Enduring Pain

 

Don’t try to run away from the crisis in your life.

 

Job was a man of great faith. When he was prosperous, he stayed faithful to God. When he lost everything, he remained faithful. And as Job held on, he couldn’t figure out why he was surrounded by tragedies. Unknown to Job, it was only a test.

Maybe you are also overwhelmed. As we’ve seen in the case of Job, even if you are determined to do God’s will, you will be tested.

Recall what Christ said, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Crises are inevitable. But in Christ, we are overcomers (John 16:33).

 

Written by Ben Dankaka

The Dark Side

We cannot experience light until we’ve been through the dark alley of life.

 

We’ve been taught that leaders ought to exude light, because Christ Himself said we are the light of the world. While light is a symbol of good, darkness is perceived as a depiction of evil.

But in reality, darkness also plays an important role because we cannot experience light until we’ve been through the dark alley of life.

Before God created light in the Book of Genesis, He had to first of all, meet the darkness that hovered on the surface of the deep (Genesis 1:1-3). Isn’t it interesting that Jesus had to go through hell before He redeemed us?  Stay strong!

 

Written by Ben Dankaka

Stay Strong!

 God will move you from where you’ve been to the place you ought to be.

Don’t blame yourself for every crisis. A crisis might come through no fault of yours. While crises can be painful, they have benefits. No one goes through a crisis without growing because God can move you from where you’ve been to the place He wants you to be.

Perhaps, the crisis in your life is designed to bring you closer to God.

One time, David said, “It was good for me to be afflicted, so that I might learn your decrees” (Psalm 119:71). If David hadn’t experienced calamities, he wouldn’t have been close to God. Stay strong!

 

Written by Ben Dankaka

God's Will

Knowing what the Bible teaches doesn’t make you a doer of God’s will.

 

By Ben Dankaka

Not many people know what it means to do God’s will. Generally, God’s will simply means, what God expects from us. But to discover what God requires of us, we need to study the Bible. The will of God is, therefore, not found in ANY other book. So one of the reasons why many people do not know God’s will is because they do not read the Bible. At the same time, one can read the Bible and yet fail to do God’s will. Knowing what the Bible teaches doesn’t make you a doer of God’s will.

Honor God - Part 2

 

Putting God first is the key to success in every endeavor.

 By Ben Dankaka

Just as God ejected the mighty kingdoms and gave their lands to Israel, He also ejected the Israelites from their land after they followed the evil ways of other nations. Know that God isn’t partial. He didn’t eject other nations and gave their lands to Israel because He wanted to please the Israelites. One time, Moses to the Israelites said, “It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations….” The word, “wickedness” in the context of that statement implies idolatry.

Honor God - Part 1

Never lead with the mentality that the buck ends with you.

 

By Ben Dankaka

The Scriptures say that God struck down great kings and gave their land to his servant, Israel. Why would God take what belongs to a person and give it to another person? The Bible teaches that the reason why God expelled other nations and gave their kingdoms to the Israelites was because of their abominable ways. Because they served idols and defiled their lands through evil practices, God displaced them. As leaders, it is important for us to recognize that God is the “Boss of all bosses.” Never lead with the mentality that the buck ends with you.

Perfect Victory

 

If you are trying to win your own battles without God, you might end up with scars.

 

By Ben Dankaka

Life can overwhelm us with challenges that may seem impossible to overcome. But while you can overcome certain challenges with will power, some of our problems cannot be solved by human effort. One day Jesus was confronted by a man possessed by a demon. As soon as the evil spirit recognized Jesus, it shrieked. To shut the demon, Jesus commanded it to come out of the man. Interestingly, even though the evil spirit flung the man, it came out without injuring him. In other words, the man was delivered without wounds.

How to Change the World

 

To change the world, serve people with your gift.

