Promise

7 Lessons From The Sons of The Prophets.

Elisha carried a double portion of Elijah’s anointing. He seemed to be involved in every miracle mentioned. However, in a rare moment of scintillating brilliance, the much less heralded sons of the prophets took the limelight in the opening verses of II Kings 6. Their actions are practical and applicable to our everyday living. The 7 lessons are:

1. Don’t be comfortable with your shortcomings: The sons of the prophets found themselves in a tight corner. Literally speaking. They were quite happy to be wining and dining at the feet of Elisha. But they didn’t allow that opportunity to blind their minds to the harrowing problem of limited resources of space they were all facing with Elisha.

2. Speak out: The sons of the prophets spoke their minds out. They didn’t cower in the presence of organized and recognized authority. They weren’t murmuring and grumbling in the background. They presented their thoughts in an orderly and respectful manner.

3. Think Big: The sons of the prophets were not scared of an avant-garde thinking. It is never a sin to think big. You see, it’s only when one thinks big that he’d get big things out of life. The sons of prophets were not afraid of embarking on a large-scale project.

4. Do not procrastinate: It’s nice to have good intentions, but it doesn’t stop there. The sons of the prophets desired to move out of the tight corner they found themselves in. They didn’t wait for good weather conditions. Or when the mood was perfect. They acted immediately.

5. Be willing to progress: The sons of the prophets had identified the problem of limited space. They were ready and had the right mindset to ensure the status quo changed.

6. Plan: The sons of the prophets laid up strategies that would help them attain their goals. They had a good idea of the land to build on. They knew how to get the human and material resources for their assignment. They didn’t have a haphazard approact towards their set goal.

7. Don’t forget the God-Factor: The sons of prophets didn’t assume that their plans, strategies and feasibility studies would get the job done for them. They didn’t think they could do it all. They understood the role God plays in our endeavours. They wisely implored Elisha, whose life oozed with God’s presence, to go with them. And they didn’t regret it.

These very practical lessons would spark a sporadic turnaround in your life. Please pass the knowledge on. Cheers!

THE PLATINUM GIFT FEATURED ARTICLE: ‘Our Days Are Unique Gifts’ – By Natalie Scarberry

‘May you arise each day with a
voice of blessing whispering in your heart
May you find harmony between
your soul and your life
May the mansion of your soul
never become a haunted place
May you know the eternal
longing that lies at the heart of time
May there be kindness in your
gate when you look within’
~ Edited compilation of Blessings by John O’ Donohue.

Our days are unique gifts, new creations of God’s ageless story, and in them is the perennial promise of resurrection. Of the 24 hours in each day, a garden in the early morning is one of the most magical places. While birds call to one another, and bees busily work, ‘fairies’ bless the flowers and sprinkle them with dew. As a result, plants glisten in the first dappled rays of light, while sweet aromas rise from the soil not yet blistered by the sun.

A new day is a blank slate that waits for the mark of each and every one of us. Upon the slate, we have the opportunity to record acts of kindness, deeds of grace, words of truth, utterances of beauty, and thoughts of joy. In order to make the slate worthy of the gift and the Giver, we must keep our eyes wide open so we don’t miss the beauty, the joy and the wonder in our Father’s world. We must be fully awake and aware of the world and the people around us. They are there for a reason. We must remember it is a priviledge to perform daily prayers and an honour to do what should be done in accomplishing God’s will. Finally, we must ”sing, sing, sing and make music with the Heavens” for it is right to come into His courts with singing and words of praise on our lips.

Listen, O Heavens, and I will speak; hear, O Earth, the words of my mouth. Let my teachings fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants. I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!

*Feel free to check Natalie Scarberry’s great blog here:
www.sacredtouches.com

Don’t Just Charge, Change!

Probably, you’ve heard a teaching or piece of information that tingles your ears and excites your very being. For the next few hours (or days, if you are lucky), you can’t contain yourself. You blow fire and brimstone. You think you’re ready to explode…

But you don’t. Instead, you implode!

