EXPRESS IMAGE GLORY MINISTRIES
THE MESSAGE NOW
Vol. 2, No. 31 – Monday, 31st July, 2017
(Joshua 1:1-9, Psalm 139:23-24)
THE STATE OF THE HEART IS THE HEART OF THE MATTER
When British politician and author, Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) quipped the memorable lines: ‘nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think’, some of his detractors might have simply sniggered that such statement only adds up peripherally.
But the weight and indepth meaning of Disraeli’s astute statement stretches far beyond the frontiers of any political expression that merely adds up. For one, his profound statement is a reminder that the heart of the matter of pleasing God and humanity is a matter of the heart.
By the way, if success will become a reality in any life, it will undoubtedly be preponderant on the key principle propounded by the Lord to Joshua in Josh.1:8.
Therein is the reference to the principle of constant meditation for the attainment of good success. This of course thrives only as a function of the nurture of great, positive thinking which is the foundation for any lasting success.
American educator, Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888) put it in this manner: ‘thought (i.e., meditation) means life, since those who do not think so do not live in any high or real sense. Thinking makes the man’.
The sound and unchallengeable fact remains that the uncommon talents of many today remain in the limbo territory of the dead and the non-achievers simply because they lack the only indispensable drive for conceiving and conceptualising their hidden talents into discovered gold.
The ability to reason deeply and comprehensively is that drive missing in so many. For example, corruption has through the myriad of years been the much pronounced bane of politicians from worlds like Africa.
But with a closer look, is corruption the problem of African politicians? I contend that this is far from the case. Why? Because, corruption does not exist as a stand-alone problem but such existing as a function of another or other problem.
This is the reason I sharply contend that corruption as a human disease is a fallout of another disease; the disease of the inability to think and constantly meditate on that which is good.
Shallow thinkers or no thinkers at all have but only one success. It is the ability to think so shallow and think in only one direction.
For such one-direction thinkers, making money in life is by far more pleasant than making one’s name and making success-stories out of many lives.
Their obvious failure is in realizing that humanism is an insatiable guest and the opportunity to serve God through service to humanity is but a rare privilege which many do not have. The most important question however is, is there a possibility of thinking right and thinking deep?
The answer is not far fetched. Thinking right and thinking deep are the results of any heart that is right in itself. Hear the way British-born American essayist, James Allen (1864-1912) captured it: ‘our life is what our thoughts make it. A man will find that as he alters his thoughts toward things and other people, things and other people will alter towards him’.
So then, it is a correlative chain of reciprocity. As you think right in your heart about things and people, so the right things and the right people will come your way. Unarguably therefore, the heart of the matter is a matter of the rightness of the heart.
As such, the fact remains that:
- No man can ever be truly better than his thought. In other words, you are at your best today because today’s thoughts are by far better than those of yesterday.
- The next height in the life in the history of any man will never be attainable without the eventual consent and initial facilitation in and by his thoughts.
- He who seeks not the greatest prize first confined himself in the classroom of losers and lowest of the low because his thought was never nurtured to be a winner of any prize ab initio.
- The purer the thoughts of a man the more weight his words will command before God (Psalm 139:23-24).IN ALL, THE SUMMATION IS AN OBVIOUS ONE; YOU ARE WHO YOU ARE BECAUSE REFLECTION IS ONLY A PURE PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL.
Altar call: Backslidden – living in sin – needing fresh recommitment (say):
Christ Jesus, You are the Anointed One of the Most High. I come to you today as I am. In your mercy, help me out of my situation. Heal my soul, my spirit, my body, my life and my destiny. I acknowledge you as the only true lover of my soul. Please, deliver me on every side and save me through and through. I promise from the depth of my soul to be yours from henceforth, in Jesus name. Help me now O God. Be my Lord, my Saviour and my all in all from this day. Thank you Lord (read Psalm 54 in closing and pray more).
Hymn: Jesus Only Is Our Message
Pray now:
1. O God, search me and purify my thoughts in the light of your pure word.
2. O God, sanctify my heart and remould me into a new being.
3. O Lord my God, attend onto my cry in the forthcoming prayer and fasting beginning this week.
4. Father, give me uncommon ideas for specific and uncommon feat of success.
5. O God, my father, give me divine strength to pray through, prevail through prayer and possess my possessions in this forthcoming seven-day prayer and fasting.
Pastor Mike
