Use Your Mind to Create Wealth

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

You can translate invisible money into visible money. How? Please pray this prayer and then read the entire blogpost for today.

Father, thank You for the abundant financial resources and wealth with which You want to make me a lender to the nations. Deuteronomy Chapters 15 verse 6 and 28 verse 12.

Father, please give me the wisdom to manage the vast divine resources you blessed me with in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.  Give me the wisdom to translate this huge divine deposit of invisible money into visible money; money that will bless humanity in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Deploy your mental processes into creating wealth. How? Rather than reflect on negative experiences and people; reflect on the platforms and opportunities you can deploy for making wealth. Ask God to give you witty ideas and concepts with you can create wealth to bring you out of poverty.

A word from God is what you need. The word of God literally takes you into the throne room of God where you will get divine ideas from God on what to do to create wealth. Therefore, have daily contact with the word of God and you will have daily contact with God on how to create sustainable wealth.

Be innovative. Innovation has the power to transform individuals, families, communities, institutions and nations from mediocrity, irrelevance, insignificance and poverty to limelight, relevance, and significance to astounding wealth. Globally, there are a number of innovation economies which are both economic and political forces to reckon with in the world. The power of innovation is reflected in some of the success stories recorded in California which transformed from an agricultural valley to Silicon Valley. The nation of Israel for instance has very little in terms of landmass. Yet Israel is famed for agricultural excellence. Israel does not have diamonds yet they process diamonds and make money from doing so because they have perfected the art of processing diamonds. In essence, they have translated their mental processes into a technology for processing diamonds.

The Import of Associations on Success and Wealth

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

The book of 1^st Kings Chapter 3 verses 1 to 15 gives an interesting account of how associations impact wealth and success.

King Solomon requested for wisdom and became wealthy as he consistently interacted with wisdom. His interaction with wisdom also led him to interact with highly skilled people who implemented projects profitably. For instance, the sustained profitable partnership with Hiram whose knowledgeable sailors knew the sea and sailed to lands where they could trade and bring in gold, silver, ivory, apes and baboons which fetched in more money and more territory for King Solomon. King Solomon also hired highly skilled professionals from Hiram for the building of the temple. Please read 1^st Kings Chapters 5 verses 1 to 18, 7 verses 13 to 14.

When the temple was to be built, God recruited highly skilled professionals that He had trained and deposited with divine abilities; not only to do the work but also to teach other people to do the work in order to multiply the number of highly skilled professionals required to do the work. God gave these men, Bezalel and Oholiab to Moses and at the completion of the building of the tabernacle, the Bible records that Moses blessed them for doing the work as instructed by God. Please read Exodus Chapter 39 verses 42 to 43.

Exercise Dominion in the Marketplace

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

You can and should exercise dominion in the market place by manifesting the grace of God in your life, the divine gifts of God in your life, His beauty, fame, significance, glory, honor and wealth in your life in the market place, especially the global market place now that the world has become a global village. Therefore, showcase these beauties of God for all to see in your life by participating actively in the marketplace. You should and must have something to contribute to local, national and global development which you can conveniently sell online to a carefully selected and targeted global audience.

Some biblical apostles of the marketplace include but are not limited to:

Joseph who exercised dominion in the political and economic space of Egypt by proffering a food security program which ensured that Egypt had food during and beyond the seven years of severe famine. Please read Genesis Chapter 41.

Moses exercised dominion in the political space of Egypt and led the people of Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land. Although he did not get to the Promised Land, his feats in Egypt especially in his negotiations with Pharaoh are commendable and lessons in the subject of negotiation.

Joshua exercised dominion in the military and political space of the nations in Canaan. He was a conquistador and led highly successful military expeditions against the nations which Israel dispossessed to take over the Promised Land. He also led in apportioning land to the twelve tribes of Israel. The entire book of Joshua is a great instruction on military expeditions and annexations.

Solomon straddled about every space – he exercised dominion in business, politics, diplomacy, you name it; significantly not only in Israel but in the nations around Israel. He had a monopoly of trade in horses and chariots in the region; was the wisest and wealthiest person in his day. Please read 1^st Kings Chapters 3 to 10 for details and insight.

Daniel was a prominent person in the political space of the empires of Babylon and Persia. He served in a number of administrative capacities before rising to become the number two person in the kingdom. Please read Daniel Chapters 1 to 6 for details and inspiration.

