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So Solomon came to Jerusalem from the high place that was at Gibeon, from before the tabernacle of meeting, and reigned over Israel. - 2 Chronicles 1:13

This passage gives us an insight into what to do to reign in life: in career, business, industry, ministry, or wherever you find yourself.

Solomon had just been crowned the king of Israel; and it is interesting to note that one of the first things he did was to go to the high place at Gibeon. He didn’t go for sight-seeing or physical exercise; he went there to seek the face of God, to pray and offer sacrifices to Him. By the time he was through, he had an encounter with God that determined the course of his kingship.

Before his visit to the high place, some of the words that are used to describe his kingship in that same chapter include “strengthened”, “kingdom”, and “exalted”. He was not described as reigning. But, by the time he came down from the high place and the tabernacle of meeting, “he reigned over Israel.”

Perhaps, we can learn some lessons from this. If you desire to reign in your circle, you must be a (wo)man of God’s presence and a regular visitor to the high place, which is the place of prayer. You must be someone who has time for God and seeks His counsel on every matter.

The high place doesn’t necessarily mean going to Prayer Mountains. If you can make time to go, fine. But, you can always pray in your personal space; your closet can be your high place. The most important thing is to maintain an unbroken fellowship with God and always seek His counsel and direction on everything. If you are faithful in doing that, you will reign in your circle, because “honor does not come from the east or the west or from the desert. But God is the One Who decides. He puts down one and brings respect to another” (Psalm 75:6-7, NLV).

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

Please share this with your loved ones. God bless you.

- Author Unknown

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. - 1 Corinthians 1:18

There was once a man who didn't believe in God, and he didn't hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion and religious holidays.

His wife, however, did believe and she raised their children to have faith in God and the Lord Jesus Christ despite his disparaging comments. On one snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their two children to a special Christmas Eve service in the farm community in which they lived. They were to talk about the birth of Jesus that night. She asked him to come along just like she had done so many times before, but he refused her once again,
"That story is nonsense!" he barked. "Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? That's ridiculous!"

So she and the children left, and he stayed home.

A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He then sat down to relax before the fire for the evening when he heard a very loud thump. Something had hit the window. He looked out but couldn't see more than a few feet. When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window.

In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn't go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. And a couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed.

The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It's warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn't seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. The man tried to get their attention by waving a lantern, but that just seemed to scare them, and they moved further away. He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread crumb trail leading to the barn, but they still didn't catch on.

Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the opened barn doors. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe.

"Why don't they follow me?!" he exclaimed. "Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?"

He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a human. "If only I were a goose, then I could save them," he said out loud. Then he had an idea! He went into barn, got one of his own geese and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese. He then released it.

His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn -- and one-by-one, the other geese followed it to safety. He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed loudly in his mind: "If only I were a goose, then I could save them!" Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier that evening. "Why would God want to be like us? That's ridiculous!"

Suddenly it all made perfect sense to him. That is what God had done! We were like the geese--blind, lost, and perishing. God had His Son become like us so He could show us the way, and save us!

As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood why Jesus Christ had come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished with the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer: "Thank You, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm!"

Perhaps, you can identify with the man’s stance about God and His Son, Jesus; it is never too late to make a u-turn and come to Him. He’s patiently waiting for you.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

- Author Unknown

Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. -- 2 Corinthians 5:16

A man who was exploring some caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled up some clay and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man so he took the bag out of the cave with him.

As he strolled along the beach, to pass the time, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could throw. He thought little about it until he dropped one of the balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone. Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left, then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have had tens of thousands, but he just threw it all away.

Sometimes, it's like that with people. We look at someone and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it; we see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish, well known or wealthy.

But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person. There is a treasure hidden in every one of us. We are wonderfully made. Not just our physical bodies, our spiritual selves, which are sometimes hidden from others by the earthen vessel. But if you take the time to get to know that person, and if you ask the Holy Spirit to show you that person the way God sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.

The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him with his friendship.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You. When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. – Psalm 61:1-2

Challenges and trials are part of life, only the dead and inanimate don’t have them. We face various life situations that test our faith, maturity, endurance, skills and expertise. But when the storms of life come billowing, do you fight or take a flight? When the vicissitudes of life become overwhelming, where do you turn to for help?

Our answers to these questions are critical to how we fare in life: if you are the type that analyses a challenge and then tackles it headlong, rather than avoiding or running away from it, each encounter will certainly build up your maturity, spirituality, dignity, fortitude and confidence; whereas, each time you take a flight and avoid a challenge constitutes a debit from your confidence and self esteem. So, the best course to take is to fight it out. But, ensure you take time to first analyse the situation, know how best to confront it, when to take it on, and what resources you need to realistically achieve your aim.

In the event where you are overwhelmed by the vicissitudes of life, such that you are feeling drowned, it is always good to look beyond yourself and reach out for help. While it is advisable to seek help from experts in the area of your challenge or from an enlightened significant other, you should not discountenance also seeking the help of God. In the case of humans, you can only be helped to the extent of the resources available to the person you run to. But God has unlimited resources and He has monopoly of solutions. He had solved innumerable challenges since humans started becoming conscious of them; and He hasn’t stopped. So you get the advantage of experience, expertise and formidability when you run to God. Nothing fazes Him; everything thaws in His presence. He is just a prayer away; why not tell Him about the issue now?

