“No one is born a reader; it is an act of discipline”. What affected the reading culture of many of us is our background. I attended a Nursery and Primary School (though I finished from a public primary school) where we were taught to read everything we see: sign boards, papers, labels etc. I was always in the first three positions, with that I was always awarded with a prize on the prize giving day which is usually a story book. When I finished reading the stories in the books, I wanted to read another one and that would drive me to go buy more. That means I have to save my transport fare and lunch money to buy story books. That was how I developed the reading culture.

Many of us especially Africans didn’t grow in a book friendly environment but it is not too late to develop the book culture today. I have heard many Christians say: they don’t believe in books. It is more shocking to hear Ministers say the same thing. We are not talking about your school books in this context but general books that can add value to you.

Bishop Oyedepo says he is not ashamed to say he is a product of books. Books are glucose I must tell you, it produces instant energy. You don’t need to grind glucose with your teeth and your body need not undergo a prolonged digestion, just lick and be strong! There is no singular invention that started with a person and ended with the same person. Every inventor goes to understudy what some persons have done in the time past. The Wright Brothers were not the only ones in the race of making it possible to fly on air but they succeeded because they applied the “rules of the bicycle”. While other researchers were looking for strong engine to make an object fly on air they looked into “the method” that made the frail bicycles carry men without falling and achieving balancing at the same time. They went further to read the writings of a man who attempted the same thing.

Books are priceless and the time given to it are never wasted. It is good you while away the time as some say, but please not excessively with videos and entertainments (those things are not entirely bad) but invest your time in reading. Buy books and use your time to read them. There are people who have libraries of books which they never read. Apostle Paul is a reader as well as our Lord Jesus Christ, emulate them.

May the Communion of Holy Spirit be with you

I have not seen any record- document or orature that says Ayodele Babalola regularly read certain Psalms in water or ask people to read some Psalms, a number of times in water to pray or drink.

I spend a good period researching the ministry of Babalola. One of the most reliable documents about his life and ministry is covered in Dr Olukoya’s autobiography of Ayodele Babalola because the content is as told by eyewitnesses and acquaintances of the late 1930 Apostle. I didn’t see anywhere it was said or written that he was dictating Psalms to be read into water. Looking at the usage of water by DK Olukoya may prove or disprove this because that is a man who model the most operation of his ministry after the great Apostle.

In all my years in the CAC where we take waters to Church, Psalms have never been dictated to us to read into water. The Pastor would just pray over it. If this is done in any quarters of the Christ Apostolic Church then, it is alien.

If you have any document or account (story) that says otherwise, I do love to hear it. We all know where reading Psalms 70 times for 7 days into the water to bathe and drink come from no matter how much we try to pretend as if we don’t know but certainly is not an Ayodele Babalola thing.

To set record straight- Apostle Ayodele Babalola prayed on water.
I am not against praying on water. I pray on water too. I pray on anointing oil, I pray on mantle. There’s a pool at the Great Zion City (our campground) called the wonder pool. For the umpteenth time, I am not against praying on water. It is Biblical. Jesus could just open the eyes of that blind man but He sent him to a pool.

There’s no great tool of God that can’t be misused. It is those rough edges that we should smoothen for more profitable good work. And if you find yourself at a slippery edge, learn and have a change of mind.

“Our Fathers Prayed on this mountain”. Jesus replied: those that worship God must worship in the Spirit and truth. We are the generation of the knowledge of God that covers the earth as waters cover the sea. We will get a better result if we do certain things better than our fathers (if at all they did it).

LET’S BEGIN.
Like I said earlier, it is safe to pray in water to drink, bathe, sprinkle and so on. It is safe to quote the word of God while doing so. And it is not bad to read certain scriptures. The purpose of reading those scriptures is to stir faith in the WORD (JESUS).

I grew up reading Psalms in water myself. I started getting confused at some point when I see that the content of some Psalms are out of line with the purpose of prayer at that point in time. Some Psalms are totally not in sync with my prayer at that point in time while some changes subject at different verses. If the Psalm doesn’t generate faith, there is no power in it but mere ritual because whatever is not of faith is a sin.

Those that practice this Psalms thing regularly don’t care about the content of the Psalm (true or false?). For instance, they ask you to read the Psalm of your age. That is, if you are 21 years old, they’ll tell you to tread Psalms 21 for 21 times.

Have the prophet checked if the Psalm of my age addresses my present challenge?

If you will read Psalms into water or any scriptures at all. It must be in sync and be able to stir up faith. For the just shall live by faith. It shouldn’t be a blind reading. And even when it is in sync, reading it several times (70 times) at a stretch is likely to make you read more absent mindedly. This is what happened to me. Philip asked: ” “understandeth thou what thou readeth?”