So, your excitement drops back to sub-threshold levels. The energy’s gone and your ensuing coldness makes you cool with everything. You aren’t passionate anymore. You’re merely going through the motions…

Then you hear another one. And this one excites you. You are ready. Ready to start the cycle again. And again. And again.

See, you can get all charged up all you want. But if it isn’t backed up with the desire to change, it becomes as the creaking of an old rusty gate. Trust me.

Yes, you pray and read the Bible. And you’re excited when you do this. But don’t you know it is possible to continually abide in that state? Or even make the quantum leap to the next level of change on the spiritual ladder? This has happened to people before and it is still happening. Charging up isn’t the end of the matter. Change is.

What of an eye-opener regarding your career or life? You’ve heard it before. You’re hearing a similar one again. The good intentions are flowing all around you. Don’t let it stop there. Step forward and do something different than just charging up and running down.

Enough with the sinusodial lifestyle! Stop flunctuating between levels of excitement and those of cold indifference. Instead, let each excitement level be the springboard to the next stage of your journey to destiny. Don’t just charge.
Change!

Sowing In Tears

Life throws things that seem to buffet us all around. We find ourselves pushed to the the wall. We get frustrated. At ourselves. At people who surround us. At the circumstances. At God.

In instances like this, it seems God isn’t interested in us. So, we cry and cry. And cry some more.

Read this exerpt:

‘They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weeping, bearing precious seeds, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him’
– Psalm 126 vs 5 & 6.

Note that the secret in the joy at the end isn’t a function of the tears shared. No, joy is as a result of sowing. Yes, sowing is painful. It’d never be convinient. You’d even be tempted to eat your seed. But I say to you, when you sow, you’d definitely reap in joy!

Are you going through a hard time now? It wouldn’t last forever. In fact, it’s just an opportunity to invest in your next windfall of blessings. Don’t just cry. Sow. Sow seeds of prayer. Sow seeds of time. Sow seeds of love. Sow seeds of money. Just sow. Remember, if you sow tears, you’d reap tares. Sow something worthwhile. It’s well.

The Platinum Gift: Send Your Write-ups For Posting!

It’s more blessed to give than to receive. And as part of my birthday celebrations, I’d be giving back to my readers in my little way.

Starting from now, I’d be collecting write-ups for posting on this blog from as many that have something beneficial to share via this platform.

You can send your write-ups (not more than 500 words) and your name through:

A message to me on facebook at Promise ‘le Platine’ Tewogbola
OR
A direct message to my twitter handle @IamLePlatine
OR
An email to platinumdonmccoy@gmail.com

Please note that the duration of this gift would be dependent on the feedback I’m getting.

Thanks and God bless.

Number Of The Day: 21, aka ‘It’s Platinum Day Again, Folks!’

Yay! Today is my birthday!
And I just felt I should use this post to appreciate God for all He has done for me.
For His gift of life, favour, grace, mercy and peace.
For the family, friends and loved ones He’s surrounded me with, in His infinite mercies.
For the talents, spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality and experiences He has lovingly used to SHAPE me into who I am today.
For how far He’s brought me.
For where I am presently.
For the gloriously purposeful and fruitful future He has in store for me.
To Him be all the glory, all the honour, all the adoration, and all the praise!

‘Ember To Remember

My good friend Lola runs a great blog here:
www.belifteddotme.wordpress.com

She recently completed a series of great posts bearing ‘Ember To Remember. I’ve asked to ‘borrow’ this title and she graciously replied in the affirmative. So, there shouldn’t be any copyright issues, eh? Alright, I’m just kidding!

On this topic, Lola was mentioning a lot of things to be thankful for, especially during the last four months of the year. I’m also going to arrive at that same direction, though I’d be taking a slightly different route.

In my post, ‘Praising the devil’, I mentioned that Africans are the most religious people in the world. I also mentioned that Nigerians are the most religious Africans and Yorubas the most religious Nigerians. You see, in most societies, the last trimester of a year are the most enjoyable ones. You start making preparations for Christmas and the turn of the year, isn’t it? Not so with the Yorubas. They call the months in the last trimester of the year the ‘BA-BA-BA’ months. Shocking, eh? Well, according to their mentality, they expect this period to be one earmarked with a lot of misforturnes in the form of accidents and deaths. And because they expect these things, they do happen! Mostly due to man’s activities.

