, Purity, and Justice. All are Divine. To be pleasing to our Creator, we as of necessity need to embrace and immerse ourselves in the spiritual forms of the Divine concepts mentioned here.

 

To live by Truth and Justice let us resolve to think, speak and act such that the Laws of Creation will bring back to us in reciprocity only peace, happiness, and the abundance of this Universe. When we align our thoughts words and deeds to their working, the Laws will also bear us aloft to the Luminous Gardens of our Creator eventually.

 

To serve Purity, let us embrace childlikeness, chastity in daily activity, a sense of beauty in all our actions, faithfulness, and acting with grace.

 

To live by Love, let us voluntarily respect and show understanding for our neighbours, help where help is needed and contribute only to healing and reconciliation.  We should also strive to live up to the high standards and pedestal on which our loved ones have placed us and not betray their trust.  

 

Above all, let us think of God at all times. That is our source of redemption, that is our salvation!

 

THE STORY OF SOYOYO AND OJURI

In her mid-twenties, Soyoyo is fun-loving, charming, and attractive. She can be described as decent, does not keep late nights, and is considered a reliable staff in the pharmacy retail chain where she serves as pharmacist and store manager. To unwind, she goes to the beach at weekends to relax with her colleagues, male and female.

 

At the beach, the ladies put on their skimpy bikinis and the gentlemen their swimming shorts. They swim, have their picnics, and party for hours. A female colleague once voiced her concern about this coming together of male and female in such a state of near nakedness. She was advised by the others that swimming with friends is totally harmless and that she must be the one with a corrupt mind to have a problem with the “clean fun” they were all enjoying. They told her: to the clean mind, all is clean!

 

On one occasion, a male colleague invited his friend Ojuri to join in the beachside fun. As it would turn out, Ojuri was not a man with a clean mind as envisaged by our group of friends and colleagues. Ojuri found Soyoyo appealing and kept looking at her as she swam and danced to the scintillating music. However, instead of thoughts of love, what arose in the mind of Ojuri was a lustful desire for Soyoyo! He said and did nothing outwardly. Throughout the get-together, Ojuri did not say one word to Soyoyo nor did he express his desires to the person who invited him to the party.

 

Now, thoughts are realities, and they have forms! The lustful thoughts of Ojuri took on form and moved towards Soyoyo. The effect is that these lustful forms defiled Soyoyo who continued to carry the forms with her even as she left the party. These forms are harmful and will most likely poison and confuse Soyoyo. Such a victim may start having desires of a lustful nature even if ordinarily such was not intended before the contamination aforementioned. No wonder then that we are told in the New Testament that whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. These are the physically unseen happenings associated with swimming between the sexes, erotic dance shows, and wild parties.

 

All who do not wish to be defiled need to be wary of such outings. There are certainly better ways to enjoy our time for recreation. It is time to discourage such gatherings which only promote immorality. In addition, let us respect and honour women. Let us from now begin to see in women what we really expect: noble womanhood. This will help womanhood to change for the better and we thereby uplift ourselves.

 

We shall succeed if we are focused on only what is good!

ANOTHER KIND OF LOVE

Love is a great ideal! It is extolled in books, in songs, and in our hearts. We seek love, we seek to give love. We believe that we can express love by giving to others, in helping them, and doing things that will bring them joy. We strive to protect them from care and dangers, we provide for their material needs.

Many sacrifice a lot for family and all those that are considered as loved ones. This is great. Material care cannot be ignored without dire consequences. However, as in everything, there has to be a balance here as well. The material must not be our principal aim. We must add a striving for that which is noble, high, and ideal.  

And, indeed, there is another kind of love! This love respects the beloved, it helps where help is needed and does what is of real and deeper spiritual benefit to the beloved. This love makes no demands, nor is it traded for the love and loyalty of the loved ones. It is given without calculations of the expected benefits or of trapping the loved ones into obeying all the unreasonable demands of the giver. This love under consideration actually gives strength to the loved ones to the extent that these ones will also begin to desire to become better human beings! Just imagine! 

This kind of love most importantly leads the giver upwards! How? Genuine love engenders in us the longing to attain to what we are considered to be in the eyes of those who love us. This longing can only make us do that which is good always and with such a desire for the good we have found the right path upward spiritually! We have found the path of chastity, the path of grace, the path of faithfulness, the path of beauty,  the path of childlikeness, and the path of love which leads to God Who is LOVE!