Some would say- “we read Psalms blindly, and it worked”. It may work sometimes because of His Name’s sake, but it won’t always work. In fact, it would work for babes or at first attempt only.

If you are a Prophet or Pastor and you pray into water for people using Psalms. Try to pray without “PSALMS” but faith-based and relevant scriptures (maybe just one or two even), you will be shocked at the wonders that will follow. The reason is, God gave you the mystery of water and the reason it is working is not that you read Psalms blindly into it.

Summarily– Psalms are not wrong. Praying into Water is not wrong.
What is wrong is: some pastors ask miracle-seeking believers to read some Psalms a number of times into dew water or whatever water just to keep them busy as against generating faith in them. And whatever is not of faith is a sin.

Ife Adetona

Many introverts like myself face daily bullying from friends, associates, pastors, bloggers, motivational speakers etc. Today alone, I have seen two Christian leaders write- “since you stay indoors all day, how will you get a husband”. I believe this post on Introverts & Networking will help every introvert out there.

First, since NETWORKING is a computer term, let’s start from there. Networking refers to a group of computers connected to a single server. If extroverts are networking computers, then, an introvert is a server to which others are connected. A server is the rally point of other networking computers.

In a cyber cafe, other systems are readily accessible to the public but the server is kept in a corner with a cooling fan and an expert seated by it. If the server is down, all the networking computers would be stranded.

I know that as an introvert, you are concerned about your nature. You wish you could jump on people and every association like that extrovert friend of yours even though their behaviour irks you at times. Instead of that, why don’t you just be a SERVER?

Your nature allows you to be calm, cool and collected. You have an interest in reading, brainstorming, thinking, writing, poetry, research and a host of artistic and creative works. Why not pursue being a good rally point (server)?

First. ADD value to yourself and spread that aroma of value around you. People would come.

I was not the most popular student in my class but I was the most prominent when it comes to exams. It is not a mistake that I read about 1,500-page book in a few days or that my team and I published up to 30 books in 2021 and 31 books in 2022. It was my introvertism that allows it. We can decide to write 20 more before this year ends. Everyone on the team is an introvert. We have the focus an extrovert doesn’t have.

I am not outgoing so, I can conserve my time. People see what I have to offer and rally around me. All I did was channel my “aloneliness” to productivity and not Korean movies.

SECOND- DEFINE WHY YOU NEED THAT ASSOCIATION

whenever people come bullying you for being an indoor person, and it gets into you, you may want to ask yourself again: “why do I need more friends?”

Pastors would say- “you stay indoors all day, how will you get a husband?” I remember a mother once called me to talk to her daughter to start going out. She wanted her to change job by all means because she also works from home.

I told the sister: “your mum wanted you going out to work in hope that you would at least see a man”. If she had to go out because of one man, I believe she could as well meet that man “without going out”. In short, she is happily married today. And she didn’t change her job.

A young pastor jump on all friendships in search of connections and platforms to minister. That was his vision. As for me, my goal & focus is to make impart. I don’t need connections with the big names to impart people. So, I created a WhatsApp group and stayed consistently ministering there. Today, we run 246 groups with thousands of active members weekly. You can tell if channelling the energy in my nature pays.

There are men who struggled to send their children to an expensive school all in search of association with the children of the rich. It worked for some, but it didn’t work for some.

So, you really have to re-examine the reasons you want more associations and friendships. Check if it runs with your VALUES or not.

My mother-in-law told my wife to attend parties so she could have people come to her wedding ceremony. Well, maybe it worked for my mother-in-law but my wife didn’t need such to make people attend her wedding. She only invested in her VALUES and people came.

THIRD, Be where you ought to be

I know you feel good at being at home but there are places you really have to be, go there. Go to that service, that fellowship meeting, that seminar, that summit. It doesn’t matter if you leave as soon as the grace is shared especially when you dont have something picking after the programme.

Meanwhile, join that unit. Volunteer for that committee. Be at that surprise birthday of a good associate. You shouldn’t miss that close-call wedding party. You know you can make out time for that important person, be there. And Yes, you will meet people there. It will improve your social skills and boost your self-esteem. I know you’re not trying to look for a wife or seek attention. You’re just giving voice to every of your potential by volunteering and living your life to the fullest.

FOURTH, first impression, they say lasts longer.

Wear a good smile even though you won’t talk much. You don’t like ‘notice me’ but if you find yourself talking to a stranger, be friendly. Leave that lasting impression on people even though you won’t meet them again.

