Your Potentials

“If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.”

Thomas Alva Edison, US inventor (1847 - 1931)

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This is why I remind you to keep using the gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. Now let it grow, as a small flame grows into a fire.

2 Timothy 1:6 NCV

  

What Have You In Yourself?

It is what you are, what you have in you that counts. It is the undeveloped resources in your mind, in your spirit, in that inward man that counts.

It is the developing of the Writer, the Thinker, the Teacher, the Inventor, the Speaker, the Leader, the Business Manager that is hidden deep in you that is important.

I venture that every one of you who reads this have in you one of these abilities. There may be an untrained voice, untrained musical abilities lying hidden under the careless, thoughtless exterior.

Let us go down with a flashlight and look over the untouched treasures that are stored away inside, that have never been touched, never been used. Then let us bring the thing up that we find and make it worthwhile; giving it a commercial value.

Remember that everything that goes towards making you a success is inside of you. The thing that makes opportunities, that makes money, that creates new things, that brings together the things that others have created but were unable to utilize, is inside of you.

Find it and make it work! That ability is there. No one else can train it. No one else can develop it. Someone else may set it on fire, but you can quench it by refusing to act. Remember the maxim, “use it or lose it.” You must put yourself on a mental diet, not a diet of idle dreams or fancies, but a diet of real mental work. Put your best into every day. Make up your day of saved moments.

There is a goldmine hidden in every life. Nature never made a failure. There is no accident in God. Every man has success hidden in his soul. Failure comes because we never sought they hidden treasure. Failure comes because we tried to find it somewhere else. You can't find it anywhere else. It’s in you! Success, victory, achievement are in you. The exceptional people are those who develop what is within them.

Genius has grown up to weed about it, just because they did not develop the things they had. I know it is hard work but you will learn to love hard work. There are no great gold nuggets lying on top of the earth now. You have to go down into the earth for them. Dig and dig until you have conquered.

You want the applause of the world? You want to make money to buy the good material things to enjoy? You want to find success and fulfill destiny? Then, stay awake! Go find that hidden place in your own nature.

A story was told of a father who was dying. He had two sons. The boys had always felt that he had gold that he had hidden away somewhere. He had never been a strong, healthy man, so his farm was not developed. Back of the house was ten acres of stump land. When he was dying he said, “The slump lot.” Again and again he said, “the stump lot”

As soon as the funeral was over, the boys said, “The gold is out in the slump lot.” How feverishly they worked. They tore up every inch of it. But they found no gold. The older one said, “We have the land in good condition, let’s put in corn.” In the autumn, they found in the ripened corn the gold.

You have a slump lot in you –your potentials, talents, gifts, passions, interests… Dig it up, clean it up, and you will find the gold in it.

God bless you.

Source Inspiration: ©Essek William Kenyon (E. W. Kenyon) (1867–1948)

Find It & Fix It

"The Bible is not just a book; the Bible is a living force that creates its path when applied"

-Napoleon Bonaparte.

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When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, LORD God Almighty

-Jeremiah 15.16 NIV

The WORD of God carries everything required in our making.¹ The Bible says that, “by His (Jesus) own mighty word, He holds the universe together” (Heb 1.3 cev). And this includes your life and mine. If you want to truly live a dignified life, then endeavor to develop a sincere devotion to the Scripture. It’s the kingdom Achievers’ success secret.²  

In fact, the renowned King David in his Psalms says, “by Your words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path.” (Psa 119.105 msg). That is how fundamental the Word (Bible) is to our lives’ adventure. The truth is, the Word of God defines the limits of your life.³ Inspired by this insight, Adoniram Judson, that renowned American Congregationalist and Baptist missionary once said that “the future is as bright as the promises of God.” There is power in the Word for you.

“Knowledge is power” This revolutionary insight is at least four centuries old as once formulated by Francis Bacon. That is dunamis. As time progressed, it became an indisputable fact that, knowledge on its own is not power, but knowledge applied is power at work. The Word of God carries the ever dynamic power which is unleashed through your faith and conscious application.