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

And by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Acts 13:39

Here is another purpose of Jesus; He came to offer us justification from the shackles of requirements mandated by the laws to attain righteousness and be in the good book of God.

Before His coming, the people of God were under the regime of the various precepts that God had communicated to Moses at different times on the way to the Promised Land - the dos and don’ts of day-to-day living. It is in strict adherence to these rules that righteousness is determined (Leviticus 18:5).

Jesus did not come to abrogate the laws altogether; He Himself confirmed that by saying, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfil” (Matthew 5:17). He came as a man to experience firsthand the struggles that humans face to comply with the regime of the law and to offer grace to help in our areas of struggle (Hebrews 4:15). He also came to simplify all the laws for us by summing them into two easy-to-remember laws: love your God with all your heart and love your neighbour as yourself.

So, while the laws are still operational, Jesus functions as an intervention between every individual who believes in Him and their need to fulfil the requirements of the law. While not nullifying their need to abide by the standards of God, He is the visible Force and go-between between God and every believer, offering grace to help those who believe in Him to live up to the ideals of God, while covering up for them before God in their areas of failings; that is the justification.

Since Jesus is the High Priest representing humans in the holy Presence of God (Hebrews 5), where sin and foibles cannot stand, His perfection is what the LORD sees when considering a believer at any point in time. On the other hand, His love and compassion are what the believer sees when relating with God, rather than being directly exposed to the Holiest of All Who does not condone sin and failings.

Jesus does that much for those who believe in Him. Nobody else can represent you before God. Now, won’t you rather make Him your Lord today and forever, and let Him do the holy stuff with God while you do your best on earth?

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. - Acts 10:42

We are back to our series on exploring the purpose of Jesus Christ with a view of identifying our own individual purpose in His. It is worthy to refresh our memory about two of the fundamentals of purpose: firstly, all human purposes are entrenched in the Bible; secondly, every purpose of man derives its origin in the purposes of Jesus Christ. That is why He is the consummate Man.

In the passage above, we are offered an insight into another purpose of Jesus Christ; He was ordained by God to judge the living and the dead. Being God, Jesus naturally had the prerogative of judgement. And, much more, having left His glory in heaven to come offer His life as a ransom on earth, He became even more qualified to determine our fate. But He is not about judgement alone, He also became many positive things to us, He is the Author of our salvation, our Alpha and Omega, the Author and Finisher of our faith, our good Shepherd, our Healer, our Restorer and many more.

So judging us isn’t all that He is about. He plays more positive roles in our lives besides. But, He is the One God has ceded the responsibility of judgement to. That was He took great pains to enlighten us about the parameters He would base His judgement on. The first being our acceptance or non-acceptance of Him: He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:18).

Another metric by which we will be judged is our disposition to His word, as documented in the Holy Bible: He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day (John 12:48).

The scope of His judgement covers both the living and the dead. Knowing therefore that Jesus wields such power in determining how you fare in life and where you will spend your eternity after death, don’t you think it is wise to take Him more seriously?

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure... - Ecclesiastes 2:9-10

Solomon rode the wave of altruism to reach the crest of wealth and greatness; but he started a nosedive the moment he shifted his attention from seeking common good to pursuing personal pleasures. His preoccupation with hedonistic indulgence cost him his exalted estimation in the eyes of God; therefore, he lost the throne and ended up with a bitter taste rather than enjoyment of all the resources he had, to the point that he summed them all as vanity!

According to the passage above, at the peak of his greatness, Solomon succumbed to egotism: an obsessive preoccupation with the self. He started tending to himself, rather than the people he was raised to serve. He began to indulge his eyes and whimsical desires, accumulating wives and concubines to the thousand mark.

He forsook his mother’s advice not to dissipate his strength on women, an act that destroys kings (Proverbs 31:2). He disregarded his father’s passionate appeal to walk in ways of God and keep His statutes (1 Kings 2:3). Then he started losing his grip on things and he became a tyrant, oppressing the people he was blessed to serve. That was why after his death the Israelites came to his son and requested, “Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you” (1 Kings 12:4).

He started so well, but ended on a sorry note. By the time God dealt with him, he lost the taste of pleasure he so much wanted and the sense of accomplishment he deserved, only having this to say: “Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11). May we not end like him.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded. Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. - 1 Kings 11:9-11

In the past few days, we have read about how Solomon comported himself into an encounter with God and thereafter became a recipient of such great wisdom and massive wealth. He achieved these by putting the people’s needs ahead of his own.

However, Solomon abused the opportunity given him and could have been stripped of everything he had, but for the grace enjoyed by David, his father, in the eyes of God.

To achieve the heights of his opulence, Solomon had asked for things that would enable him to be a blessing to others: “…Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” (1 Kings 3:6-9)

In this passage, apart from “you” and “your” - two words that draw attention away from the self - one other word that recurs the most is “people.” Solomon positioned himself in the favour of God by seeking for ways to cater to what matters most to God – people. And God gave him more than he asked so that he could adequately fulfil his mission.

But then, his focus changed, and with that his agenda; and he started to displease God.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. - 1 John 3:18

This happened in Japan. In order to renovate a house, someone tore open the walls. Japanese houses normally have a hollow space between the wooden walls. When tearing down the walls, he found that there was a lizard stuck there because a nail from outside was hammered into one of its feet. He saw this, felt pity, and at the same time he was curious.

