NATURE AND ITS BENEFICIAL CONTENT

After God has created the world he behold it saw everything and confirm that it was good. The tree was the center focus of creation. it was to serve as source of food and balm for healing No wonder in the Holy Bible ( Ezekiel 11:12) God said “their fruits will serve for food and their leaves for healing “that is to say God has originally made provision for our up-keep. but today we have abandoned the gift of nature and followed our own ways in determining what to eat.. After God has created Adam and Eve, he put them in a garden to feed from the trees. and their fruits. There is no record anywhere that they were hungry or sick. but today with the advent of science and technology man has shifted from fruits and vegetables to junk food –food that are at the mercy of preservatives-.. Why not reverse to the original food, to reduce or totally eliminate multifarious sicknesses ravaging the world..Let us use Daniel and his friends in exile at Babylon as case study. When they were chosen by the king of Babylon to serve as his officials. These were the words of Daniel,. ‘Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael. and Azariah “please test your servant for ten days give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food”( Daniel 1:11-13)at the end of ten days they look healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. (Daniel 1:15). For those who want to be healthy and well nourished, this is a food for thought. Let me begin this series by showcasing the benefits of banana

THOSE THAT KNOW THEIR GOD SHALL DO GREAT EXPLOITS

PSALM 34:9-10 Exploit means daring ,great achievement. In other words we will do something great or have great achievement if we know our GOD. Exploit is not limited to material possession, it could be spiritual (Acts 2:41) Peter preached the Gospel and about 3,000 souls were saved, 2Kings 13 :15-24 Elisha bones brought to life a dead person, also in Acts 19:12’God did extraordinary miracles through Paul so that even handkerchief and aprons that has touched him were taken to the sick and their sickness were cured and the evil spirit left them.. in Acts 5:15 peter’s shadow healed the sick. In John 10:14 Jesus said ‘I am the Good shepherd I know my sheep and my sheep knows me’ and in John 10:27 ‘my sheep listen to my voice I know them and they follow me. Psalm 23:1 says, ‘the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. In psalm 34:10 ‘fear the lord you saints for those who fear him .lack nothing. The lion may grow weak and hungry but those who seek the lord lack no good thing. The question now is do you know this God? What does it take to know this God Matt 7:21 says, ’not everyone who say to me lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my father in heaven. Titus 1:16 ,they claim to know God but there action deny him. They are detestable disobedient unfit for doing anything good. Isaiah 29:13 says, the lord says These people come near to me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up of rule thought by men. From the facts above can we be justified to say we know God and will do exploit. Can one be a child of the God of abundance and live in lack. This is a food for thought. WHAT CAN DEBAR YOU FROM DOING EXPLOIT • SIN. Jesus said if you love me keep my commandment. Rev 2:4 ‘yet I hold this against you, you have fallen from your first love .I John3:8 says “the one who does what is sinful is of the devil because the devil has been sinning from the beginning” After all God wish for us is to prosper and be in good health even as our soul prospers.(3John 2) • SELFISHNESS. Whatever we have is given to us by God in trust for us to to help others. And we shall give account of it to God the giver.Matt.25:35-36 Jesus says “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat ,I was thirsty you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger you invited me in, I needed clothes you clothed me, I was ill you took care of me, I was in prison you came to visit me. The king will reply Truly I tell you “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine you did for me.” Matt.25 :40 • Haven known this there is need to return back to our God and he will return back to us. We have to rededicate our lives back to God sanctified with blood of the lamb. We can do this in the following ways. • BEING IN CONSTANT COMMUNION WITH GOD 1Thessalonians 5:17, says ‘pray continually’. We should ask God for his blessing Matt 7:7 says ‘ask and you shall receive’. • HAVE FAITH IN GOD The road to Christianity. is very rugged. Unless you doggedly fight on you might not get to the required destination .Matt 21:21-22 “Jesus replied ‘I tell you the truth if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what is done to this fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain ‘go throw yourself into the sea and it will be done..Let me briefly buttress this with the story of George Muller a motivational speaker and a man of God. His philosophy is ‘I will tell God and God will tell somebody’ He had an orphanage home, one faithful day the food in the home got finished and the matron reported this to him after using what is left for the children’s breakfast. At noon when it was time for lunch she came back to George Muller to ask what to give the children. In reply he said ring the bell and set the plates for food. After they have gathered George Muller prayed over the empty plates at the point of concluding a vehicle grounded to a hurt by the door of the dinning. Behold it was a benefactor who came with both cooked and uncooked food that have arrived. The cooked food was served in the plates already set. • WORK AS YOU PRAY AND EXERCISE FAITH 2Thesalonias 3:10 ‘ the one who is unwilling to work should not eat.’ It is the works of our hands that the lord blesses It is a good thing to do exploit the greatest exploit is to be saved. Whatever wealth ,material possession we acquired, all will be left here on earth ,our good deed alone will take us to heaven.