Invest in People 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Jesus Christ for instance spent years, deploying a multi mix of methods to invest in His disciples. They faithfully and successfully pioneered the early Church when Jesus Christ departed planet earth. The Apostle Paul also invested in both his mentees and the many disciples God used him to raise as he planted Churches in Europe and Asia. These mentees became a great blessing to him when he became a very old man. They helped to carry on the work and also labored faithfully in the vineyard when Paul was in prison. The implication of investing in other people is that you are actually investing in yourself. When Ruth chose to invest in Naomi, little did she know that Naomi would also invest in her and she would become the wife of Boaz and when she became the wife of Boaz and mother of Obed. She also further invested in Naomi by bringing Naomi the untold joy of being a grandmother, so to speak.

Beloved, invest in yourself by investing in people around you.

Mordecai invested in his cousin Esther. Though a gateman at the palace; and in a low income bracket, Mordecai chose to raise his orphaned cousin – he provided for her, housed her, and schooled her in the ways of the Lord. And so Esther had a home and a godly older cousin to look up to for protection and provision in a male dominated world. And when suddenly the position of queen became vacant in the land, Mordecai instructed Esther to apply. Accustomed to obeying her older cousin, Esther participated in the national search for a queen contest and won. Because Mordecai had cautioned her not to make known her nationality, no one knew she was related to Mordecai; one of the gatemen at Shushan palace.

Invest in People

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Why?

People are assets, referred to in corporations as either human resources or human capital. Great corporations, families, communities and nations spend fortunes to invest in their human capital. Investing in human capital development is wisdom, the strength of any family, community, nation and corporation is the quality of human capital in it.

People are assets, in point of fact the greatest assets you can think of after your salvation by faith in Christ Jesus. This is because the people you invest in today are the ones who will be there for you tomorrow. Ruth for instance chose to invest in Naomi even when Naomi had nothing to offer in return. Naomi had no sons that would marry her; Naomi had no financial resources to meet their very basic of needs yet Ruth chose Naomi over Moab, her homeland which appeared to offer many pleasant opportunities; she could live in her family home if she chose not to remarry; there were men there who knew her and could ask for her hand in marriage considering that she was a young widow. Her choice then to go with Naomi who in the face of every physical appearance had nothing was like sentencing herself to a life of penury in addition to being an old maid. But as future events played out; it turned out that Ruth saw into the future and tapped into it or she was just following the leading of the God she chose to serve by associating with Naomi.

Ruth and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem at harvest time and considering that they were not there at planting season, they had nothing of their own to harvest so they resorted to gleaning, a law which allowed strangers and the vulnerable as well as the poor to up sheaves left on purpose by farm owners and harvesters for such people. Naomi was apparently not strong enough for much physical labor; so Ruth went into the fields on a daily basis to glean for the food they required.

Again, directed and guided by the unseen hand of God, she chose to glean in the fields of Boaz, a man she did not even know was their close relative. Ruth gleaned on a daily basis, harvesting what they required for food so that they did not lack bread. But unknown to Ruth and even Naomi at that point in time, Ruth was not just directed to Boaz’ farm for bread alone. Her steps were divinely directed to Boaz’ farm for divine purposes well beyond bread. Fortunately all of that unfolded when Naomi suddenly realized that she could repay the kindness generosity of Ruth by tapping into the law of near kinsman ship which made it mandatory for near kinsmen to marry the widows of their late kinsmen. So Naomi schooled Ruth in the process (Ruth Chapter 3 verses 1 to 18) and Ruth went to work. Needless to say, Ruth became the wife of Boaz and joint owner of the fields she gleaned in to put bread on the table for her and Naomi. Significantly, she also became the mother of Obed, the father of Jesse who gave birth to David, the ancestor of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Link Between Zero Waste and Prosperity 8

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

How to Safeguard the Harvests

Sustained bountiful harvests lead to overflowing abundance and obedience to God and His word lead to sustained bountiful harvests. Please read Genesis Chapter 26 verses 12 to 14 and Leviticus Chapter 26 verses 3 to 10.

Zero waste is one of the keys to prosperity. There is a clear link between zero waste and prosperity. Zero waste always translates into surplus, abundance, sustainable resource management and wealth. Zero waste management of whatever resources God puts in the hand of a person, a family, an institution, community or nation always translates to or culminates in surplus and abounding abundance. This implies that zero waste is critical to ensuring sustainable resource management as well as key factor in creating sustainable generational wealth.