The other time, I was ministering at a place, and Pastor Damsam found me chatting with the song minister. He asked if I knew him anywhere before then. I told him- “that is sanguine for you”. They are wonderful people. He nearly asked for my house address. And I did respond well to him.

Also, attempt to be the first to say Hello to people your mind agrees with. It does feel good. Give it a try. You don’t have to act it, just be natural. You are good enough to hold a short friendly conversation, isn’t it?

Number Five. Quality VS Quantity Friendship

There is an adage- “those who have a lot of baggage also have a lot of dirt”. The truth is that most sanguines have quantity association as opposed to quality association. As an introvert, since you don’t have the energy to keep up with a lot of friends, a few quality friendship is all you need. I can tell of a lot of people who had offered to collect my contact but never called me and I never called. Left to me, I won’t collect a contact I won’t need.

I keep only two kinds of friends- those that need me and those that I need. Those that need me should pay the price of following me up. The day I didn’t see a good follower who has been following me up, I’ll look for them.

If I need a person, it means there must be a connecting factor- school, work, projects, tasks etc. It may be for a period of time or at regular intervals. And in rare cases, almost a lifetime. Once the link is off, we keep a safe distance. What do I mean? I had a good friend at school. He was good in courses which I was not. But from the time we graduated, we weren’t as close again. Why not? No task is binding us. If I have close minister friends but as we grow, our values change, we may not be as close as before but maintain a safe distance. Why? “Values have changed”.

SIX- KEEP DOORS OPEN.

There is no one I was ever a friend to or relate with that I can’t call up at any moment for a need or whatever. They can do the same with me. If any of such persons call me by Christmas, I will talk to them very cheerfully even though we may not talk again until the next Christmas but that few minutes on phone would be hearty. If they need me, I do be there for them in my capacity.

I remember my very good friend at school. When I needed an editor, I called him. He spent almost a week at my house. There was a contract and I felt he was the best man, so I called him. We don’t need to be kicking all over the place like kids. Some enjoy that, but I don’t. Whenever needs prop up, we can always hook up.

CONCLUSION

– Many keep friends for ‘we don’t know what we may need who for’. That’s an excuse for wasting your time and other people’s time.

I tell you what rather, invest that time:
*If you ADD value to your life.
*If you are nice and friendly to every stranger you meet even if it’s only once you ever met.
*If you exit relationships on a good note.
*If you ever need a person or a thing badly and God is with you, you will get it.

Disclaimer- this post was not aimed at talking down on extroverts and sanguines. You guys are wonderful people. You are the honey of this world. Bring out the positive part of your emotions and dump the negatives.

©IFE ADETONA

Mandate Month
December is our mandate night!
so, our Bible Study shall focus on LEADERSHIP.
The mandate of leadership is for us to fulfil our Destiny!
So, we shall be discussing CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP
Eternal Lord, we worship your name! We give you praise for always stocking us with His word of life.

1.Early exposure to supervision

We look unto you tonight for a great filling in Jesus’ Name
Let us pray
And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:2

every believer is handed the baton of leadership!
Mummy was showing the post of one of our leaders who said SADOZ was the first place she stood before people to speak
Christianity is a great point for leadership.

It is a great training point for leadership roles in society.
History and even what is happening in our contemporary days have shown us that Christian ministries at large have allowed so many to experiment with their leadership ability by giving them roles to play.
In the children’s department of the church, for instance, we have a choir leader who is a child.
And ever since, her life has changed!
As a believer grows, there are several units where he can serve.
There you will also find a Sunday school teacher who is likely a teenager.
They are consciously being trained for leadership every time they prepare for their anniversary.
After leaving the NCCF, he returns to the adult church.
A child who grows up in a children’s church will be transferred to the teenager’s church or department and from there to the youth church and from there to the campus fellowship and then to the National Christian Corpers Fellowship (NCCF).
Many are also exposed to Christian leadership in interdenominational ministries like SADOZ.
All through those stages, he comes across opportunities to serve as a leader.
All these help to reveal and develop the leadership capacity in man.
Many wouldn’t have gotten any leadership exposure early in life if not for churches and Christian ministries.
Many people like me had their first leadership experience in Christianity.
And before you can get a job where you will demonstrate your leadership potential, you must have grown into your early adulthood.
Community and political leadership are so skewed that believers shy away from them.
Christian ministries bridge this gap and present an unending leadership adventure for as many as desire it.
It was required, according to the law of the Old Testament, that Levites should be initiated into leadership from the age of 20.
As we see in the examples of the Levites,
Early exposure to leadership was part of the basic and foundational vision of Christianity.