 

By Ben Dankaka

Jesus often had crowds following Him wherever He went. One time, He withdrew with his disciples to a lake. Then a large crowd from Galilee and from many other regions followed Him. These people weren’t invited. They decided to follow Jesus “when they heard all he was doing” (Mark 3:8). That is, if they had not heard what He was doing, they wouldn’t have bothered to follow Him. Most likely, Jesus wasn’t followed by crowds until He launched His ministry. Prior to that time, the Bible didn’t give any account of crowds following Jesus. But when He began to preach and perform mighty miracles, the crowds showed up.

How to Create

You need knowledge in order to create anything.

 

By Ben Dankaka 

One of the principles of success is creativity. Hardly is there any career leader who doesn’t depend on creativity. Creativity is not only required in the arts but in every business. Even if you are into retailing, you will need to be creative. Former richest man in America, Sam Walton, and founder of Wal-Mart Stores used a creative business formula that most retailers ignore. He bought a wide variety of products in bulk across his network of stores so he could pass savings on to his customers. As a result, people flocked to his stores.

That Hidden Message

Unseal the hidden message in you.

 By Ben Dankaka

Jesus said, “For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought to the open”. What Christ said is exactly what the senders of the mails do. The senders of mails hide their message inside an envelope and like Jesus said, the hidden message is meant to be disclosed. Whatever they concealed inside the envelope is not intended to remain hidden, but similar to what Jesus said, it is to be brought to the open. Now Jesus was, in fact speaking about the messages He had been depositing in the minds His disciples.

Stay on Track

Realize that not every solution is appropriate.

 

By Ben Dankaka

While evangelizing, Paul and Silas were arrested. However, a miracle happened as they were in prison. The normal thing to do was to rush out of the prison cell, assuming it was God’s will. Instead, they ignored the freedom but, took advantage of the opportunity to gain new converts. In the end, their patience paid off as they were released by the magistrates, the next day. One interesting thing about this story is the way they stayed faithful to their cause in the middle of a crisis.

Good versus Right

To select the right thing from a group of choices that equally seem to be good isn’t an easy thing to do.

 

By Ben Dankaka

To select the right thing from a group of choices that equally seem to be good is not as easy as picking a good thing out of a cluster of bad things. For instance, when David got the chance to kill Saul; his associate suggested they should kill Saul. That seemed like a good thing because Saul had been trying to kill David. But David realized that the right thing to do was not to lay a hand on Saul because he was God’s anointed. But

Set the RIGHT Goal

 

Many people fail in life, not because they didn’t set goals but for the reason that they set the wrong goals.

By Ben Dankaka 

Over the years, I have learned that achieving goals do not guarantee success. There are times you may set goals and then succeed in realizing them, but just as you are about to celebrate, you may suddenly discover the goals shouldn’t have been set in the first place. The scripture says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Many people fail in life, not because they didn’t set goals but for the reason that they set the wrong goals. So they spend their entire lives pursuing the wrong. They never realize their mistakes until they get to the end.

The Sweetest Revenge

 

Focus on dealing with the problem and allow God to deal with the enemy.

 

By Ben Dankaka 

There’s a saying that "revenge is a dish best served cold". This statement implies that revenge is more fulfilling when it’s carried out at an unexpected time. This is true but to take revenge against your enemy is wrong, and the Bible condemns it.  In his letter to the Romans, Paul warns us “not to take revenge”, but “leave room for God’s wrath” (Romans 12:19). That is, we are expected to leave vengeance for God because whoever troubles us is actually fighting God, not us. Therefore, those who take revenge against their enemies are guilty of fighting God’s battles. Allow God to deal with the enemy.

Move on!

Commit to focusing on what you can change, rather than what has already happened.

 

By Ben Dankaka

As Peter shared his testimonies with the Church, He said, “Tell James and the brothers about this,” and then he left for another place. The scriptures didn’t tell us where he headed to, but we know that Peter moved on. In other words, Peter didn’t remain at the place where he was persecuted. That is, he didn’t even to hold on to his past troubles and successes. Peter didn’t even spend a single night in the city. Obviously, the main thing on Peter’s mind was how to further his work of spreading the gospel of the Kingdom. So he quickly moved out of the city.