Severally in the Scriptures, God cautions against waste. The biblical Joseph for instance was used by God to ensure food security as well as stave off famine and hunger for more than seven years; not only in Egypt but globally. The food security strategy proffered by Joseph to Pharaoh and his court ensured that the surplus food resources from the seven years of bountiful harvests were saved up and stored away safely for the people of Egypt and their immediate neighbours. Zero waste averted famine, hunger and destruction.

A farmer plows the ground; that is prepare the ground for planting at a particular season and place; and when that is done, the farmer stops plowing or preparing the ground because that aspect of the seed planting has been done; hopefully at the right time; right season and right place. The farmer should not continue plowing or preparing the ground endlessly as if he or she is dancing in a vicious circle of unending wandering without any purpose. After all, a ground is prepared for planting and not just for the sake of preparing a ground endlessly. Therefore, plant the right seeds in the right spaces, nurture them aright, harvest at the right time and process them aright to ensure zero waste and prosperity.  Endless preparation without implementation is as good as waste as it does not generate any returns, therefore no prosperity. Ask God for the wisdom to implement. Please read Isaiah Chapter 28 verses 23 to 25. Thereafter, you care for the plants until harvest time and harvest them as they should be harvested; applying different techniques relevant to each crop; and thereafter process each harvested crop as they should be processed so that you do not lose the harvest. Thereafter, utilize the processed harvests for bread and whatever.

The Link Between Zero Waste and Prosperity 7

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Even trees, especially food bearing trees such as fruit trees were not to be cut down during sieges and wars because such trees bear what should serve as food for man “the tree of the field is man’s food. They should therefore not be wasted for building siege works. Zero waste in the management of food resources, the source of the food producing plant or tree should not be destroyed. Please read Deuteronomy Chapter 20 verses 19 to 20.

God killed Onan for wasting life producing see meant to raise an heir to his brother Er. Please read Genesis Chapter 38 verses 1 to 10. There was no point emitting seed that should give life on the ground. This implies that seed should not be wasted no matter what. If he had no intention of raising an heir to his brother, then he should not have gone into his brother’s wife to emit seed at all, not to talk of emitting seed designed to raise an heir on the ground.

Beloved, the case of the man described in the parable of talents as the wicked lazy servant in the Bible (Matthew Chapter 25 verses 14 to 30) also illustrates the principle of zero waste. Talents, money, resources should always be traded to multiply, compound and bless humanity. The master of the three servants gave them talents according to their abilities. While the first two servants who received the most talents invested time in investing their resources for a profit irrespective of the supposed hard nature of their master who reaped where he did not sow; that is going by the account and lame excuse given by the wicked lazy servant in verses 24 to 25; the wicked lazy servant did not bother to do anything with his one talent. He did not even consider investing the one talent for himself or on himself. He had the least ability; received the least talent which could have been multiplied and compounded if he made the least attempt, invested the least time to invest the talent. At least, he would have done something to avoid zero waste even if it meant doing it for himself and not his supposed hard opportunistic master. Instead, he took the trouble to dig he ground and hid the talent there, unprofitable labor which did not ring blessings to anyone. What a shame, what a waste!  Say, which is easier, digging the ground to hide the talent or investing the talent?

Beloved, it is my prayer for you and for me that we will not be like the wicked lazy servant. Rather, God by His Spirit will empower us to invest time in trading His divine deposits in us profitably to bless humanity so that we are also enlarged and enriched in the process to the glory of His Holy Name in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Contrary to the description of the master given by the wicked lazy servant, the master was generous. He rewarded and blessed the two faithful servants. Their capacities to further bless humanity were expanded and enlarged beyond their wildest imagination. The two faithful servants had the right mindset, the right attitude to investing their talents. They were more concerned about investing their talents than about the character of their master, the people and environment they were investing in. their priority was prime and prompt obedience to their master who blessed them with the talents and commanded them to invest the talents. That explains why their master referred to them as faithful servants; servants who were committed to obeying their master and doing what their master requested of them.

