by Mark Ibigbami GreatMark | Mar 28, 2017 | Uncategorized |
If you are the kind of person who desperately needs to attain your dreams, there’s definitely no price that can be too much to pay. If truly you are compelled and drawn towards a hope, there’s no kind of intimidation that is potent to kill your ambition. “The prices you are willing to pay has to be paid fully and in advance…not after you get results, but whether you get the results or not. (trust that invisible results are building up).”*
An eight-year-old boy approached an old man in front of a wishing well, looked up into his eyes, and asked: “I understand you’re a very wise man. I’d like to know the secret of life.” The old man looked down at the youngster and replied: “I’ve thought a lot in my lifetime, and the secret can be summed up in four words. The first is think. Think about the values you wish to live your life by. The second is believe. Believe in yourself based on the thinking you’ve done about the values you’re going to live your life by. The third is dream. Dream about the things that can be, based on your belief in yourself and the values you’re going to live by. The last is dare. Dare to make your dreams become reality, based on your belief in yourself and your values. ” And with that, Walter E. Disney said to the little boy, “Think, Believe, Dream, and Dare.”
There will always be reasons why you dreams should not come to reality. These reasons might be you, or your environment. But if indeed you want your dream to become reality, then you must dare to pay the price! In talking about your dreams, I mean such aspirations that would see you digging for your own gold and cultivate what God has given you, for the purpose of blessing humanity and bringing pleasure to God. The truth is, it doesn’t matter what else you did; if it didn’t satisfy the mandate of your creator, then you are not successful! There’s no one who can define success other than the God who created you.
It is expensive to be blessed; and those who would achieve greatness will not be dissuaded by the price of their dreams. “The inflationary times may escalate the price of their dreams but whatever the price, they are compelled to pay.” (T.D Jakes). The price for achieving your dreams may be to give up some habits or addictions. It may be necessary to give up some friends and associations. It might even require you to change your job or location. Also, time or age is no barrier. You can reignite your passion and push forward despite the challenging environment. God makes things beautiful in His time. Better to do something than nothing.
Most often than none, it is not the smartest, wealthiest or the most intelligent, or even the most powerful that always achieve success. It is proven that success goes to anyone that simply doesn’t quit. I have not read or seen anyone who achieves success without paying a price. As they say, “there is no gain without pain.” The temporary pain of sacrifice may be intimidating, but the unquantifiable joy of success is a reward worth dying for. We have a perfect example in our Lord Jesus Christ. Of Him the Bible records, “…who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrew 12:2. For such a perfect example, we are admonished to “…fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, He is he head of all the long train of faith heroes. He is the author and perfecter of our faith. Consider Him. Observe and analyze every part of His life and conduct, and you will be on your path to glory!
To be successful on earth is good, but I believe the greatest achievement that any man could have is to fulfill the purpose of his creator, which includes to do His mandate here on earth, and to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Anything short of this is mere futility! Some great men have gone ahead of us who achieved so much success but they reckoned it as waste at the end of their lives.
Perhaps, the cold winds of opposition and criticism have banked the fire in you, and your dreams are dying down. I challenge you to rekindle your desire to achieve whatever God has promised you. Don’t lose your fire! Fight for your dreams. You are winning! Yes, we are winning!
GreatMark
Ref: *www.multibhojwani.com
by Mark Ibigbami GreatMark | Mar 20, 2017 | Uncategorized |
In recent times, I have studied closely the relationship between Jews and the Ethiopians and this aroused my curiosity to research the history of the two races. My attention was again drawn to this on arriving at the Addis Ababa International Airport on March 18th 2017 while on transit to Dubai. This spurred me to deeply consider if the Ethiopian Jews were Israelis who migrated from Israel or they were offerings of the supposed relationship between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. There are so many views about the history of the Ethiopian: while the Jewish version attempted to denounce that Solomon had criminal intercourse with the Queen of Sheba, the offspring of which was Nebuchadnezzar, who destroyed the Temple (comp. Rashi ad loc.). The Ethiopian believes that the relationship between Queen of Sheba and King Solomon produced a son, whom she named Baina-leḥkem (i. e. bin al-ḥakīm, “Son of the Wise Man”, later called Menilek), and that he is the ancestor of the Ethiopian Jews.