The anchor scripture inspires us on individual productive disposition to the Word, i.e. prompt appropriation and intentional application of every word you encounter. Find it and fix it! You don’t accumulate scriptures for any reasons other than for use. You discover it and dutifully deploy it –translating the Word content into material reality.⁴ As the saying goes, use it or lose it. Jesus revealed that, “When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it (or use it), the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart.” (Matt 13.19 msg)

The creation episode of the Bible in Genesis chapter one is an inspiring story of the Word triumph in the midst of serious chaos, when God, armed with the living word, consistently engaged it to create a lasting change, …with a word making something out of nothing (Rom 4.17msg).  What a wonderful world we now have! ⁵

As observed first hand by General Napoleon Bonaparte, a respected french statesman, “the Bible is not just a book; the Bible is a living force that creates its path when applied.” Receiving the Word in its totality through unreserved internalization and prayerful appropriation can transform any life into a living proof. Please understand that every promise of the Scripture demands that you press into it by faith and prayer before it becomes evident on you. See Luke 16.16. Just find and fix it.

Action point! The beauty of this insight lies in your sense of urgency. Do not just pass a revelation over for a positive action in the future. Do it now! Whatever change you have to create with the Word, the time is now. No more procrastination. Do it now!

To maximize the provision of every promise in the Word, here is Jesus’ rule of the game;

“But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it (or fix it), and bring forth fruit with patience.” (Luke 8.15 kjv)

As you try your hand on this truth in some specific contexts of your life, the Word will work for you In Jesus name. God bless you.

James Adekoje

For the Bible Motivator

References

1. John 1.3

2. Joshua 1.8

3. Deut 32.46-47

4. Isa 34.16,

5. Genesis 1.31

You Have A Destiny

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

(Ephesians 2:10 NLT)

Your life isn't an accident. You have a destiny, one that only you can complete. The Bible says, “All the days planned for me were written in your book before I was one day old” (Psalm 139:16 NCV).

God knows everything that’ll happen in your life. He’s not surprised by anything. And he knows your days have a destiny. We all get about 80 years, the Bible says. In the scheme of eternity, those 80 years are insignificant. So the Bible says this life is preparation for the next. God wants you to practice on Earth what you’ll do forever in eternity.

And he has given you a destiny — something to do in this life, something only you can do. Before you were born, God wired you with certain ambitions, desires, and drives to play a particular role in history — one that only you can play.

The Bible says in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (NLT). Before you were born, God gave you a unique mixture of spiritual gifts, passions, abilities, personality, and experiences. There’s no one like you in the entire universe because, in part, there’s no one with your unique mix of talents. It’s why your destiny is so unique. It’s your destiny. Not your mother’s, not your father’s, not your pastor’s. It’s your destiny.

But here’s the painful part: You can miss God’s destiny for your life. People do it all the time. In fact, you can go through your entire life and miss God’s purpose for your life — by your own choices. If you choose to chase pleasure, popularity, or money instead of God, you’ll miss it. And that’s tragic.

God’s will is not automatic. He allows us to make choices. Many of the things that happen to you are not God’s perfect will. We all have to choose between God’s will and our will. We often choose our will.

If I got drunk, fell in a pool, and drowned, that wouldn’t be God’s will for my life. It would be my own stupid decision. God has a destiny for your life, but he won’t force it on you.

But you can have God’s will for your life. Even when you mess up, God can turn disaster into destiny. It’s never too late to have his perfect will in your life. Just pray, “God, I want your purpose for my life,” and you won’t miss it — no matter where you’ve been. He’ll get you in line with his purpose. He wants you to fulfill your destiny more than you do!

It’s why Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.” God’s will is done perfectly in Heaven. He wants it done perfectly in your life, too.

But your destiny is your choice.

© Rick Warren -rickwarren.org/devotional/english/your-destiny-your-choice