 

THE STORY OF MADAM ABARA

This is about a lady of great influence and power. She lived in wealth and had many servants in her mansion with well-manicured lawns and marble floors.

 

One remarkable part of her life is that whenever a servant did anything wrong in Madam Abara’s view they will get a devastating slap from her. Her slaps are not to the face, but to the upper back of the servant concerned.

 

If a servant slouched, did not carry a plate well, did not speak up, stammers, asked for clarity regarding some instruction, spoke too loudly, spoke too softly, had an expression Madam Abara viewed as disrespectful, a hard slap to the back will be the sure reward. Most of the time this reward comes like lightening and can have the effect of hurling down the servant concerned! They get thrown to the ground from the devastating effect of Madam Abara’s well-practiced, hot and powerful hits.

 

Now, our activities which include our thoughts, words and deeds form our destiny. These deeds are seeds that we plant every moment, and they are nurtured through the workings of the Laws of Creation such that at a definite time we will have to reap what we have sown earlier on as seeds. We can only expect results that are like our earlier activities. The Law that brings these about is the unchangeable Law of Sowing and Reaping, the Law of Reciprocal Action. This Law speaks of the Justice and Love of the Creator and makes man the architect of his own fate or destiny.

 

One day, Madam Abara heard words to this effect and promptly made a firm volition to change. She also decided to do only what is good from that day on. That inner change had the effect of putting a stop to the unwholesome habit of acquiring further debts by Madam Abara.  She did not stop at that. With the same relentlessness of her former ways, she now engaged in doing only what is good in thought word and deed and showed nothing but kindness and understanding to her servants. She even offered to help them whenever she perceived that help was needed by them, to the surprise of the servants. The servants were now living with a brand-new Gentlewoman!

 

Meanwhile, the Law of Sowing and Reaping continued working on Madam Abara. The result or harvest of her past activities must come back to her and influence her environment, her circumstances and on her physical body! What was due for Madam Abara was that she will go into slavery! The time for this to happen came indeed. On one fateful day, she instructed one of her servants to sweep the purple marble floor of her living room. The young woman was doing the work in a sluggish manner. In former times Madam Abara would have landed a crushing slap on her back. On this day however, Madam Abara seeing the servant’s struggle, asked her to give her the broom so that she can show the servant how to sweep properly. In a few movements, she showed her this in all kindness and handed back the broom to the servant to continue. In view of Madam Abara’s inner change, the full repercussions of her former deeds could no longer have a full effect but the symbolic service she performed for her servant was enough to wipe away the need for the heavy penance she would have suffered if she had remained immersed in her former tyrannical attitude.

 

For Madam Abara the sustained resolve to be good formed a formidable covering and protection that prevented the onrushing reciprocal action from having a full effect or any effect at all.

 

The same Laws of Creation that judge us also redeem and forgive us! Forgiveness comes about by true repentance, authentic inner change for the better, heartfelt prayer for help, and persistence in doing only what is good in thought, word and deed.  May we be strengthened in our resolve to change our ways. May we be open and receptive to the power which enables us to continuously live aright! Amen.

 

WHAT IS WRONG WITH GAMBLING, LOTTERY AND BETTING?

Insisting on finding a scriptural legislation on gambling, betting and the lottery may be a wild goose chase as there are no specific injunctions on these matters except that we are warned to beware of the love of money. We are told further that we cannot serve two masters, it is either we hate the one and love the other. We cannot serve both the Lord and Money.

One of the consequences of the over dependence on our reasoning mind is being chained to the things of this world. One of such is the love of gain which we can safely regard as the underlying reason behind gambling, betting and the lottery. 

Still, the question posed above is tricky because someone can buy the lottery ticket or play the casino cash machine just for the fun of it occasionally and not get addicted. But then that is tantamount to wasting money just as buying a useless item or indulging in an overpriced lunch or dinner. Here we need to tread carefully for whatever is given to us through the ever-loving care of the creation laws must be used responsibly with thanksgiving and not frittered away.  The lotteries claim that their takings are used for the betterment of society like funding education and social amenities. However, the participants do not always share these high aims but enter the game most of the time with the hope of making some quick money. Then most of the lottery participants cannot even afford the game and are simply made by subtle methods to part with their little cash for nothing!  Casinos and the betting companies are even more explicit. They encourage their customers to play more. The casinos offer cheap or even free drinks that will remove inhibitions to spending on the game which is already skewed to favour the casino operators. The chances of winning in lotteries, betting or gambling is so slim that many who are addicted go into penury. 