I found the below write up from a biblical sources more convincing, especially given the mention of the ‘land of Cush’, which has been found to be the ancient Ethiopia (Genesis 10:6). This is why I think the queen of Sheba was from the ancient Ethiopia “A wide collection of Jewish traditions refer to a Jewish population in the land of Kush, also spelled Cush, and referred to as Ethiopia. As indicated earlier, these ancient geographical terms referred to what is today Northern Sudan, and not present Ethiopia. Kush represents one of the most powerful civilizations of the ancient world; The Kushites developed several kingdoms through history and in the eighth century BC built an expansive empire that extended all the way from central Sudan to central Palestine, which they eventually lost for the Assyrians.
Unlike all forms of contemporary literature, the Bible ranks the Kushites equally with, if not higher than, the major nations of the Bible world (i.e., the Egyptians, the Babylonians, and the Persians). In Genesis 10:6, Cush (or Kush, i.e., who is ancestor of the Kushites) is listed as the first son of Ham before his brothers, Mizraim(ancestor of the Egyptians), and Put (ancestor of the Libyans), and Canaan (ancestor of the Canaanites). Also, the Bible attributes famous characters to Kushite ancestry including Seba (or Sheba) best known for her encounter with King Solomon (1 Chronicles 1:9), Moses Kushite wife Zipporah (Numbers 12:1), and the legendary Mesopotamian epic hero Nimrod (Genesis 10: 8-9). This is just to cite a few.
The Bible presents some of the earliest written evidence for the possible existence of Jews in Kush:
“In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea.”(Isiah 11:11)
“I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me– Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush– and will say, ‘This one was born in Zion.'(Psalm 87:4). Also, “From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, my scattered people, will bring me offerings.” (Zephaniah 3:10)
References to Kush in diverse contexts appear in various Biblical and extra-Biblical narratives and traditions, such as the elaborate narrative of Moses journey in Kush presented in the Book of Jasher, of which analysis would exceed the possible length of this article.
Also, as mentioned, the Kushite civilization predates that of Aksum with very prolonged times. While the Aksumite civilization saw its early beginnings in the fifth century BC, and did not develop into an organized powerful kingdom until the first century AD, Kush flourished starting from the ninth century BC and was a was already a Mediterranean empire by the eighth century BC.
Furthermore, Kush retains a geographical location that is more accessible to the Mediterranean than that of the more southerly region of Aksum. The rugged and mountainous character of contemporary Ethiopia, as opposed to the flat lands of the Sudan, has always made communications with other civilization extremely difficult. Thus, a journey of a Jewish population from Palestine to Kush is much more reasonably suggestible than an exhaustive journey to the inlands of the mountainous plateau of today’s Ethiopia.
Given the wide number of historical sources that confirms the presence of a Jewish community in Kush, which is in fact beyond the length of this paper– and the strong historical connection established with the Beta Israel in other sources– the case for the descendency of the Beta Israel from a Jewish community coming from Kush, becomes particularly strong. The historical traditions that associate the Beta Israel with Kush, more than that with Aksum or any other region in the world, outlays a solid ground for this argument.
My research continues. Yes, we are winning!
Reference:
1.The Forgotten Origin of the Ethiopian Jews; from Northern Sudan. By Ibrahim Omer © copyright 2012.
2. http://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/legendary-queen-sheba-and-her-iconic-visit-king-solomon-002547
by Mark Ibigbami GreatMark | Mar 17, 2017 | Uncategorized |
Let him off the hook for your own good! If you are relying on another person to meet all your needs, to become everything in your life you are sure going to be disappointed at some points. I recall that when I gained admission into the university, I received lots of promises of enjoying financial sponsorship and supports from a couple of friends, and brethren in my local church. In my first year in school, I struggled to find financial supports from these people. For months, I waited in vain, and even when I got funded, it never met up to my expectations, and this left me frustrated! At a point, I changed my perspective, I decided to trust in God alone for my needs. I decided that only those whom God would move to help me would do, and anyone who doesn’t, has not been convinced to help me. This attitude helped me to let people off the hook, and to accept them for who they are. Sometimes, God would allow us to go through seasons when we are not getting what we expect from people. Such times he teaches us to not rely on another person but to depend on him for our value, our worth, and need. Therefore, I challenge you that instead of being frustrated, you should change your perspective.
