In fear, I returned the wedding gown (My encounter with the Holy Spirit)

I had the privilege of doing my wedding shopping in the U.S courtesy of my adorable parents. I went to one of the most expensive shops in New York. I tried on up to five beautiful wedding gowns before making my final choice.

I settled for a tube-like gown that had a small jacket on it. In excitement, I returned to my Aunt’s house clutching my wedding gown on my chest.

That night in my sleep, I had a dream. A man in a silk robe sat in front of me and began to chat me up. The conversation went thus:

Stranger: Why did you choose that wedding gown?

Me: It was the one that fitted me best.

Stranger: Do you know that half of your breast was revealed when you wore it?

Me: But there is a jacket to cover the exposed part of my breast.

Stranger: When you get to the reception, will you not remove the jacket?

Me: removing the jacket at the reception is the fun of the gown.

Stranger: With your breast out for public consumption?

Me: But we would have left church.

Stranger: At the reception, will there not be unbelievers there who will blaspheme my name? Those who will say “see what she is wearing, and she calls herself a Christian.”

Me: People don’t think like that anymore. More so, it is this tube-like gowns that are reigning now.

Stranger: You seem to be adamant on wearing the tube… what if I ask you to return it and pick a decent one that covers the upper part of your body?

Me: But I like this one. I’m not sure I want to return it.

Stranger: You are my precious daughter and I know you would not like to hurt me just as I would not like to hurt you.

Me: Who are you please?

Stranger: I am the Holy Spirit, and your body is my temple. Keep my temple holy and I will keep your marriage holy. I will also keep your body holy. If you insist on wearing it, can you cope with breast cancer?

Me: Breast Cancer?

I woke up sweating. By mid-day, I returned the gown to pick one that would not expose my breast.

There in that shop, I met the daughter of a very popular king in Nigeria. We got talking and I saw that she did not even go to the section of tube styles. When I asked her why she did not try the tube style, she said “my father (the king) will never allow it”. He says “Royalty does not dress indecently.”

I learnt an eternal lesson that day, firstly, from the Holy Spirit and secondly, from the earthly royal princess.

“ROYALTY DOES NOT DRESS INDECENTLY.”

“If you keep dressing with your breast exposed, can you stand a breast cancer later in life?”

By Salvation girls

YOUNG AND CONFIDENT, IMPACT 002

This is the cover design of our new book, YOUNG AND CONFIDENT, IMPACT 002. Read and be Transformed.

The book has eleven chapters that will change your life drastically. It's a positive touch

Celebrate Others Now

                       

                       

Not quite long after Tope qualified as a chartered accountant, he got a job in one of the new generation banks in the country. Within few months of his stay, the bank discovered that he was loaded upstairs “brilliant.” So, he was moved to another department where they felt he would be more useful.

Immediately he got to this new department, he knew he would need God to pull through. According to him, his immediate boss was always complaining and harassing him. When he moved 10 kilometres, he would tell him he should have moved 100 kilometres. On the other hand, when he moved 100 kilometres, the boss would tell him he should have just moved for 10 kilometres. In fact, there was a time that this issue was a major prayer point as he began to pray for favour from his boss.

After some time, our young man got another job in another bank and he shifted base and resumed in the new bank where he said, he was treated as a human being for the first time in many years.

Not long after he left, the department had a problem. It was such a big riddle that none of the staff could unravel. When the case got to his former boss, he shouted at them and told them to get Tope to solve the problem (In fact, it was like, why are you bringing this problem to me when you have a young man who could solve the problem).

The officers exchanged glances and one of them told “oga” that Tope had left their bank for another bank. He could not believe it. He then told them “That young man is brilliant and if he were to be here, he would have proffered a solution to the problem.”  My question is, if oga knew this all along, why was he intimidating the young man? Was he afraid or what?

Now, what exactly does it take to celebrate others? Is it really a Herculean task which cannot be accomplished? The answer is No. It takes a pure heart to celebrate others. If we always rejoice with them that rejoice, then it will be very easy for us to celebrate others.

Furthermore, anyone who has a pure heart will always see the good works or deeds done by others. Why? A good work, behaviour etc is not hidden, it is pronounced. So, if our hearts are pure, we would always see the good works or deeds of others and tell them.

When we celebrate others, we are telling them that they are important. We recognize the gifts, talents, good behaviour innovation etc in others and we praise them by showing approval or admiration for them.

Even God who is our heavenly Father celebrate us, who are mere mortals. God told Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil? Job 1:8

Jonathan was always celebrating David even before his father (I Sam. 19:4) who hated him. It is evil not to celebrate others. Anyone who does not see the good in others or sees that good and portray others as bad is a wicked fellow.