When he checked the nail, it turned out it was nailed about 10 years ago when the house was first built. What happened? The lizard had survived in such a position for 10 years! In a dark wall partition for 10 years without moving; it is impossible and mind boggling. He wondered how this lizard survived for 10 years without moving a single step, since its foot was nailed! So he stopped his work and observed the lizard, what it had been doing, and what and how it had been eating.

Not long afterward, not knowing where it came, there appeared another lizard with food in its mouth. The man was stunned and at the same time deeply touched. Another lizard had been feeding the stuck one for the past 10 years!

Such beautiful love was demonstrated by this tiny creature! What can love do? It can do wonders! Love can do miracles!

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

Please share this with your loved ones. God bless you.

You are right in some count, and wrong in another.

The Bible specifically urges that Christians must work. Whoever does not work, should not eat. That's what the Bible says.

God also says that He will bless the work of our hands. That means He expects us to work.

However, there is a place for labour, and there is a place for favour. God's blessing translates into favour. So, Christians must work, as that is what God would bless to enrich and prosper them. Christians must also pray for divine blessing, as that is what makes the difference between the successful and the runabys.

FOLYKAZE: Last time I checked, I found countless business solution centres and they are not in anyway afflicted to church.

Tell the people to work and stop making fellas drink from the cup of blessing which never come

Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” - 1 Kings 3:4-5

Solomon set the stage for a divine encounter with his obedience and offering. And God honoured these by appearing to him and asking him to make a request. While obedience and offering were enough to position him - and anyone for that matter - for prosperity according to the word of God (1 Kings 2:3, Proverbs 11:24), there was something extra that Solomon did that provoked God to give him far more than he asked for.

When the LORD appeared to him in the dream and asked him for what he wanted; it wasn’t wisdom that Solomon asked for, as usually bandied, he actually asked for an understanding heart. But he touched a very sensitive cord in the heart of God with his request. He asked for something that matters the most to God, which made Him release all to him. Let’s read Solomon’s request:

And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing (1 Kings 3:6-10).

Did you observe a pattern in Solomon’s request? Did you see what he asked for that got God rocking with excitement such that He was too eager to give him much more than he asked for?

If you do, please post your answer on our Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/DailyDewDevotional. We will conclude this series tomorrow with the answer and that secret that earned Solomon such great wisdom and massive wealth.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” - 1 Kings 3:4-5

We are still meditating on Solomon’s principles to acquiring such wisdom and wealth, which are famed to be unmatched by anyone else before or after him. The passage above acquaints us with another step Solomon took to attract the attention of God – he made a phenomenal sacrifice to God; he offered a thousand burnt offerings in a single day!

Note that he was not told by anyone WHAT to give; neither was he compelled by a prophet to make the offering. He did it of his own freewill, no counselling, no preaching, and no altar call to make a pledge. He made up his mind himself and set out to the high place to offer such massive sacrifice to God. It is also noteworthy that he did not set out to give so that God could give him more; he had no such intention. He did not give as a form of bargain with God. He gave out of his volition and without an ulterior motive.

It seems most of the giving we do these days are laden with personal agenda. We give in order to arm-twist God to give us more in return; and the situation where some clergies harangue the congregation into making specific financial pledges don’t seem to help matters. Giving becomes compromised when it is done as a transaction, and not as a gesture of love or appreciation. The Bible is clear on HOW it should be done, “You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”” (2 Corinthians 9:7, NLT). Another translation says, “God loves a man who gives because he wants to give” (NLV).

Solomon was in the category of people who give because they want to give. No wonder God appeared to Him and presented him with a blank cheque to ask whatever he wanted and he would have it. Perhaps, we can learn from his example.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. - 1 Kings 3:11-13

This is the divine statement that settled the unmatched wisdom and wealth of Solomon. He so impressed God with his request that God was too eager to give him more than he asked for. But, how did Solomon get there? What did he do to attract the attention of God in the first place?

After being crowned the king of Israel, Solomon took heed to obey the instructions given to him by David, his father. As David was nearing his death, he charged his son to be devoted to God and thus gave him a secret to unlocking the door of prosperity irrespective of his location or vocation. He said: “And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn” (1 Kings 2:3).

David also gave Solomon specific instructions concerning Joab, Barzillai, and Shimei; all of which he executed to the letter. So we see that Solomon began to set the stage for an encounter with God through his obedience. He did not start out by effecting his own idea about how to do things. He was unassuming in his adherence to the instructions given to him by his father, as spelled out in the word of God. That was the starting point of his pleasing God and positioning himself for His blessing. Perhaps, we can learn from his example.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

whatever evidence you need is contained in the Bible.

Pick your copy and read 1 Kings Chapters 9-10.

FOLYKAZE: There is no evidence for all these descriptions about solomon's wealth. Are you making assumption or describing something that came to your mind?


And how does this your article teaches me how to make wealth?

All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones. - 1 Kings 10:21,27

Our meditation for the next couple of days will be on the secret of King Solomon’s wealth; what lesson we can learn from his principles and how we can apply such in our own lives to unlock the door of abundance and put an end to life-long of struggle and lack.