The Link Between Zero Waste and Prosperity 6

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Ironically, the diligent virtuous woman of Proverbs Chapter 31 verses 10 to 31 worked smart and hard to own and maintain a vineyard in addition to running a home efficiently and managing a fashion business profitably. Unlike the lazy young man devoid of understanding, the diligent virtuous woman was enriched and had property to leave to her children and children’s children. The young man unfortunately destroyed what he was blessed with through waste while the virtuous woman built wealth by adopting a zero waste policy and attitude. Whatever free time she had was ploughed into and invested in her fashion business while the profit from the fashion business was ploughed into owning and maintaining a vineyard. She did not fritter time in idleness, gossip, sleep and slumber. Everything she touched owned was always invested and not wasted.

Time is also a major resource that should never be wasted. Great examples of great investors of time include the Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, the diligent and virtuous woman of Proverbs Chapter 31 verses 10 to 31, the biblical Joseph, Daniel, and Nehemiah as well as the prophetess Anna who spent nights and days in the temple fasting and praying. Significantly, Anna had no children to labor for in prayers yet she spent quality time praying for the manifestations of the plans and purposes of God for humanity. That time could have been spent by Anna in idle chatter and gossip. After all some of the widows described in the book of 1^st Timothy engaged in such trifles for which they were cautioned. But Anna chose to invest that time in the service of God for kingdom purposes.

What a person does with time either amounts to investment of time and resources or frittering of time and resources in unprofitable ventures. Be proactive – a great way to invest time. When you are proactive, you will plan ahead of time and prepare for contingencies. Contingencies will not take you by surprise and have you shopping for time to come up with solutions to the contingencies. But when you are proactive, you would have prepared for the contingency and would simply implement the solutions when the contingencies show up.

Procrastination is also a way of wasting resources because as you procrastinate on a task, the task does not get accomplished. So if it is a tear, any repair work, the tear or damaged part gets worse and ultimately you end up expending more energy and deploying additional resources to accomplish the task. If the young man had cared for his vineyard when he should have; weed the vineyard, fix cracks in the wall as they showed up, the vineyard would not have been taken over by weeds and the wall would not have broken down.

If it is information that is required to take an urgent decision, procrastination keeps you ignorant and indecisive and of course the decision is not taken and what ought to be done urgently is not done. For instance, can you imagine what would have happened if Joseph procrastinated on securing the surplus food resources from the bountiful harvests; some or all of the food would have rotted and there would have been no food during the seven years of famine. If the widow of the indebted prophet had procrastinated, her sons would have gone into debt bondage. If blind Bartimaeus had procrastinated to call on Jesus and assumed that Jesus would pass through that place at a later date, he would have remained blind. Procrastination is not only the thief of time, it is the forerunner to waste and destruction and poverty; it is also a great satanic tool for activating waste, poverty and destruction.

Significantly, procrastination is not only physical but also mental and spiritual especially spiritual and instructively, spiritual procrastination is the forerunner to mental and physical as well as other forms of procrastination. For instance, when we fail to activate and walk in a loving and fervent relationship with God, we lose the grace to receive myriad blessings from God such as the grace for divine wisdom, sure guidance from the Holy Spirit to accomplish divine purpose and live truly fulfilled lives.

Adopt a zero waste policy and attitude and see what transformations, surplus and abundance will come your way in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

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The Link Between Zero Waste and Prosperity 5

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Some Examples of Waste

Hiring a supposedly professional to implement a project and the professional turns out not to be as knowledgeable as s/he claimed to be, lacks the necessary expertise, is incompetent and does a shoddy job that leaves you having to start all over again; expending additional and much more resources than you would have expended on the project. Resources that could have been ploughed elsewhere to further expand resources and your wealth has to be reinvested into a project that would have cost less.

The biblical Joseph knew exactly what to do to mitigate the seven years of famine. Though the bountiful harvests were plenty and the saved up surplus was immeasurable and beyond counting, none of it was wasted. Everything was processed and stored safely. One of the ways to ensure zero waste was that food resources collected in farms around a particular city were stored in that city. The food resources were not moved farther – to prevent loss, damage; in addition to saving op on resources that would have been used in moving them farther.  It was pointless diverting resources that would be required elsewhere in moving goods farther from the fields where they were produced and from the people who produced them. Besides when famine came, the inhabitants of those areas would easily move to their nearby cities to access food resources without journeying to far away places. The risk of accidents was also minimized greatly.