BREAKING LOOSE FROM YOUR COMFORT ZONE

Amos 6:1 "Woe to you who are complacent in Zion and to you who feel secure on mount Samaria you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come". What is comfort? A pleasant feeling of being relaxed and free from pain. What is zone? An area especially one which is different from others around it, because of its peculiar characteristics and purpose of it use. Comfort zone in this context is a situation in which you feel satisfied and in which your ability or determination are not being tested. You are operating below capacity. WHY DO PEOPLE REMAIN IN COMFORT ZONE. FEAR. Fear of the unknown. The saying, "the devil you know is better than the angel you do not know" is very popular among us. It is a complacency induced statement. That is to say the same thing is done over and over again with no variation, no innovation, there i s unwillingness to take risk. Forgetting that life itself is a risk, and the greater the risk the greater the returns or reward. Take for example, any business organization that fails to diversify is planning to fold up in the near future in an unpredictable business environment. Even in spiritual life we need to change the pattern of our prayers to suit our needs or condition. HABIT. Habit they say die hard. Sow a thought you will reap an action. Sow an action you will reap a habit. Because the thought you have sown is recorded in your sub consciousness you find it difficult to change your action. The same thing is done over and over again. There are good habits there are bad ones. The habit of being punctual in all occasions, being generous to all and sundry to mention but a few are recommendable. LAZINESS. Proverbs 22:13 the sluggard says," there is a lion outside i will be killed in the public square". And so his is indoors all day through. A lazy man will always have excuses why he must not do this or that, especially doing new things or taking innovation. LACK OF VISION Hosea 4:6 says, ‘my people perish for lack of wisdom/knowledge’. The fundamental factor of life is to know one’s purpose. We should always ask ourselves this question why are we here on planet earth. If you find yourself in a place be it office , church or school, ask yourself why am i here. If you don't know your purpose fulfilling the purpose will be difficult or unfulfilled. If you do not know where you are going there is every likely hood that you may not get to your destination. you must have a basic definite plane to fulfill your definite purpose other wise you might go for what somebody else suggested. EXTERNAL FACTORS/ENVIRONMENTAL. At times one may be limited by certain factors beyond his control. It could be social, legal, economic, fiscal or spiritual. Physical environment and situation in one’s surrounding might be a militating factor. DANGER OF LIVING IN A COMFORT ZONE 1. Comfort zone is an enemy of one’s future. As you lay your bed today so shall you lie on it tomorrow whatsoever you sow today will determine want you reap tomorrow. The future is for those who prepare for it today. The preparation you make today determines whether the future will be pleasant or not. 2. It hinders success, because no room is made for growth or expansion .Rather one relies on his past glory, referencing past achievements ,giving past testimonies with non for the present or future 3. It is a stumbling block to destiny, be it human or organization .Rev. 3:15-16 says,”I know your deeds that you are neither cold or nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other. So, because you lukewarm-neither hot nor cold- I am going to spit you out of my mouth”. HOW TO BREAK LOOSE FROM A COMFORT ZONE 1. BE POSITIVE. Have i can do it spirit. Have a vision of where you want to be, set up a goal, pursue your goals with zeal and determination. Love yourself; admire yourself be unique have a role model. 2. BE CREATIVE. Look at what has be done see if there is any area you can add value to what is already on ground. Identify a human problem and find solution to that problem. Be a problem solver. There are needs out there yearning for satisfaction. 3. SELF ANALYSIS Do self analysis. Find out your strength and your weaknesses. Improve in your area of weaknesses Sustain your strength. 4. DEPEND ON THE INDEPENDABLE GOD. Zachariah 4:6 “so he said to me, ’this is the word of the lord to zerubbabel “not by might nor by power but by my spirit” says the Lord Almighty if you rely on self you will fail, if you rely on man you will fail. Reliance on God alone guarantied success. PRAY YOUR WAY THROUGH Proverbs 16:3 commit to the Lord whatever you do and he will establish your plans. FAST WHERE POSSIBLE. When the need arises and prayer alone could not solve the problem, then fast. Mark 9:28-29,’after Jesus had gone indoors his disciples ask him privately ‘why couldn’t we drive it out he replied, this kind can come out by prayer. BE GENEROUS Build for God, pay your tithes. Any one that build for God never regret that he did.. Examples of such people are King Solomon, Nehemiah. Put smiles on the faces of people, help orphans, widows, and the needy. By so doing you are laying your treasure in heaven. Matt 6:19&20 CREATE TIME FOR YOURSELF. All work and no play make job man a dull boy. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, there is a time for everything and a season for every activities under the heavens.” Once in a while create time to relax with your family. It is when we have succeeded in breaking out of the comfort zone that we can move into the safety zone. That is the Zone NOAH and his family moved into. While others died in their comfort zones .Noah and his family were saved. It is my prayer and the wish of God that none of his children will die in their comfort zone.