Although historians have not arrived at a consensus value of King Solomon’s wealth as well as well what his holdings amounted to in dollars, he was arguably the wealthiest man in history. According to Wikipedia: “King Solomon held a fortune that dwarfed any and every person who lived before him, making him the wealthiest man in the world. Each year, Solomon received 25 tons of gold. This did not include income derived from business, trade, nor the annual tribute paid to him by all of the kings and governors of Arabia. King Solomon's throne was coated in pure gold and inlaid with ivory. It had 6 stairs, 12 lion statues (1 on either side of each step) and a solid gold foot stool…

“All of the goblets and household articles in Solomon's palace were pure gold. King Solomon was reportedly so rich, that during the years of his reign over Jerusalem, his immense wealth caused silver to be considered of little value and as common as rocks. As such, nothing in Solomon's palace was made of silver. The same devaluation was noted of cedar wood; a lumber which, at the time, was considered to be of great value and significance, both monetarily and non, for many societies throughout the region and beyond.”

The interesting thing is that all of Solomon’s wealth was endowed by God. If He did it for him; He can do it for you too.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. - Hebrews 2:16

The challenges of life can be burdensome and appear unbearable. Even the smartest, the richest, or the strongest of men needs help from time to time, as no one knows it all, has it all, or can do it all.

There are certain situations of life that are beyond our natural ability; in such cases, we need to rely on supernatural aid. Aid is defined as ‘financial or material assistance; anything done or provided that assists somebody or something.’ The synonyms of aid include assistance, help, support, relief, encouragement, service, and succour. These surely sound like things that any human can make do of irrespective of their age, race, background, academic qualification or societal status.

In the passage above, the Bible offers us an insight on who is eligible to receive divine help. We are told that divine aid is not meant for the angels, but humans; more appropriately, the seed of Abraham are the veritable candidates for divine aid. The good news is that it is humans who need aid, and it is to humans that God is offering aid. In what area of your life do you need aid? Is it in your health, finance, job, business, career, academic, marriage, relationships, et cetera? Where have you been seeking for help or solution? Have you been looking to men or you have been looking up to God?

Seeking the intervention of men in moments of crisis is a recipe for frustration and high blood pressure, because the best of man will always be man. But when you look up to God, then you are assured of sure aid. Looking for help anywhere else apart from God is a sure route to vexation of the spirit. Whatever your situation may be, why not pause and tell God about it now, asking for His aid?

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so. - Proverbs 3:27

Pappy was a pleasant-looking old fellow. He had the whitest hair which he kept neatly cut and combed. His eyes were blue, though faded with age, and they seemed to emit warmth from within. His face was quite drawn, but when he smiled, even his wrinkles seemed to soften and smile with him. He had a talent for whistling and did so happily each day as he dusted and swept his pawnshop; even so, he had a secret sadness, but everyone who knew him respected and adored him.

Most of Pappy's customers returned for their goods, and he did not do much business, but he did not mind. To him, the shop was not a livelihood as much as a welcome pastime.

There was a room in the back of his shop where he spent time tinkering with a menagerie of his own precious items. He referred to this back room as "memory hall." In it were pocket watches, clocks, and electric trains. There were miniature steam engines and antique toys made of wood, tin, or cast iron, and there were various other obsolete trinkets as well.

Spending time in memory hall delighted him as he recalled many treasured moments from his past. He handled each item with care, and sometimes he would close his eyes and pause to relive a sweet, simple childhood memory.

One day, Pappy was working to his heart's content reassembling an old railroad lantern. As he worked, he whistled the melody of a railroad tune and reminisced about his own past as a switchman. It was a typical day at the shop. Outside, the sun illuminated the clear sky, and a slight wind passed through the door. Whenever the weather was this nice, Pappy kept the inner door open. He enjoyed the fresh air, almost as much as the distinctive smell of antiques and old engine oil.

As he was polishing his newly restored lantern, he heard the tinkling of his bell on the shop door. The bell, which produced a uniquely charming resound, had been in Pappy's family for over a hundred years. He cherished it dearly and enjoyed sharing its song with all who came to his shop. Although the bell hung on the inside of the main door, Pappy had strung a wire to the screen door so that it would ring whether the inner door was open or not. Prompted by the bell, he left memory hall to greet his customer.

At first, he did not see her. Her shiny, soft curls barely topped the counter.

"And how can I help you, little lady?" Pappy's voice was jovial.

"Hello, sir." The little girl spoke almost in a whisper. She was dainty. Bashful. Innocent. She looked at Pappy with her big brown eyes, then slowly scanned the room in search of something special. Shyly she told him, "I'd like to buy a present, sir."

"Well, let's see," Pappy said, "who is this present for?"

"My grandpa. It's for my grandpa. But I don't know what to get."

Pappy began to make suggestions. "How about a pocket watch? It's in good condition. I fixed it myself," he said proudly.

The little girl didn't answer. She had walked to the doorway and put her small hand on the door. She wiggled the door gently to ring the bell. Pappy's face seemed to glow as he saw her smiling with excitement.

"This is just right," the little girl bubbled. "Momma says grandpa loves music."

Just then, Pappy's expression changed. Fearful of breaking the little girl's heart, he told her, "I'm sorry, missy. That's not for sale. Maybe your grandpa would like this little radio." The little girl looked at the radio, lowered her head, and sadly sighed, "No, I don't think so."

In an effort to help her understand, Pappy told her the story of how the bell had been in his family for so many years, and that was why he didn't want to sell it.

The little girl looked up at him, and with a giant tear in her eye, sweetly said, "I guess I understand. Thank you, anyway."

Suddenly, Pappy thought of how the rest of the family was all gone now, except for his estranged daughter whom he had not seen in nearly a decade.