If we have the intention of giving our money to worthy causes, there are numerous opportunities for this if we look carefully around us and we can also revalue our wealth such that it serves us and others who are connected to us in a beneficial way. 

Finally, putting one’s hope of becoming rich through gambling or the lottery is poverty thinking and is tantamount to affirming that we can become prosperous just *by chance!*. Such manner of thinking is a denial that we can attract that which is good and keep it through being inwardly upright and the work of our hands. Indeed, most lottery winners lose all the money within a few years of winning just because their innermost self could not retain the unmerited wealth. The way to sustainable prosperity is an inner state focused solely on that which is good in thought, word and deed, serving others with our talents, gifts and qualities and prayer for guidance to be led on to the right paths. May we all succeed!

PLEASE MEASURE YOUR FAITH BY THE ACCOUNTS IN MATTHEW CHAPTERS 5, 6 AND 7.

Do you consider yourself a follower of Christ? Do you believe in Him? Do you wish to do exactly what He has taught us? If your answer is yes to any of these questions, then I respectfully invite you to measure your faith by Matthew Chapters 5, 6 and 7. The main words of these chapters were ascribed to Jesus. We will now consider some passages from these Chapters and relate them with what obtains today amongst believers.

1. Matthew Chapter 5 

1.      1. If you have accepted the teaching that once you are born again, you are no longer subject to the law then your faith runs counter to verses 17 and 18 which says:

 

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

 

2.      If you have also accepted the teaching that you have to engage in hate prayers such as asking that your enemies should die or be consumed by fire, then you have accepted a teaching that is contrary to verses 43-45:

 

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

 

2. Matthew Chapter 6.

 

 

There are learning points in Chapter 6 as well.

 

1. Have you been taught to pray with many words or repetitive words? In that case please check whether what you are doing is in keeping with verses 7 and 8:

 

⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

 

2. If your prayers are mainly about how to make billions of dollars and pounds all for your sweet comfort and to make others envy you, then I implore you to be advised by the words of verse 24.

 

24 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

 

3. If you cling to the attainment of your earthly goals only and you forget to also have a goal of keeping your thoughts pure and doing only what is good or seeking to obey the Almighty’s Commandments, then pause and ask yourself: how many times have I pleaded for God’s Will to be done in my life? Have I ever prayed earnestly to be led to the way of righteousness which leads to the Lord’s Kingdom? Remember now the words of verses 31-33 which says:

 

³¹ …do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

 

3. Matthew Chapter 7.

 

1.              If you assume that because you have accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour then you will simply walk straight into heaven, then realise today that there is a lot more to be done after your acceptance of Christ. Calling Him Lord, Lord, obeying denominational dogmas and creeds, giving tithes, making large or tiny donations or even prophesying or performing miracles in the Name of Jesus have their relevance quite alright but are really not enough! Are you surprised?  We have to do the Will of the Father in addition!

Hear the words in verses 21-23:

 

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

 

2.              If you are of the school of thought that salvation and redemption “is by faith alone” then please read verses 24-27 which enjoins us to put the teachings of Christ into practice. We are to embrace His teachings and actually build on it through our activities including what we think, say and do in our everyday lives. We should not be under any delusion that we give our Lord any service by the few hours of piousness performed when we are dressed in our Sunday attire! Matthew 7:24-27 says: 

    

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

 

Going by a consideration of the passages we lifted from Matthew 5, 6 and 7, one cannot but conclude that what many believers believe today and what they do is not the same as is clearly stated in the sacred scriptures we cited. And these are scriptural words from the well-known Sermon on the Mountain which can be regarded as a source for the key teachings of Jesus available in the Bible.

 

The Message of Jesus the Son of God has thus been interpreted wrongly in many respects and the signposts are misplaced by religious leaders who put their human understanding above the Wisdom of God. By their actions they lead many astray. For this reason, another Message from the Kingdom of Heaven has now been given. This Message puts the misplaced signposts back into their proper places, so that the right road may be recognised by all serious seekers. It brings to our remembrance the true teachings of our Lord Jesus.