Also, don’t live on other people’s compliment. It’s nice to hear but you don’t rely on people for their approval else you would be discouraged and limited when they don’t validate you. You never going to keep everyone happy. When you come to the end of your life, God isn’t going to asked you if you kept everyone happy, or if you got encouragement or approval from your family, people, friends or colleagues. He’s going to ask you if you fulfilled His purposes for your life! So quit trying to please people or rely on their approval. The key to a good relationship is to recognise the other persons strength and weaknesses and give room to be who they are and don’t squeeze them in your mold. Don’t try to get something from people that they don’t have. Never put your happiness in someone else’s hands. Rather, validate urself!
While preparing for a battle against the Midianites, the Lord said unto Gideon, The people … are too many—Although the Israelitish army mustered only thirty-two thousand (or one-sixth of the Midianitish host), the number was too great, for it was the Lord’s purpose to teach Israel a memorable lesson of dependence on Him. God warned them against their strategy of self dependency. “You have too many people with you…” Judges 7:2. The less you depend on people the more your spiritual muscle will become stronger and the higher you will go. And the higher God takes you the more disapproval, opposition, criticism and hatred you would get. Thus, if you base your worth or value on people you may never become what God wants you to be. Because you have the majority or connected to people of influence doesn’t guaranty your victory. As long as your doing your best and honouring God, you’re winning! Let God be your sufficiency! Yes, we are winning!
GreatMark
by Mark Ibigbami GreatMark | Mar 16, 2017 | Uncategorized |
A man received a promotion to the position of Vice President of the company he worked for. The promotion went to his head, and for weeks on end he bragged to anyone and everyone that he was now VP. His bragging came to an abrupt halt when his wife, so embarrassed by his behaviour, said, “Listen Bob, it’s not that big a deal. These days everyone’s a vice president. Why they even have a vice prsident of peas down at the supermarket!” Somewhat deflated, Bob rang the local supermaket to find out if this was true. “Can I speak to the Vice President of peas please?” he asked, to which the reply came: “of fresh or frozen?” (Source: unknown)
Another prevailing phenomenon in our time is the obsession to our careers and jobs. ‘This obsession is not unconnected with the desire to feed our pride and ego. invariably, we give more attention to what would raise our self worth, and validates our relevance in this perishing world. This itself is idolatry because the focus is now on ourselves and not on our creator who gives us the power to make wealth.
the text workaholism in a tablet computer full of sticky notes with different tasks, placed on an office desk full of charts
Millions of men—and increasingly more women—spend 60-80 hours a week working. Even on the weekends and during vacations, our laptops are humming and our minds are whirling with thoughts of how to make our businesses more successful, how to get that promotion, how to get the next raise, how to close the next deal. In the meantime, our children are starving for attention and love. We fool ourselves into thinking we are doing it for them, to give them a better life. But the truth is we are doing it for ourselves, to increase our self-esteem by appearing more successful in the eyes of the world.
This is folly. All our labors and accomplishments will be of no use to us after we die, nor will the admiration of the world, because these things have no eternal value. As King Solomon put it, “For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 2:21-23).
Furthermore, ‘we idolize mankind—and by extension ourselves—through naturalism and the power of science. This gives us the illusion that we are lords of our world and builds our self-esteem to godlike proportions. We reject God’s Word and His description of how He created the heavens and the earth, and we accept the nonsense of evolution and naturalism. We embrace the goddess of environmentalism and fool ourselves into thinking we can preserve the earth indefinitely when God has declared the earth has a limited lifespan and will last only until the end of the age.
At that time, He will destroy all that He has made and create a new heaven and new earth. “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:10-13). As this passage so clearly states, our focus should not be on worshipping the environment, but on living holy lives as we wait eagerly for the return of our Lord and Savior, who alone deserves worship.’
It is absolute depravity, and perversion of purpose to worship anything else aside God who made all things. The pleasures, fame, and successes we pursue in this world are ephemeral, and wont’t last! Therefore, it is wise to seek the things that have eternal values and would guaranty eternal life with God. “I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of; for to have been thought about, born in God’s thought, and then made by God, is the dearest, grandest and most precious thing in all thinking.” ― George MacDonald. The man who lives to fulfill the purpose of His existence, that is living for God’s pleasure, has overcome the world! You are winning! Yes, we are winning!