Additionally, and this is really significant. Joseph traveled round the country not for the fun of travel but to carry out an assessment of facilities required to store the surplus harvests. In today’s business terminology, that would be referred to as a feasibility study -  a know what is required, what is on ground and what else to access and how access it, who to partner and work with. That way, you avoid wastes and losses and do not duplicate resources and efforts needlessly.

Not knowing what you own as well as the value of what you own is an example of great waste. For example, the young man described in Proverbs Chapter 24 verses 30 to 34 as devoid of understanding owned a vineyard; significantly a walled vineyard, implying that he owned great property – land to plant a vineyard – vines to process wine out of and sell to other people, a secure vineyard walled around for security from predators yet the young man had absolutely no understanding of what he owned, the value of what he owned so he allowed the property alongside the economic resources in it to go to seed.

The Link between Zero Waste and Prosperity 4

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

The Apostle Paul was greatly used of God to harvest souls for the kingdom; great harvests in different geographical locations, cities, towns and villages. As geographically far apart as these places were from each other, Paul managed to stay very close to the people despite the fact that they very fast methods of communication and transport of the 21^st century were lacking in the days of Paul.

How did he achieve such great feat?  Paul had a great audience and he did not for once neglect them. Paul secured his spiritual and physical harvests through constant communication with the people. He always communicated with them, had great words for them, prayed for them and encouraged them through the letters he sent to them through human couriers on a regular basis. An insightful perusal of the Pauline epistles (Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, reveal Paul’s great care and concern for the bountiful harvests God gave to him. Paul could have chosen to ignore them and move on; after all he was working in other mission fields and had raised leaders in those Churches. Yet Paul maintained constant communication of love, care, concern and compassion with the people God gave to him. He is a great study in securing spiritual and physical harvests, as well as a manual for sustaining Church growth. In essence, Paul consolidated on every success and in the process had lasting success.

The Link between Zero Waste and Prosperity 3

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Additionally, every divine opportunity and platform to showcase your divine gifts is also harvest time as it is a platform to plant your seeds and because every seed germinates and fruits, a harvest awaits you. Therefore, do not be like the man who refused to plant because of winter – Proverbs Chapter 20 verse 4 or the one who is always  seeing fierce lions that are very determined to kill him in the streets – Proverbs Chapters 22 verse 13, 26 verse 13. Rather, be like the virtuous woman of Proverbs Chapter 31 verses 10 to 31 who always took advantage of opportunities as the Bible instructs in Ecclesiastes Chapter 11 verses 1 to 6. Thereafter, take instructions on caring for your seeds, pre-planted, planted and harvested from Isaiah Chapter 28 verses 23 to 29, and Proverbs Chapter 27 verses 23 to 27. 

Any one or people who fritters and waste divine resources are actually begging poverty to visit them speedily. This is because saved up resources, well managed resources always translate into surplus while wasted resources is as good as multiplying zero by zero or adding zero to zero to get zero. If the people of the Biblical Egypt had not paid attention to Joseph and wasted the surplus food resources from the bountiful harvests of seven years, they would have probably alongside their neighbours and other nations who came to buy food from them in Egypt gone into extinction on account of famine and hunger. Even if they had resorted to cannibalism, seven years was plenty of time for them to eat each other up. Please read Genesis Chapter 50 verses 18 to 21. Fortunately, Pharaoh and his court not only paid attention, Joseph was also appointed to manage the resources of Egypt. And succeed greatly he did; ensuring food security for more than seven years until the long drought was over.

The Link between Zero Waste and Prosperity 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

On the other hand, the bountiful harvests God blessed you with can just fall to the ground, may be scattered and blown away by wind. Human predators can also come in and steal the bountiful harvests. Rain can also come and destroy the harvests just as too much sun can also destroy the harvests.

Beloved, harvests have to be protected by bringing them in from the fields at the right time – just the right time to shield them from all possible predators and process the harvests aright as well as secure them from any form of destruction and waste. Perhaps, we should take a cue from some Bible characters.

The Patriarch Isaac for instance brought in his harvests at the right time and through the bountiful harvests secured aright, the Bible records in Genesis Chapter 26 verses 12 to 14 that he began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous, beloved, it is significant to note that Isaac did not allow his harvests to waste after planting seeds in the land as instructed by God. Rather, he reaped the harvests, brought it in and secured it safely as soon as it came in. that explains his progressive prosperity - securing each harvest and profiting from each harvest. Isaac did not gape at his harvests and left them in the fields. Uncared for and unprocessed. If he did, the Philistines would have quickly harvested them. Isaac also did not procrastinate or delay in bringing the harvests in. that way, he could have lost some of the harvests. Isaac acted fast - he reaped in the harvests as soon it came and secured the harvests for profit.

