Month: June 2021

Prepare yourself for the opportunity ahead.

When Jesus was 12 years old, His parents temporarily lost Him after they went to Jerusalem for a Feast. After three days, He was found in the temple, sitting among teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

Notice that Jesus wasn’t found in a farm. Instead, He was seen in a temple – at the very place where He could prepare Himself for His divine assignment.

The importance of preparation cannot be overemphasized. Abraham Lincoln said, “I will study and prepare myself, and someday my chance will come.”

Written By Ben Dankaka

He transformed fishermen to fishers of men.

You might have noticed that Jesus used the words, “follow me” while He was selecting His disciples. Why does Jesus insist we follow Him?

You see, when we give our lives to Christ, He automatically becomes our Lord. Now the word, “Lord” means Master. It also means Owner. As our Master and Owner, we are expected to follow Him. Therefore, to accept Jesus as our Lord, does not only involve a declaration of our faith in Him. True acceptance happens when we follow Jesus.

But we cannot become true followers of Christ until we stop following others, including ourselves.  Jesus wants us to “follow” Him, not because He wants to enslave us but for the reason that He wants to transform our lives.

Written by Ben Dankaka

God wants to teach you.

One day, I closed from work, feeling terribly bad. On my way home, I got some biscuits for my two kids. On reaching home, my kids immediately snatched the biscuits. But just before I relaxed, my daughter (the younger one) returned the biscuits and asked me to open it for her. I quickly did.

Meanwhile, I noticed my older child still struggling to open his own biscuits. When he suddenly realized his younger sister had begun to eat hers, he hurried back to me and cried out, “Daddy, help me!” I laughed and opened his biscuits.

Suddenly, it dawned on me that I had been acting like my son. Instead of acting like my daughter who gave me back the gift so I could help her unwrap it, I was trying to maximize my gifts without God’s help.

Many of us fail to realize that God is a teacher who wants to teach us how to make the best use of the natural gifts He has given us.

Written by Ben Dankaka

Focus on what God wants you to do.

One day, Jesus compared the attitude of the Pharisees to a situation in the marketplace where some children complained because they played a flute but the people did not dance. And when they sang a funeral song, the people also didn’t mourn (Matthew 11:1-19).

Recall that when John the Baptist showed up, he drank no wine, lived in the wilds and lived, eating locusts. Jesus on the other hand, mingled. Yet, He was also criticized.

Whether you like it or not, people are going to say negative things about you. Get over it and focus on what God has called you to do.

Written by Ben Dankaka

Focus on your gifts!

One day, Jesus embarked on a journey to the Sea, so He could have a quiet time with His disciples. But a crowd of five thousand people followed Him.

Why would such a huge crowd of people, leave their villages and follow Jesus to a deserted place? According to the scriptures, the people had followed Jesus “because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick” (John 6:2).

To be a great leader, you would have to commit yourself to doing something that is of great value to others. The thousands that followed Jesus were mainly concerned with His miracles.

What can you do that will be of great value to others?

Written by Ben Dankaka

Inside every person is a hidden gift that God has deposited for the benefit of others.

Jesus once said, “For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought to the open” (Mark 4:2-25).

Also, whatever is concealed inside an envelope is not intended to remain hidden, but similar to what Jesus said, it is meant to be brought to the open. Just as the sender of the message in an envelope expects the receiver to expose the hidden message, Jesus expects us to unravel and make use of the messages He has hidden in our hearts.

Inside every person is a hidden gift that God has deposited for the benefit of others. What are you doing with what you have received from God?

Written by Ben Dankaka

Not every solution is right.

While Paul and Silas were evangelizing, they got into trouble and were imprisoned. Confined in a prison cell, they began to worship God. Suddenly, a violent earthquake broke the prison doors. When the prison officer saw what happened, he tried to end his life, thinking the prisoners had escaped. But Paul stopped him (Acts 16:25-36).

One interesting thing about this story is the way Paul and Silas stayed faithful to their cause. The normal thing to do after the prison doors opened was to rush out, assuming it was God’s will. Instead, they remained in the cell and gained new converts.

Always stay focused on the big picture, regardless of the opportunities in front of you.

Written by Ben Dankaka

Knowing the right thing often requires us to make use of our spiritual antennae.

When you have two options that are both good, but you have to determine which of them is right, you will have a hard time. While a good thing can be easily detected with our senses, knowing the right thing often requires us to make use of our spiritual antennae.

Remember 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.

Today, seek God’s guidance.

Written by Ben Dankaka

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

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 you achieved shouldn’t have been set in the first place.

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.

No doubt, God has given us the right make plans, but we need His guidance (Proverbs 14:12; 16:3; 16:9; 16:25; 19:21).

Written by Ben Dankaka