THE APPOINTED TIME OF THE LORD

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.(Ecclesiastes 3:1) That is to say there is time there are times,there is season there are seasons. But there is an appointed time which God alone determines. Because this appointed time is under the control of God Almighty, extraordinary, marvelous,wonderful, miracles breakthroughs happens at such a time. But who can wait for such a time. Do you have issue(s) that has to do with time? Are you of the age of getting married and no man is showing up or no money to put things in place and you are counting months ,years that has gone by. Have you ever thought of the appointed time. In Genesis Chapter 3 after God has created man(Adam) and put him in the garden of Eden to tend it with his companion Eve. They disobeyed God and were driven out of the garden. Man fell from grace to grass from son to slave,from righteousness to unrighteousness. But because of the unfailing love of God for mankind he look for a means to reconcile with fallen man.' But when the set time had fully come, He sent his son born of woman,born under the law,to redeem those under the law that we might receive adoption to sonship' (Gal.4:4-5). At other times it may or may not happen, but at the appointed time what is foretold must come to pass. In Genesis Chapter.18 God visited Abraham and his wife in the form of three men. Where is your wife?, they ask him. "There in the tent" he said. Then one of them said ,' i will surely return to you about this time next year, and sarah your wife will have a son'. (Gen:18:9-10) Though they doubted but because the one that has control over time has spoken, at the appointed time it came to pass. In the gospel according to Saint Luke there was a woman in a town known as Nain who had an only son and eventually the son died. The community felt it just as the woman but they could do nothing rather than to simpathise with her. No wonder they were following her to bury the dead son. But when they got to the gate of the town, Jesus and his disciples met them. when the lord saw her his heart went out to her and he said "Don't cry"(Luke7:13) That is to say Jesus had empathy towards her not just being sympathetic. He felt her pain and did something to alleviate her pain because that is the appointed time. Gal:7:14-15, Then he went up and touched the brier they were carrying him on and the bearer stood still. He said"Young man, i say to you get up". The dead man sat up and began to talk and Jesus gave him back to her.The brierer stoped when the brier was touch by Jesus because that touch was an extraordinary one,it was a touch that makes a diffrence and also the appointed time has come. He spoke to the dead man 'get up' it was so . "For my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways", declared the lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and your thoughts than my thoughts". (Isaiah55:8-9) Our timing is contrary to God's timing. God is never late .He is always on time if only you and i will wait for the appointed time and listen to his voice and follow his instruction greater things will happen to us. 44452664