2.Selflessness

These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by na number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from the age of twenty years and upward. 1 Chronicle 23:24

Christian ministries are seen as non-profit-making organizations.
Another major benefit that Christian leadership gives is that it builds selflessness in men.
It produces a selfless leader, which is the scarcest form of leadership.
Only a few people would work sacrificially in a place where a monetary gift is not attached.
When you work there, you are not expected to be paid. You are required to spend your money and time.
If a man would serve selflessly and sacrificially in a place where he is not being paid, how much would he do where he is being paid?
I remember after I left the campus, I was given a job at a ministry
And we have seen a lot of such men in Christianity.
When I saw the job, I was leaping
I said to myself, it’s as if you asked me to come and do what I used to for free and you will pay me for doing so!
They said they would be paying me
a part for free and a part for the money
I promised myself to work DOUBLE!
He just got the new job
He said: “daddy, is just like Anagkazo and they will be paying us”
A Sadozite told me about his experience at his present place of work.
Calling them to get their orders and delivering it
He is working with a firm and he is into customer relations
He said they had been told that the work was tedious but he was surprised to see that it was nothing.
He said that his boss is amazed at how he works
That is what Christian Leadership does in you
I am convinced that any man who expresses zeal in working for God selflessly would be the best employee in his office and wherever he finds himself.

In the same vein, anyone that fails in Christian service cannot be fit for any other leadership capacity.
Among them, I can accurately predict the ones who would succeed in any role they are assigned and the ones that may fail.
This is a tested and trusted fact.
There are over a thousand young adults who have passed through and are still in the leadership of our ministry.
Jesus said it:
He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much- *Luke 16:10.*
It is not because of anything, in particular, it is simply the law of nature.
Anyone who is not faithful in little things will surely mess up complex things. Jesus said it:
I mentioned earlier that the scarcest form of leadership is selfless leadership.
Anyone who fails the test of selflessness cannot oversee the lives of fellow men

3. Spiritual Build-up

Christian leadership helps our spirituality.
Technology, social media influence, modernization, globalization and many more have diverted the attention of man from his spiritual status.
Take it or leave it. Man is first a spiritual being before he becomes a natural being, and it is the spiritual that controls the physical.
Many factors around us today have downplayed the spirituality of man.
A man is a spirit that has a soul and lives in a body, but our educational system emphasizes more on soul-building
and our environment emphasizes body beautification, paying no attention to the spiritual aspect of man.
When a man is right spiritually, everything about him becomes right.
For to be carnally minded [is] death; but to be spiritually minded [is] life and peace. Romans 8:6.

It is only Christian leadership and Christian education that emphasizes the spirituality of man.
Many suicides, depression and hypertension issues that have become prevalent today are because of the refusal to labour on the building up of the spirit of man.
Even great, mighty and wealthy people in the world still commit suicide. Many of them lived on antidepressants.
It is only Christianity that works on building a man’s spirituality, which is why, as a believer; you dare not play down on being involved in Christian leadership.
That is because they have stamina in their body and soul, but they are very weak in their spirit.
A merry heart doeth good [like] a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. Proverbs 17:22.
He is a Christian leader. He remains a Sunday school teacher in his church even when he was a busy surgeon, well sought after all around
The great neurosurgeon Benjamin Solomon Carson emphasized that he is everything he is by the grace of God.
His spirituality aided his success in his career as well as in life.
Quiet time is a disciplined routine. We live in a world of spontaneity.

4. Christian leadership teaches discipline.

One of the habits of a Christian leader is what we call quiet time.
We believe in doing things spontaneously, but great leaders will tell you their routine, and schedule, and also tell you things that they have disciplined themselves to be accustomed to.
A Christian leader is known for fasting, which is denying oneself food for a period.
These are acts of discipline that are only taught by Christian leadership.
A trained Christian leader can delay gratification.
A Christian leader prays regularly and practices given.
Here, Paul was telling his son, Timothy, to endure hardness, not a hardship.
They are things that make a man morally sound and fit for leadership positions.

Tho, therefore,e endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
2 Timothy 2:3

In another part of the Bible, Christian leaders are described as athletes running a race.
Hardness is training. A Christian leader is seen as a soldier and you know the discipline a man goes through to become a soldier.
One of the most disciplined people on earth is an athlete.
Christianity is the breeding ground for influential leaders. Christianity builds all these virtues in us consciously and unconsciously.
Prominent leaders in America, Europe and Africa all came from the church and Christianity.
We should not be too busy in our career to be Christian leaders because it is in doing so that you can emerge as genuine leaders. Praise God!
We should stop here so you can download it for your students
Tell me, are you blessed tonight?