Iron Sharpeth Iron

The illiterate 17 year old brick layer was excited

The famous preacher was coming to town

He listened to him say he was made in the image and likeness of god

Gen 1:26-28 CJB

26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, in the likeness of ourselves; and let them rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the animals, and over all the earth, and over every crawling creature that crawls on the earth.”

27 So God created humankind in his own image;

In the image of God he created him:

Male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them: God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth.”

Strange he thought, he was always told

He was mentally deficient

And coming from a broken home didn't help much

He was out of school at the age of ten

Laying bricks for a living

When he looked around at other kids

It was always with awe they were the heavenly beings

He was this low inferior mortal

That day something in him changed when he came to know he was created in the image of God almighty 

He had the wisdom of god, the creativity of god

And the character of God and God wanted man to be fruitful.

 Fruitful he will be he decided. He pulled out an old dictionary he had bought and slowly tried to learn word to word

He used to see a young girl from Pastor John’s family watering the plants every evening

He felt she looked kind enough to teach him to read

She agreed and everyday he used to go to her to learn

She laughed when he told her his dream to become a millionaire in ten years

"How will you do that you barely know how to read”, she laughed and said

"I am going to study the lives of great men who lived

I am sure many of them came from broken and poor homes like me",

"Good luck to you, please do visit me when you do”, she said laughing out loud.

The Johns moved out of the neighborhood,

Poverty had struck them  ever since the Pastor died.

Elizabeth the young girl had grown up to be a beautiful young woman

She was taking care of her sick mother with her small salary.

One day a rich young man came to see them.

He went straight to her mother said

"Would you be interested to give your daughter to this humble brick layer?

"Daniel!, Elizabeth screeched you made it to a millionaire  …I see,"

"Thanks to you, I leant not only to read but to establish a worldwide business as well

Yes...now I have come to ask you to marry me!!!!

Proverbs 27:17 CJB

Just as Iron sharpens Iron

A person sharpens the character of his friend.

The Promised Land

The three slaves stood in a line trembling with fear

Their master had called for them

And they were wondering what they had done wrong now.

“I am giving you an opportunity of a lifetime

Return to me at this same time next year

Multiplying the gold I will give you.

Remember if you return with gold less than what I give

You will have to answer for the loss with your very lives”, he said.

To one he gave ten, the other five and the last of the three just one.

The minute he turned his back

The slaves discussed between themselves

Two of them agreed to start off on a journey immediately

While the third one decided to stay home

He kept the gold coin safe by digging into the ground.

Meanwhile the other two got into a deep discussion with the men at the

 Harbour

“The fastest way to double your money is go to where the pygmies are

The land is rich with untapped natural resources and opportunities

If you can overcome the pygmies you can become the king of that land “ they said

One of the slaves decided it was beyond him to go there so he decide to buy things at the port and sell it at the close by villages

The two slaves decided to meet at the same time next fall at their master's house.

The brave slave got off at the port closest to the forest where the pygmies lived.

As he kept walking he kept praying quoting the scriptures from

Deuteronomy 1:21-23 King James Version (KJV)

21 Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.

Numbers 13:30 King James Version (KJV)

30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.

“Here I m Lord completely at your mercy, show me your favour by giving this land to me “ he prayed.

As he penetrated into the deep jungle and as he expected 

He felt spears shooting all around him and he was blindfolded and brought before the chief of the pygmies.

When they removed the blindfold he could see half naked men with long hair, carrying spears.

His heart fainted within him “Unto your hands Oh Lord I submit my spirit.” he closed his eyes and mumbled under his breath expecting to die any minute.

But he was surprised to hear excited voices and felt the pygmies examining his clothes.

A thought suddenly struck him and he pulled out the ten gold coins from his pocket 

The chief eyes gleamed while felt the coins caressing them gently in his palms...and using his hands, the slave communicated to them there was more of this sun where he came from

They kept him tied up in a corner all through the night he could hear excitement and loud voices

When he woke up in the morning it was only to the sound of birds and the rustling of leaves

They all had left, tribes of pygmies had gone chasing after pieces of sun!!

He managed to free himself and he then knelt down and worshipped Adonai, thanks for hearing this poor slave’s prayer”. He wept.

He went on single handedly working on the island making it an enterprising nation with the support of the people he brought in from far away villages.

A year later at the beginning of autumn they was a warm welcome to the slaves 

One had become a king of a whole island and the other a successful businessmen.

The master was thrilled he called the third slave who had refused to take risks and sat in his comfort zone. satisfied with the little he had got.

“Give your gold to him who is now a king and go and work for him. Learn how he used his god given wisdom to multiply so splendidly the little wealth I had given him.

King James Bible Mathew 13:12
for whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

The Laws of God

Looking across the room

Andrew watched his two year old son clinging to his new “daddy”,

His wife looked radiant like she had just won a trophy.

He walked out of the courtroom broken and shattered.

In just over a minute his entire universe had come crashing down.

Rivers of pain poured swiftly across his chest

The thumping in his heart was getting louder by the minute

He clutched his heart wondering whether he was experiencing a heart attack

“How can I continue to be a preacher when my own life is in shreds Lord, I just lost my family”, he cried.

At that moment he felt the Holy Spirit say “My love is 

Enough to sustain you, 

To fill you,

To keep you going on the purpose God has set for you.” 

“What will I speak on lord?

I am just a homeless preacher with no money.”

“You will speak out the words I put you in your mouth.

 Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. Jeremiah 1:9 KJV

 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: Hosea 4:6 (KJV)

Teach them my laws”.