God is not the architect of a seasonal oubreak of evil. No! What actually happens can be explained as follows:

Towards the year’s end, it’s normal for people to want to share the festive periods with families and loved ones. As a result, there’s a lot of travelling during these periods. The transportation industry, especially road transport, sees this as big business. The players in this industry then calculate that they can make even more money if they can make more trips in a day. So, they travel at supersonic speeds. In addition to that however, as a result of corrupt leadership, very few good roads even exist. And consequently, a combinations of factors lead to accident and deaths.

But, I want to submit to you that it doesn’t have to be this way. God isn’t wicked. He’s a loving and caring Personality. He wouldn’t let His sun to shine on His people throughout the year only to prepare a season for accidents at the end of the year. Many have remembered this season as a result of the pain that a loss of a loved one has brought to them. This isn’t God’s perfect will for His own. His business with us is life. Abundant one at that! But should that be an excuse for reckless living? God forbid.

It’s God’s joy when we remember this season as one that brings to us love, fruitfulness, happiness and the good things of life. See to it, then, that you live life circumspectly with a due sense of responsibility. Truly, only then would it be an ‘Ember to Remember.

Sleepless Achievers: A Poem

Day unto day utters the speech received
from knowledge embedded in shadows of the night.

The valley is crowded like a sealed container of sardines
while there’s ample space on top of the mountain above all
The simply ordinary ones don’t know
or, rather won’t know,
so, they toss and turn,
receiving instant gratification, making
the rewards of the bed their own.

On the other hand, the sleepless
take their destinies into their hands and
violently press themselves into selection where it counts.

Generally, men sleep
and his enemy sows tares into their land
Yet, he gets into the land of the sleepless generals and can only
roar from a distance at the vigilantly sober.

The Father neither dozes nor slumbers and
His children follow His steps in the dark
as He leads them in a triumphant procession,
to the wide and spacious land only daylight reveals.

Life In Its Simplicity

To me, I’d say that a life lived in simplicity is one that the Holy Spirit controls from the most basic issues to the most crucial life-defining ones.

God talks to us all. In simple ways like dreams and visions and by nature. Still others get direction from The Word and their consciences. Some even hear an audible voice. The important thing is that God directs His people, regardless of the medium used. And yielding to His direction is The Way to The Simple Life.

A life lived in simplicity is one lived in peace. This is because there is a sense of purpose and direction in such an individual’s life. The person’s life is organized and well-orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. Such a life is never cumbersome because only the necessary and important things are done. Indeed, as a result, even unnecessary good habits are dropped if they are not important. Life becomes so simple that no decision is too trivial for the Spirit to decide. All decisions are met with either a ‘Yes’, a ‘No’ or a ‘Not Yet’.

Friend, we’ve been invited to live our lives in the simplicity of the Spirit. In that way, we can cast our cares and worries and troubles on His broad shoulders because they don’t belong to us anymore.

I leave you with this peculiar translation of a popular verse in the Bible:

‘Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you’
– Jesus (Matthew 11:28-29 The Message)

To The Pessimistic Ones

Pessimism is the uncanny ability to expect and see the worst in everything. In one of my earliest posts (Check out ‘Words Onwards’ on this blog), I mentioned that confusion, fear and its adherent complications arise from a thought. Many fail to see the tremendous amount of latent potential energy that is lying in a thought.
Our thoughts define our emotions.
Our emotions define our actions.
Our actions define our behaviours.
Our behaviours define our characters.
Our characters define our values.
Our values determine what we get out of life.
Take a look down the chain I just elaborated and you’d find that what we get out of life originates from our thoughts.

A positive thought doesn’t consume more willpower than is required for a negative thnught. Why then do pessimists afford themselves the luxury of dwelling on bad thoughts? After all, it’s the same effort it takes to have either a positively beneficial thought or a negatively harmful one.

Renew your mind and consciously make an effort to screen what you think about. Personally, I’m not up there just yet. I believe God would strengthen us all.