Why not, he thought. Why not pass it on to someone who will share it with a loved one? God only knows where it will end up anyway.

"Wait...little lady." Pappy spoke just as the little girl was going out the door--just as he was hearing his bell ring for the last time. "I've decided to sell the bell. Here's a hanky. Blow your nose."

The little girl began to clap her hands. "Oh, thank you, sir. Grandpa will be so happy."

"Okay, little lady. Okay." Pappy felt good about helping the child; he knew, however, he would miss the bell. "You must promise to take good care of the bell for your grandpa--and for me, too, okay?" He carefully placed the bell in a brown paper bag.

"Oh, I promise," said the little girl. Then, she suddenly became very still and quiet. There was something she had forgotten to ask. She looked up at Pappy with great concern, and again almost in a whisper, asked, "How much will it cost?"

"Well, let's see. How much have you got to spend?" Pappy asked with a grin.

The child pulled a small coin purse from her pocket then reached up and emptied two dollars and forty-seven cents onto the counter.

After briefly questioning his own sanity, Pappy said, "Little lady, this is your lucky day. That bell costs exactly two dollars and forty-seven cents."

Later that evening as Pappy prepared to close up shop, he found himself thinking about his bell. Already he had decided not to put up another one. He thought about the child and wondered if her grandpa like his gift. Surely he would cherish anything from such a precious grandchild.

At that moment, just as he was going to turn off the light in memory hall, Pappy thought he heard his bell. Again, he questioned his sanity; he turned toward the door, and there stood the little girl. She was ringing the bell and smiling sweetly.

Pappy was puzzled as he strolled toward the small child. "What's this, little lady? Have you changed your mind?"

"No," she grinned. "Momma says it's for you."

Before Pappy had time to say another word, the child's mother stepped into the doorway, and choking back a tear, she gently said, "Hello, Dad."

The little girl tugged on her grandpa's shirttail. "Here, Grandpa. Here's your hanky. Blow your nose."

Pappy didn’t know that he was the grandpa in question who was going to be the beneficiary of the little girl’s gift. Imagine, if he had remained adamant and refused to sell the clock to her? What message would he have passed across to her? What impression would he have imprinted on her heart? Imagine how he would have nullified all the good memories the girl had been nurturing about her grandpa? The Bible says, “Whenever you are able, do good to people who need help. If you have what your neighbor asks for, don’t say, “Come back later. I will give it to you tomorrow” (Proverbs 3:27-28, NCV).

Let us not restrain from doing good or withhold good from people, no matter the excuse, because what goes around usually comes around.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

Please share this with your loved ones. God bless you.

Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. - 1 Peter 5:7

One day an elderly man entered into a hospital. He was grumpy from being on medication and the nurses thought him to be insane as he yelled for his wife to get the apple basket. By the time they had checked him into his room the nurses were exhausted from the fight he put up.

"Sir you have to calm down.” They tried to explain. “We are doing everything we can for you."

"I don't need your help!" The grumpy man yelled. "I want my apple basket."

He finally slept. The nurses sighed with relief and talked among themselves whether they should call the hospital psychologist about the old man and his obsession with the apple basket.

As they talked and laughed about the situation the wife came in carrying the basket of apples. They looked kind of stunned as she asked if she could see her husband and deliver his basket. Sure, they agreed as they watched her slip past into his room.

Curiosity consumed them over the next few weeks as they tended to the elderly man. He was eaten with cancer and the doctors had given him no hope of survival. He turned out to be a very calm, happy man once he had his basket. His wife, they noticed, would come in with apples and go out with apples, and the curiosity grew even more until one nurse couldn't stand the suspense any longer.

One night, as he was nearing his end, the nurse sat in a chair by the wife. "May I ask why do you have that apple basket? I just don't understand the significance."

"I am an apple farmer by trade.” He sighed. “From the time I was 20 till the day I do die, I will forever have my apples." The nurse nodded thinking she understood. He just likes his work, she thought, assured now he was a little bit crazy.

As she started to leave, the old man asked her to sit down. "At age 20 I was saved; I accepted the Lord as my Saviour." Oh no, the nurse thought. Here comes the lecture on religion. The old man continued. "The day I accepted the Lord as my Saviour, I got this basket, and each time I had a problem or concern that I could not handle, I put an apple in the basket un-shined."

"Why?" the nurse said shaking her head.

"Because it reminded me to give those problems to the Lord for him to shine. See my basket now," he stated. "As my problems disappear so do the apples. As I get new problems, ones I cannot handle alone, I put an apple in."

The humble nurse looked into the basket...only one apple was there.

With that, he took a big breath and grabbed his wife by the hand and faded into eternal sleep. The wife paused for a moment and got up from her place to take from the basket the last remaining apple. She whispered in his ear that his reward awaits him in heaven.

The nurse stayed still and asked with tears in her eyes, "What do you think his riches will be?"

The wife knew what they were: eternal life with Jesus Christ. But she could see the concern and sadness upon the young nurse's face. She handed her the apple and said "the biggest apple pie you can imagine!"

That was the day the young nurse was saved, and from that day on she always had a basket by her bed.

The LORD urges us to cast all our cares and burdens upon Him, because He cares for us. Won’t you commit those cares to Him today? Nothing is bigger than Him; when you place your burdens side by side with God, everything else thaws in comparison to Him.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

Please share this with your loved ones. God bless you.