GreatMark
Recommended Resource: No Gods But God: Confronting Our Modern-Day Idolatry by Dennis Newkirk | Joseph Materra, Charisma News :http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/the-pulse/46496-5-signs-there-s-idolatry-in-your-church?showall=&start=1
by Mark Ibigbami GreatMark | Mar 13, 2017 | Uncategorized |
George Harrison was one of the Beatles, one of the greatest and most influential pop bands of all time. Harrison knew fame, adulation, the pleasure of mastering his craft, the sense that his was a formative influence on music. So his comment in the Beatles Anthology is instructive: “When you’ve had all the experiences – met all the famous people, made some money, toured the world and got all the acclaim – you still think ‘is that it?’. Some people might be satisfied with that, but I wasn’t and I’m still not.” (Source: Reported by Ananova News Service, Nov 30 2001)
The story of George Harrison elucidates man’s insatiable hunger for more and more material things. Materialism, which is a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values is a disastrous attitude. It is another devastating cultural climate of our time, and one form of modern idolatry that has become a dominant value of our age. It is satanic to think that worldly possessions would equal joy. It is a blatant lie! The acquisition of this world’s riches can never guaranty happiness, rather it leads to more discontent and and depression. The nature of wealth is such that plenty of it lead to more discontentment, and depravity
The wisest King that ever lived has this to say, “Here is one alone -no one with him; neither has child nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labor, neither is his eye satisfied with riches, neither does he ask, For who, do I labor and deprive myself of good? This is also vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility); yes it is a painful effort and an unhappy business (Ecclesiastes 4:8). In talking about King Solomon, Matthew Henry wrote, “This was he, who, having tasted all earthly enjoyments, wrote a book, to show the vanity of all worldly things, the vexation of spirit that attends them, and the folly of setting our hearts upon them: and to recommend serious godliness, as that which will do unspeakably more to make us happy, that all the wealth and power he was master of; and, through the grace of God, it is within our reach.”
“Self” is at the core of all the various forms of modern idolatry. We may no longer be involved in Fetishism, or Nature worship, but we worship the god of self. All idolatry of self has at its core the three lusts found in 1 John 2:16: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” For many of us, materialism have taken over the place of God and the thoughts of eternity. ‘First, we worship at the altar of materialism which feeds our need to build our egos through the acquisition of more “stuff.” Our homes are filled with all manner of possessions. We build bigger and bigger houses with more closets and storage space in order to house all the things we buy, much of which we haven’t even paid for yet.’
‘Most of our stuff has “planned obsolescence” built into it, making it useless in no time, and so we consign it to the garage or other storage space. Then we rush out to buy the newest item, garment or gadget and the whole process starts over. This insatiable desire for more, better, and newer stuff is nothing more than covetousness. The tenth commandment tells us not to fall victim to coveting: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17). God doesn’t just want to rain on our buying sprees. He knows we will never be happy indulging our materialistic desires because it is Satan’s trap to keep our focus on ourselves and not on Him.’
Jesus’ warning that materialism is destructive to our souls, and can jeopardize our faith. Yet, we find it very difficult to let go of worldly possessions and riches. The brevity of life is one good reason to seek only things that gives eternal values. The world’s riches, fame and accomplishments are vain, and they would be consume with this world. Only those who have stored for themselves treasures in heaven would have a place in God’s presence. “If you seek, as now directed, the kingdom of God, first and principally, all things pertaining to this life shall, in the course of the divine providence, be bestowed on you as far as they can contribute to your real welfare, and more you would not desire (Matthew 6:33). Happy are those who’s God is the Lord! (Psalm 33:12). You are winning! Yes, we are winning!
GreatMark
by Mark Ibigbami GreatMark | Mar 11, 2017 | Uncategorized |
Climate is the weather conditions prevailing in an area over a long period. In cultural parlance, climate is the prevailing trend of public opinion or of another aspect of life. A prevailing cultural climate of our times is the outright perversion of the truth. Every good thing that God created, Satan works to pervert, and this is fast becoming a trending phenomenon in our society. According to the Webster’s Dictionary, perversion is “a diverting from the true intent or purpose; a change to something worse; a turning or applying to a wrong end or use.” Anything can be perverted. For instance, the use of opiates for non-medicinal purposes, is a perversion of the poppy plant. From biblical perspective, the word “perversion” means a deviation from righteousness to ungodliness. Perversion can be seen in sexual behavior, conversation, or justice, or the wrong use of God’s creation.