It is often said by some people that when you praise people, they often become proud. I make bold to say that it is not true. The fact that you celebrate another person is not a reason for the person to be proud; it is just an avenue for the person to perform better next time.

How often do we celebrate our friends, classmates, colleagues and family members who make any progress or do anything in a good way? I have discovered that some of us always prefer to celebrate others when they have left the scene. That is when some of us will say, “You don’t know the value of what you have until you lose it.” How bad!

Let us celebrate each other now because the fellow may just not be there tomorrow because of promotion, relocation, etc. Put a smile on someone’s face. Celebrate others.

This is one of the chapters in my book, Young & Confident, Impact 001. Impact 002 is on the way.

PASS ON THE TORCH

Sometime ago, I walked up to a lady who is very skillful in interior decoration to share a pain in my heart with her. Due to the nature of her job, she normally helps to beautify the church and make the altar so inviting and tasteful. She does the decoration so neatly and without any noise that I really appreciate her work most of the time. In actual fact, you may just come to church during the week and see a well-decorated altar and by the time you are in church for Sunday service there is a new look, which is very inviting. She normally does her work quietly at night.

Despite all the above, I found out that the lady has not really taught anyone this skill which she displayed without any hindrance. That means anytime she leaves the church for any good reason, that position will be vacant. That means she has not passed on the torch.

To pass on the torch means to teach others some unique things that we know so that whether we are around or not, others will be able to continue the good work. In 2 Timothy 2:2 Paul said' "You have heard me teach many things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Teach these great truths to trustworthy people who are able to pass them on to others." (NLT) The torch has to pass from one person to the other so that the light will continue to burn because once the light goes off, darkness comes in and one cannot really do anything tangible in the dark. 

Apostle Paul knew that if others were not groomed in the faith and the doctrines, there is a tendency that the fire may die without being passed on to another generation. What would we have met if others had not passed on the torch by sacrificing their lives and imparting what they had learnt to others? What faith would we be professing now? If you have the torch of salvation in your hand, please pass it on. That is, tell others about your salvation and what God is doing in your life so that generations unborn may sing that this God is our God.

I don't know if this is peculiar to Nigerians or to the human race as a whole. But what I have seen is that some people don't like passing unto others what they have learnt. I am not sure those people ever gave a thought to how they got what they have at hand.

Some years ago, I had cause to work with a lady who was a computer operator. Being a novice and fresh from the higher institution, I walked up to her to teach me how to manipulate this machine. When I walked up to her, and asked her to teach me how to operate the system, she replied sharply by saying, she paid some amount of money before she was taught how to operate the computer and so anyone who wants to learn how to do the same, should go and enroll in a computer school and obtain this knowledge. God of mercy! When I heard this statement, I was not only cold, I felt like a fish taken out of water. That lady refused to pass on the torch and she did it without any regret. Was she selfish? That is left for you to decide.

Anybody who is selfish or self-centered can never pass on the torch. Why? The selfish interest will stand as a militating factor. Anyone who is selfish will never share what he or she has with others and so the person dies one day with all his or her talent. I tell you that fellow is not fruitful.

Unnecessary fears may not allow some people to pass on the torch. An example is some people who are good at a particular subject but they will not teach others because they have this fear that once they teach others they will lose their proficiency. But that is a lie of the devil. In fact, I believe that the more you impart knowledge to others, the more skillful you become. You simply become an authority in that particular field. That's all.

I really do not know the person that coined the motto of Queen's College, Lagos, which is what we are talking about, "Pass On The Torch" but I really credit the person because he or she did a good job. The torch has to be passed on so that there will be continuity. I am not saying we should be dogmatic but there are some virtues, good programmes and knowledge that must be passed on from one generation to another.

Just take a look at those who run a relay race. They are four in number, and once an athlete is through with his race, the baton is passed on to another athlete and with that, the race is on. However, if it is just 100 metres, when an athlete falls and he/she is unable to continue, the race comes to an abrupt end for the fellow. But, if it is a relay race, even if an athlete falls and he/she is unable to get up, as long as the baton has been passed on, the race continues.

The torch must be passed on if we must enjoy and experience some wonderful things in this life. The computer is a good example. As the torch is being passed on from one generation to the other, each generation improves on it. For example, we now have laptops and palm tops. You never can tell, we may have finger tops in some years to come. Please pass on the torch because your talent will not be useful in the grave.

·        If your torch is too precious to be passed on, then you may die without leaving any legacy.

This is the 10th chapter of, YOUNG AND CONFIDENT, IMPACT 001. Watch out for Impact 002.