The repayments of preparation

The mathematics of living a life less of disappointments: Preparation + Opportunity = Success

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour”. Matthew 25:13

The parable of ten virgins is common to a number of people. Although, we know it or use it in affairs pertaining making it to Heaven, but I would like us to consider it using our day to day perspectives. We miss out on opportunities if we are not prepared to seize them immediately as they are available for our good. It is very sad to realise that in most cases people are given opportunities to better job offers such as promotions, only to find that those opportunities go down the drain because those people who are meant for those opportunities are not prepared for them. 

I am not saying that one must prepare him or her-self for everything under the sun. Instead, my point is that everyone must know his or her purpose for living – one’s purpose has to do with what God created him or her to achieve while on earth (see Jeremiah 1:5), Jeremiah 29:11-13 reads “11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart”. 

The premise of the latter quoted verses is that God wanted something to be accomplished on earth and you are the only person who can make it come true –  that is amazing! This is a promise to everyone by God, this then means He is willing to assist you to accomplish your purpose – if only you will seek Him through prayer. Proverbs 19:21 clearly paints the picture of purpose - King Solomon says “Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails”. God is saying that a fulfilling life is only possible when one knows why God created him or her. One’s talents and gifts are another aspect that one has to know in order to grab opportunities. There are people whom God created to change the world and make a living just by exploiting their gifts and talents.

What I have observed in life is the fact that once you are prepared, opportunities come across your

path. 

So if opportunities come but you are not prepared for them, you will fail. When an opportunity arises, that is not the time for you to be preparing – you must be already ready. The only way this principle works it is by having you prepared and waiting for the opportunity.

That is where my maths formula comes in:  Preparation + Opportunity = Success. Therefore, Success is the achievement of a pre-determined worthwhile objective. 

Remember the line that reads “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” by Benjamin Franklin. This column is aimed at encouraging the 4th years students as well as those students who have not yet reach their forth level yet, but who wish to further their studies once they have reached their fourth year level of study.

 Even if you are not a student this piece if for you as well. How many job opportunities you have lost because you do not have a matric certificate, computer certificate or a driver’s license? You do not need to tell me your response, but rather you can appeal to your conscience by preparing yourself for the future opportunities – Please! Don’t allow history to repeat itself!...

I am not proud to say this, but it true that in few years to come our Bachelor of Education Degrees (B.Ed degrees) are going to lose their value. Remember, back in the day teachers who had Diplomas were considered to be highly educated people, but you know what their situation is today. Thus, the responsibility is on the 4th years to prevent history from repeating itself. To this end, they must enrol for different qualifications. The 30th of Sept 2016 is the closing date for application for postgraduate admission to study @UKZN. While, for UNISA the application for postgraduate admission: is currently on - closing on the 11th of November 2016.

It will be a very sad story for you to be relaxing without any preparation, because you will miss out on the opportunity that can help you “to be somebody, instead of nobody. [and] Leave your footprints in the sands of history and carry none of your potential to the cemetery” – Dr. Pastor. Myles Munroe.

Remain blessed and always ensure that you are in good terms with the God Trinity and the commands of the Bible, our Constitution as the Kingdom of God citizens.

Stay On Track

 A Biblical based track to help us live a real Christian life so we can make it to Heaven in the end.

Why is it that some people begin their Christian life very sincerely, they trust the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, they intend to live a Christian life but somehow very soon along the way something happens?

Either they get discouraged by something or they have some personal problems or something somebody else says, maybe their past catches up with them, or maybe they did not quite understand what does being ‘born again’ entails to begin with. The purpose of this piece is to help us to stay on track as touching the affairs of relationship with God.  

Everything in life was created with purpose, the birds were created to fly. Humans were created to be in the presence of the Lord, if you take a man outside the presence of God, he or she malfunctions. Without God, you are hopeless. If you grasp today’s message, I assure you that you will experience peace at its best! you will also get to have an intimate relation with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. 

A track for an effective Christian life: 

1. Schedule Prayer & Meditation in God’s word as a daily priority, (see Psalm 1:1-3; Joshua 1: 1-3).        It is very important for a child of God to spend time meditating on the word of God. Meditating, means you read the word of God and you begin to mediate, ask yourself “what that means? What it suggests to me personally? and how can I do that?”. As a Christian it is highly commendable for you to hide in a solitary place to be with God and ask for his grace for the day, just like Jesus (see Mark 1:35). 

2. Obey God & leave all the consequences to Him. This requires courage, patience, and understanding. There is no consequence that God cannot bear. Obeying God is a way to show that we love and desire to love Him (see John 14: 15, 21 & 23).

 3. Trust God in every circumstance. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3: 5-6). This verses calls us to recognise that God has the right, power and privilege, solemn wholly right to guide and direct our lives. 