It began in Eden, when Satan first attempted to twist the commandment of God, and eventually succeeded in causing Adam and Eve to disobey God’s instruction. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Genesis 3:1. “Satan’s plan was to draw our first parents to sin, and so to separate between them and their God. Thus the devil was from the beginning a murderer, and the great mischief maker. He quoted the command wrong. He spoke in a taunting way. The devil, as he is a liar, so he is a scoffer from the beginning; and scoffers are his children. It is the craft of Satan to speak of the Divine law as uncertain or unreasonable, and so to draw people to sin.’ Perversion of the truth is a veritable tool in the hand of satan and he continues to use to put enmity between God and man.
satan cannot create; that power belongs to God alone. So he perverts what God has created. If he can entice God’s most cherished creations to follow him in his twisted ideas, he succeeds in perverting the image of God we were designed to magnify (1 Corinthians 11:7). It is Satan who introduced the idea that perversion equals freedom. But he knows quite well that perversion is a slippery path that leads to bondage and then death. In our society today the need for freedom has made us to change the truth about God and the things He created. By perverting sexuality, speech, or justice, we mar the likeness of God in our own lives.
More than ever before, idolatry has been on the increase, and godlessness is a trending phenomenon in our society. You may not consider this conversation as important to you because you probably don’t have a carved stone statue in your house or a craven image which you worship. Apparently, Idolatry is subtly working its way into our lives, homes, and communities in an incredible manner!
In scripture, idolatry is regarded as heathen origin, and as being imported among the Hebrews through contact with heathen nations. The first allusion to idolatry is in the account of Rachel stealing her father’s teraphim (Genesis 31:19), which were relics of the other gods by Laban’s progenitors (Joshua 24:2). However, Idolatry is not just a pagan or heathen issue. It is not just an Old Testament or Jewish issue. It is a human issue.
The greatest sin in the Bible by far is the sin of idolatry. It is the main reason why God rebuked and judged the nation of Israel. It was John Calvin who said our heart is an idol factory. Man is created with an innate desire to worship. It was for worship that God created man, so He can derive pleasure from the attention and adoration from man. However, in a fallen world, people constantly seek things they can worship, even though the Creator is before us in plain view. “For that which is known about God is evident to then and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God has shown it to them” (Romans 1:19).
God is intelligent and He created intelligent people. But on the contrary, intelligent people turn into idol story when they reject what they know about God. Instead of looking at him as creator & sustainer of life, they see themselves as the center of the universe. The danger of idolatry is not in the graven image or the object of worship, but in us. All the various forms of modern idolatry have one thing in their core: self. We don’t necessarily have to bow down to idols and images. The adoration we give at the altar of the god of self is the modern idolatry, and the deadliest sin!
Making God in our own image, instead of the reverse is one manifestation of modern idolatry, a sad misrepresentation of God. It is the worst form of man’s depravity! It is rebellion, and the height of ungodliness! It simply means we place self at the center of God, the creator of the universe. Idolatry may be in the form of wooden figures, of goals or things that we pursue such as money, power or possessions.
Today, it is very convenient for us to project our selfish ideas with total disregard to God. We put trust in ourselves, and abilities more than we trust in God. In fact, God is totally out of mention in our pursuit of success and accomplishment. We have now become so self-sufficient that God is not needed in our schools, homes, or house of worship. We have made God into our own image, forgetting that it is not about us, but Him!
“In the way of believing obedience to God’s commandments health and peace may commonly be enjoyed; and though our days may not be long upon earth, we shall live for ever in heaven. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee; God’s mercy in promising, and his truth in performing: live up to them, keep up thine interest in them, and take the comfort of them… In all our ways that prove pleasant, in which we gain our point, we must acknowledge God with thankfulness. In all our ways that prove uncomfortable, and that are hedged up with thorns, we must acknowledge him with submission. It is promised, He shall direct thy paths; so that thy way shall be safe and good, and happy at last (Matthew Henry’s Proverbs 3:6 commentaries).
It is living according to God’s Divine purpose that we win. You’re winning! Yes we are winning!
To be continued….
GreatMark
Recommended Resource: Making Sense of Man and Sin by Wayne Grudem