The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. - Psalm 78:9

The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever.

The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste.

To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer.

However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish. The frozen fish brought a lower price.

So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive.

Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish.

So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan? If you were consulting the fish industry, what would you recommend?

To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state. The fish are challenged!

Instead of avoiding challenges, jump into them. Beat the living daylight out of them. Enjoy the game.

If your challenges are too large or too numerous, do not give up. Failing makes you tired. Instead, reorganize. Find more determination, more knowledge, more help.

If you have met your goals, set some bigger goals. Once you meet your personal or family needs, move onto goals for your group, the society, even mankind.

Don't create success and lie in it. You have resources, skills and abilities to make a difference. Put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

Please share this with your loved ones. God bless you.

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. - Acts 10:38

The devil means no good for us at all. As recorded in the Scripture, his agenda, among other things, is to steal, to kill and to destroy humanity (John 10:10). By virtue of the fall in the Garden of Eden, humans gave the devil a foothold in their lives, thus availing him the legal stake to accuse us before God and trouble us.

In addition, the devil also takes great delight in oppressing us in various ways, in health, financially, emotionally, mentally, socially and the rest. But, God desires us to be free of the influence and torment of the devil; that was why He sent Jesus Christ to come and seize the power that humans surrendered to the devil, through disobedience, and restore same to us, alongside our dignity and rights as children of the Most High God.

The passage above says God anointed Jesus to do good everywhere as well as heal all those who were oppressed by the devil. The passage says “all who were oppressed by the devil”, not some of them. But they must first come to Jesus and accept His Lordship to be qualified for His healing and deliverance, plus other benefits He holds.

Do you feel oppressed, suppressed or restrained in any aspect of life? Jesus is the answer you need for your liberation. He is the ultimate deliverer. He is the boss of the devil. Having sacrificed His life on the cross to bear the sin of the world and descending to the pit to wrestle out of the devil’s hand the power handed over to him by humanity in the Garden; He has transferred the authority to His disciples; thus changing the balance of power to the believers’ side. You only need to look to Him to be healed and restored.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; - James 1:19

To be a good leader, you must be a good listener. Ever wonder why God spends greater part of His time listening to us? Listening is an effective influence tool. Every successful leader commands great followership because he yields himself to listening to those he leads. One mark of true leadership is when the people being led begin to hear their own voices in the words of their leader.

Every good listener may not be a leader, but every good leader must be a listener. To have a successful leadership experience, learning the listening aptitude would be an unavoidable success-factor. This is because listening enables you to expose yourself to positive input from others. It usually opens a leader to many options required for the creative thinking process. It is in the strengths and weaknesses of other people’s words that a good leader fashions his own wisdom. Apply speed in paying attention to other people’s words, but slowly and carefully respond to them [James 1:19, paraphrased].

Listening must become a habit for any result-oriented leader, whether he is leading a home, company, community, association, or state. This is so because, as a value, listening ability fosters shared thinking, while qualitative shared thinking bequeaths a listening leader with innovation, strength and maturity. A leader, who has developed the practice of effective listening stretches beyond the hurt of indictments and criticisms to understand the humanness of his critics, positions himself for synergy with his team an avails himself of resources hitherto unused.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. - Matthew 5:43-44

Some many of us want people around us to change their behaviours and attitudes in dealing with us. Often times, we are frustrated by their worsening mannerisms and their presence steals our own peace away. Well, maybe you can’t change anyone but you can determine how people around you affect you inner peace.

The foundation of a beneficial relationship is acceptance, and that goes without you pretending everyone is an angel. People are more likely to stay with you when they realize their personalities are safe with you without you having to crush them at the slightest provocation from them.

Most times when we admit others into our circle, we do so in our own terms. The toughest field of discrimination is right in our hearts. We write people off before we give them chance to prove they are worthy of our trust and friendship. Ironically, the way to improve yourself is to improve others. To improve others, you must deal with them in the light of their uniqueness.

Not even you want to change before being admitted into other people’s circles; why make such demand on others? Jesus illustrated this lesson with The Good Samaritan parable. Through his ministry, we find all sorts of people in his circle. Remember, the sinful Peter, the Gentile Woman, the Roman Captain, the Samaritan Woman, Zacchaeus the extortioner, the sanctimonious Nicodemus, and Geneserenean Lunatic, the list goes on. He admitted all of these people into His circle without making any demand on them.

 Opening the room for other people’s peculiarities paves a way for us to add various colours to ours and that takes care of boredom largely.
 Admitting people into our spheres, focusing on their peculiarities, switches on the knowledge portal to us. This is the route to an increasing quality of life.
 Acclimatizing to other people’s environment makes you less of a conflict-person and more of a peace-person.

These do not suggest that keeping personal principles in relationship is undesirable, as a matter of fact, it advocates it. However, there is a great need to learn the value of opening up your world for people to learn from it and vice versa. The fact is people are like climatic conditions, you don’t expect weathers to change for you, and you acclimatize to them. Otherwise, you would be denying yourself a well of peace.

To help people improve, you must see them in the light of their own uniqueness. Effective leadership is largely about listening.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

Saul called David’s attention to the natural things. David called Saul’s attention to the supernatural things [paraphrased]. - 1 Samuel 17:33-37

What we do not see are naturally bigger and more powerful than what we see. An oceanographer would tell you that the most populated part of the earth is the ocean. We don’t see this fact until we dive into the bottom of the sea. Do you know the buried part of an iceberg on water is usually hundred times bigger than the head we see above water? Ask a structural engineer and he would tell you that the foundation of a building is stronger than the whole bricks piled on it. We do not see the foundation while we usually admire the obvious building. We are often attracted by the unimportant.