Psalm 78:1 KJV “Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth”

He started exhorting the people with fresh conviction and anointing

“Follow His laws so it will be well with you, your family and your home” he spoke out in vigour

Deuteronomy (KJV) 28 ² and all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.”

"Mr. Andrew, the reporter asked, what is the secret behind from being a homeless, penniless, divorced, preacher a couple of years ago to a billionaire businessman, teacher and mentor with a beautiful family in such a short span of time.?"

Mr. Andrew nodded removing the strand of hair from his young daughter’s face.

“The laws of God are different from the love of God. Follow his laws, prosperity starts following you ", he replied with a twinkle in his eyes

The Decision

Ebenezer wandered around aimlessly

Replaying the nagging words of his wife in his mind

“Why can’t I break free from all the debts which our trailing me.”

He kept telling himself over and over again.

Pushing his huge frame forward

His eyes fell upon the vast ground inside an old dilapidated church.

Then he looked at the young men whiling away their time uselessly in front of it.

“I pity those losers one day they will land up like me

 Stupid and  broke.” He thought.

As he kept walking he read a huge signboard 

The words "Your decisions decide your  wealth"- Dr Mike Murdoch struck him right in the eyes.

“Really, if that’s what it takes to make a change I want to see these vagabonds not turn up like me “,he said.

He walked in met Father Peter who was surprised to see the old recluse

He was even more surprised when he spoke of his idea to keep the youth out of the streets.

He agreed to his plans'

The next day his wife found him dressed before dawn a spring in his step

His sold the few earthly treasures he had and he went to the ground next day.

He started early morning and started clearing out the debris in the woods.

Days went by the aimless youth gathered around the wall and watched 

Ebenezer on his knees creating a ground complete with tracks, football and basketball fields.

Excitement buzzed in the entire village

The old and the young came forward with the little bit they had to make the sports centre a centre of excellence.

Then the learned and wealthy proposed to start academics training to   teach the young people life skills and knowledge to live successful lives.

By the year end the University named after Ebenezer was birthed.

They elected the loser old Ebenezer as its chairman.

Yes a  decision by him to create a better world for the generation after him gave him wealth , status and power as it is written in Proverbs 13:22 CJB A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children:

The Latter Rain

The fifty year old refugee

Made his way in the rain.

The puddles in the road filled his shoes with water

It was months since he had been searching for a job in a strange land

So far away from home.

Nothing could stop him to return home not even the rain

He kept praying 

“Let this be rains  of the latter rains, father,

Let this be rains of abundance cancelling the curse of poverty in my life,

Let my journey in this land bear fruit o lord God Almighty,

Remove  every reproach from my life.

Help me master”. He prayed...

The incessant rain forced him to take shelter at an elder couple's home

They welcomed the wet stranger into their humble home with a cup of tea

Upon hearing his heart breaking story. The old lady shared the word from Joel 2:23-26

King James Version (KJV)

23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he  hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.

The old man wrote a letter handed it to the poor stranger.

Meet him the man whose name is in the envelope 

He will be able to help you. 

The man went the next day hoping his days of poverty are over forever.

The man whose name was written on the envelope turned out to be a rich powerful man in the city with many business establishments

Upon reading the letter “I have been looking for an able manager for a long time Mr. Amos my business mentor seems to think you are the right person, I will honour him by going with his suggestion.

”“Welcome sir let me show you to your new office”!

The man turned and looked heavenward and whispered “thank you father for the breakthrough,

The latter rain has surely fallen in my life.”

The Desert Man

Yusuf had only one aim 

A burning desire

To give his people a better life in the blazing desert

One day when he went looking for pearls in the deep sea 

He met the white man who had arrived in the big boat.

The man parted goodbye by giving him the book of life

Yusuf spent days studying it in his tent

He came across this verse

Isaiah 41:18 CJB

I will open up rivers on the barren hills and wells down in the broad valleys. I will turn the desert into a lake and dry ground into springs.

He meditated upon those words day and night

“Lord if what you say is true show me how to turn this desert into springs of water”.he prayed day and night.

He kept having dreams to dig deep into the scotching sand

Bearing the ridicule of the community he kept digging

His hard work found bitumen rocks lacing the entire region beneath the sand

Something told him to keep digging way below the rocks 

After a month of digging his hands struck fresh flowing water beneath the rocks 

The joy of the community knew no bounds as they reached out to help him draw the water out

In the midst of the celebration he had a visitor 

It was none other than his friend from the boat

Who spoke to him in great excitement.

They had discovered oil in the depths of the ocean

His gleaming eyes looked searchingly till it rested on the book.Since then he never stopped reading, believing, building....the city rocks on...

In all splendour and glitter all because one man believed there is power in the book of life.

The Twisted Path

The path looked anything but straight

The journey was rocked with delays problems and tons of trouble.  

Darkness had enveloped the path

Every day Rosalind had to ask herself the same question

Should I go straight left or right?

Doubts followed her like a shadow

Negatives Voices filled her ears

“You are following a wasted path

A journey which leads nowhere” 

She would retort to the voices

Isaiah 42:16 CJB And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

On and on she went confused lost and worn

“Aren’t you tired you have been in this wilderness for so long?”

Isaiah 40:31 CJB

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

“Why do you do this aren’t you safe comfortable at home ?” many would ask her.

"To reach my destiny is to fulfil my purpose

To fulfil my purpose is to live a fulfilled life 

To live a fulfilled life is to have no regrets

To have no regrets is to follow your heart

To follow your heart is to follow the twisted path

To follow the twisted path is to follow God

To follow God is to follow his word 

Psalm 119:105 CJB

 Your word is a lamp for my foot and light on my path.

So hence the twisted path".