4. Wait upon the Lord for his direction, (see Psalm 27:14). This is one thing we must understand about God, when he says do not do something and you disobey him you are heading for a disaster. His orders are meant to keep us from the evil one and his wills. You cannot be intimate by Him if you disobey Him. Isaiah 64:4 “… [He] acts on behalf of those who wait for Him”. 

5. Depend upon the Holy Spirit. He is the vital part of the track. The latter is true because he equips you to do everything that Christ and God wants you to do. With your strength you will get in trouble. The Holy Spirit’s task is to energise, protect us and give us the strength to say no! when we are tempted (see John 14:16-18).

 6. Remember God loves you unconditionally. At the heart of this point, is the fact that you must know that God loves you no matter what happens today or how people treat you. If you do not experience and believe this, you will get off track – I guarantee you! If you have wronged God, you should run back to Him immediately, instead of babysitting what you would have done.

 7. Give to God generously, (see Luke 6:38). Giving helps us to be free from being egocentric and greedy. Givers are the happiest people. How could you withhold from God, who gave up his only begotten Son for the salvation of the world? 

8. Rest in the assurance that God has absolute control of your life. This is the major part of the track. You must always know that God knows what you need. He is in charge, He is in control of everything (Psalms 103:19) and that is where we recognise His sovereignty, He is going to cause everything to work for our good. Our problem is that we do not trust Him, so we miss out of His best that He has to offer us. 

9. Keep your eyes on your destiny. “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” Jesus said in John 14:2. Without Christ, you are eternally separated from God. The final day is looming, we will be judged on the basis of three things: How much light of truth did we know? How much opportunity did we have? and what did we do with it?

 I appeal to the brothers and sisters, who were fervent when they came to university, but somehow got corrupted… as well to those who do not know Christ to repent of their sins, to be born again and to follow Christ…

 Remain blessed and always ensure that you are in good terms with the God Trinity and the dictates of the Bible, our Constitution as Kingdom of God citizens. 

Ascending the success ladder

Moving ‘From Zero to Hero’, academically as well in all spheres of life.

Over the years the subject of success has gained the attention of boys and girls around the world. This has given rise to many ideas about and approaches to success. Success is a gem that captures the aspirations of everybody. However, all round success is hereby discussed as stated in Joshua 1:8. Success does not come on a platter of gold. It is good to desire success but there is a great difference between desire and accomplishment. God was purposeful at creation and was successful. True success is Christ centred and God-glorifying. God has put into us the key that unlocks the door of success. Success is the very will of God for His children. This is clear from the uniform testimony of scriptures (Joshua 1:8; 3 John 1:2 Psalm 1:1-3).

Seven Steps of Success Ladder 

The following steps can guide you to succeed in a godly way. 

Step one, you should define your priorities, goals and future (Prov. 24:9). Step two, you should defeat all the enemies & weakness on your pathway to success. For example, under-sleeping, over-sleeping, procrastination, lack of proper organization etc. Somebody once said, “show me your friends and I’ll show you your future”. Your results will be immensely and chiefly affected by your relationships. In light of the latter, we can therefore say, determine your friends and studying partners, this is the third step towards being successful. Step four, determination & planning are integral for your success (see Dan. 1:8; Lk 14:28-32). Success is the achievement of a pre-determined worthwhile goal. Remember the line that reads “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” by Benjamin Franklin. Apart from the devil our greatest enemy is our flesh. You might have observed the fact that your flesh tolerates you doing bad things like oversleeping, but when it comes to doing the right things it becomes a fierce struggle to do them. Think about this, how many times do you check your watch when you are studying than when you are watching a movie or chatting with friends.

 This then brings us to step five, you must be disciplined and have self-control (I Cor. 6:12; Prov. 6:6-11). What we eat and when we sleep should be regulated. Success and pleasures are enemies to one another. Step six, focus on diligence and carefulness (Prov. 22:29; Ecc. 9:10; Rom 12:11) Diligence is exercised when a student attends all his classes; writes notes regularly; does his assignments and submits them on time; reads up the note on time; revises past questions, participates in group discussions; reads and follows instructions in examinations; understands questions before attempting them; praying before and after the exam; helps others in the form of tutorials and materials sharing etc. Last but not least, step seven, is all about the defense and stability (I Cor. 16:9; 2Cor. 2:11; Eph. 6:10-18) Most failures that occur after much efforts may not be outside the working of the evil one. Success is not without some visible and invisible forces, which call for defense by putting on the whole amour of God. 

Remain blessed and always ensure that you are in good terms with the God Trinity and the orders of the Bible and our Constitution as the Kingdom of God citizens.

This column is credited to  Deeper Life Campus Fellowship - Academic Seminar, Sermon Notes.