You cannot afford to be too conscious of your physical development at the expense of inner growth. How much of the money you spend goes into investing in your inner person? Those things you do not see about you are what defines you. In other words, they are what determine your realities. Those people who succeed paid greater attention to what is going on inside them than what is happening around them.

Inner growth is a choice. John C. Maxwell says, “Growth is optional. You can choose to grow or fight it. But know this: people unwilling to grow will never reach their potential.” Investing attention in inner growth is a decision that can really make a difference in a person’s life. Taking a step towards inner growth would include consistently doing the following:

• Commit to healthy thinking for at least 30 minutes daily
• Regular reading of the Bible, useful magazines, dailies, books, and literatures in your career field.
• Improve the quality of your inner circle.
• Invest and attend meetings or conferences that focus on the kind of development you seek.
• Participate in social responsibility efforts (this helps you to contribute positively and it is a very vital nutrient to growing on the inside).
• Pray for divine help in your inner growth ambition.

This list may not be exhaustive, but they adequately represent a good starting point. They would not matter if you are not craving for quality inner life. No man ever feels successful by amassing only external successes. His fulfilment is in maturity, strength, and the wealth of his inner man.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go. – Genesis 27:13

A poorly dressed woman with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store. She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries.

She softly explained that her husband was unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food.

John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and ordered her to leave his store. Visualizing the family needs, she begged: "Please, sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can."

John told her he could not give her credit, as she did not have a charge account at his store.

Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told the grocer that he would stand good for whatever she needed for her family.

The grocer asked the woman in a very reluctant voice, "Do you have a grocery list?" Louise replied, "Yes sir."

"O.K." he said, "put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries!"

Louise, hesitated a moment with a bowed head. Then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still bowed.

The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down. The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, "I can't believe it."

The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance. So he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more. The grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement.

It was not a grocery list. It was a prayer which reads: "Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands".

The grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and stood in stunned silence. Louise thanked him and left the store.

The customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said, "It was worth every penny of it."

HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY!

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man who executes My counsel, from a far country. - Isaiah 46:11

An old black man lived alone in the country. He wanted to dig his yearly collard green garden, but it was always very hard work for him because the ground was hard. His only son, Junebug Jankins III, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament.

Dear Junebugg Jankins the III,
I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my collard green garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me.
Love.
Dad

A few days later he received a letter from his son:

Dear Daddy Jankins,
Whatever you do, don't dig up that garden. That's where I buried the BODIES!
Love.
Junebugg Jankins III

At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son:

Dear Daddy Jankins,
You can go ahead and plant the collard greens now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love.
Junebugg III

The moral of the story is that no matter where you are in the world, if you have decided to do something deep from your heart, you can always do it. Distance is not a good enough excuse not to fulfil your purpose, pursue your goals, execute your idea or make a difference in the life of somebody.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

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Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. - Ephesians 4:13

According to Chris Vaughn (Josh Wegel), “Life is a journey. Not so much to a destination but a transformation.” Sometimes our richest times are right in the midst of our hardest. Transformation is tough. We don’t often end up the person we think we will, but God has filled our lives with two great gifts: purpose and passion. We need to find what these are and use them to drive us through the rocky paths. Life is not about starting and finishing. It is about beginning and ending as a completely transformed man from the one who started it.

No man has ever thought of life as a place to get to and felt fulfilled getting there. A fulfilled life knows the wealth of life lies below the punches that often pretend to make life not worth living. But purpose puts us on a track we are pleased running, except you have not found it. And passion gives us the energy to keep running through the frost until the time is up. By this time, you are already leading other people who were afraid of stepping into their tracks.

A man of God once described the law of transformation as, “Whatever you admire is what you will likely become.” Men of purpose understand life as a journey to a transformation driven by purpose. They understand purpose, admire each of it that God has given them, and are transformed into it. For them, life is not a journey of start and finish. It is one of starting and finishing as the right man. The best part of the journey is that God has left you space to change the world. So you know He really wants you to be a hero.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

I applied my heart to know, to search and seek out wisdom and the reason for things. – Ecclesiastes 7:25

In the words of Friedrich Nietzsche, “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” The world has witnessed so many marvelling discoveries. Thanks to our class of relentless scientists. Those discoveries open the planet and its sister galaxies to us in enormous grandeur. But no discovery is ever greater than that of SELF. No other discovery would be made if man did not first find out himself.

Our world is at the mercy of our knowing our purposes, without which it is lost in the wood. Do you know that the greatest treasure land in the whole world is the grave? It is not because some ancient treasures were hidden there, but because so many people died without discovering their purposes. More people are still dying treasure-filled.
It is not wise to take riches as proof of a successful life, like so many of us presently do. Many others in time past have pursued material wealth than the purpose of their lives. It was only on the death bed that the truth stared at them like a mirror, when they finally realized that all along what they wanted was not the riches they gunned for but fulfilment of life, which can only be earned in discovering and living for your purpose.

The difference between your ambition and your purpose are their goals. Your ambition seeks to deliver pleasure to you, but your purpose delivers pleasure to others, others you may have or not have encountered. This is the larger-than-life blessing of purpose to a man of purpose.

So, how can I discover my purpose? I would say, SIMPLE! It is the same way you discover the use of a device by studying the product manual or enquiring from the manufacturer. You would need to ask God, at least if He is your maker, and study the manual He’s given us all, the Bible.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

Faith without works is dead... - James 2:24

To take the first step in faith you don’t have to see the whole staircase just take the first step. - Dr. Martin Luther king Jr.

The reason a lot of people do not have success stories is not because they are failures but as a result of their inabilities to translate their ideas and dreams into a realizable entity. This involves doing something about them.

Action is the life substance of faith. The only reason we still recognize faith as an element of creation in our sphere of the universe is because there are men and women who make moves. These people do not just talk about what they want to achieve or what they believe is possible to them, they concretize their beliefs and engineer them to go around. They do the little little actions that talkers consider insignificant and gradually advance towards the vision of what they see. As you remember, the Bible says; Faith without works is dead... (James 2:24, KJV).

Opportunities to give lives to our ideas mostly cross our ways everyday in forms of trivial actions or occasions. Every opportunity seized is movement towards realizing your dreams. No one, who waits to view a clear road before a journey, ever embarks on it. Driving teaches us that the way to getting to your destination is to take every mile per hour. One of the greatest characters a young man or woman must have is the ability to start his or her dream from where he or she is, because waiting is a close kin of Goddot.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. - Acts 10:38

There are two missions of Jesus captured above: doing good and healing those oppressed by the devil. Our meditation today will be focused on the first one.

No doubt, if one was to describe the life of Jesus Christ, based on all our meditations in the past few months about His purpose and mission on earth, benevolence is an apt word to sum up His personality and activities. The intensity of His engagements with people and the effects He had on their lives when He was physically present were phenomenon; and even more mind-blowing were the impacts He has had on a daily basis on the lives of innumerable people across different ages and climes even after His departure from earth 1,983 years ago till date.

The interesting thing about His good works is that they are not static or one-off. The Bible says He “went about doing” them. That means He did not discriminate where His benevolence would be focused; His acts of kindness were without bias and were extended to the Jews, the Samaritans, the Greeks, the Romans, the Syro-Phoenicians, and other nationalities. He taught them, healed them, delivered them, fed them, raised their dead, and restored their sights, among others.

His good work was also not a one-off, as He continued to minister to people day and night even at personal inconveniences, such that when He was urged to eat at one time, He said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34).

The charge to do good is a universal calling. Jesus only came to show us how best to do it. Through His personal examples, He modelled to us the right spirit with which to do it as well as the commitment, the passion, the focus, the compassion, and the consistency needed to make an appreciable impact.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. - Acts 5:31

Jesus, having completed His assignments on earth, was exalted and placed on the highest pedestal in heaven - the right hand of God. He was also entrusted with all power to do and undo in heaven and on earth. That power includes the ability to give repentance and forgiveness.

Sin of any kind puts one in bondage; thus inhibiting the performance and sabotaging the efforts of the sinner, making a hardworking individual look lazy and a smart person stupid. This is so because sin shields the sinner from God and the X factor that adds favour to labour.

Living with guilt-consciousness also hinders productivity and deflates joy. It robs the mind of the mental state needed to integrate socially. Sin and guilt can defeat the purpose of one’s life. That is the reason God gave Jesus the power to set humans free from the bondage of guilt and sin by offering repentance, on one hand, and forgiveness on the other.

It is an indescribable experience to live without the weight of guilt and sin. It frees you up to be all that God created you to be. It offers the peace of mind needed for creativity, productivity and achievements. Jesus is empowered to give us that experience.

Jesus is the One God has entrusted with the power to give repentance and forgiveness of sins. But He has also ceded some of the power to His followers while commissioning them to go preach the gospel, which will lead the hearers to repentance. He also said, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; and if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:23).

In fulfilling the great commission of ministering Jesus to sinners, you are partnering with Him in offering them repentance and another chance; and by forgiving those who have hurt or offended you, you are demonstrating the divine power to release a fellow human, so that he can fulfil his/her destiny.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. - Proverbs 11:24

There was a farmer who grew superior quality and award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair, where it won honour and prizes.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learnt something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbours.

"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.

"Why sir" said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbours grow inferior, sub-standard and poor quality corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbours grow good corn."

The farmer gave a superb insight into the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbour's corn also improves. So it is in the other dimensions of life! Those who choose to be at harmony must help their neighbours and colleagues to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well.

The value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. Success does not happen in isolation. It is very often a participative and collective process. So share the good practices, ideas, new learning with your family, friends, team members and neighbours.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com

- Author Unknown

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. - Romans 8:28

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!" he cried.

Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" the weary man asked his rescuers.

"We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

It is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad. But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground - it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God. When hope gets intercepted, He is in control over broken hopes.

What looks as a burning hut to you may be God’s signal to bring help, favour or blessing your way. What you consider a wreck may be God’s work to launch you from where you are to where you ought to be. God is always at work in your life, and though you may not see the physical evidence of His work, you need to trust that He has your best interest at heart in all He is doing. Therefore, your attitude should be appreciative rather than apprehensive, gratitude and not complaining. He’s got your back.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Daily Dew is published by Sons of Issachar Concepts. To subscribe by email or read previous editions, visit www.daily-dew.com