Significant and quite instructive is the fact that the harvests were bountiful yet Isaac paid prime attention to the harvests and quickly brought them in. None of it was wasted.

The Link between Zero Waste and Prosperity

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

5 He that gathereth in summer [is] a wise son: [but] he that sleepeth in harvest [is] a son that causeth shame. Proverbs Chapter 10 verse 5;

Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8 Provideth her meat in the summer, [and] gathereth her food in the harvest. 9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? 10 [Yet] a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man. Proverbs Chapter 6 verses 6 to 11.

To waste anything is to allow the thing rot, be destroyed without being of benefit to anyone. That explains why it is said that waste depletes resources. It takes away from what should have been used to bless humanity thereby reducing what is left. Waste depletes resources while saving up resources multiplies and compounds resources as well as establishes the land, individuals and families.

One way of wasting resources is to sleep through harvest. Ironically, harvest time is not only when crops are harvested and brought in or when your investments mature. About every day and every time is harvest time because seeds sown at diverse times yield their harvests at diverse times. Cereals, tubers, cash crops, fruits and what have you are harvested differently at diverse times.

A person, family, communities, institutions and nations who sleep through harvests unconsciously allow the harvests to waste. This is because animal predators will eat the harvests and because animal predators just eat in an unorganized manner, a good number of the harvest is destroyed in the process, falls to the ground, is trampled upon, rots, thereby resulting in waste.

A foolish child sleeps through harvests. Do not sleep through harvests because harvest times is the time to eat the fruit of your labor. What works against harvest?

Wandering off just when the harvest is ready for harvesting is a satanic ploy of sleeping through harvests. That way, you lose out on your harvest.

Some of the things which cause wandering include ignorance, fear, insecurity, uncertainty, etc. ignorance should be replaced with knowledge, understanding and wisdom while fear should be replaced with faith in the word of God. Insecurity and uncertainty should also be replaced with the truth of the word of God and absolute dependence on God for protection, security and guidance because God is faithful and He will always guide us in His truth and love.

Break Free from Servitude

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

It is usually quite common for people to lose their identities. However, the likes of Daniel, Esther, Mordecai, Nehemiah, Job, Moses, Joseph and Paul did not lose their identities despite the challenges they experienced in foreign lands.  Please read Daniel Chapter 1, Exodus Chapters 2 and 3.

The biblical Issachar for instance was divinely wired to provide leadership and direction as well as influence in Israel. But because he saw a pleasant land, he submitted to forced labor and slavery.  How on earth does a slave provide leadership, direction and influence especially so in a land that is not his or her own? By returning to his or her own land and doing what God requires of him or her. Or s/he is sent like Joseph and because of the divine wisdom of God in his or her life, s/he is elevated form slavery and servant hood to royalty and leadership.

Unfortunately, this was not the case with Issachar because God did not send him to the supposedly pleasant land. In the supposedly pleasant land where Issachar submitted to forced labor, Issachar was a band of slaves but in his own land, he became the leader giving directions as ordained by God for him. Please read Nahum Chapter 1 verse 13, Isaiah Chapter 10 verse 27, Obadiah 17. Beloved, herein is wisdom. If you were serving as a slave because the pleasant land you opted to serve in no longer treats you well, then it is time to reconsider; NO MORE SERVITUDE/ I WILL ATTEND TO MY FLOCKS. Please read Proverbs Chapter 27 verses 23 to 27 for insight.  I also pray that the Holy Spirit will give you understanding in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

To start with, God is on your side; therefore He has blessed you with all it takes to create and make wealth happen in your own land. Please read Deuteronomy Chapter 8 verse 18. You may be working for or partnering with the Labans of this world who are determined to keep you in the ash and dust heap positions of life. But beloved, that is only a momentary fact because the truth is that God created you wealthy and blessed you with the capacity to always make wealth if only you will BREAK FREE FROM SERVITUDE AND TILL YOUR OWN LAND. Please read Deuteronomy Chapters 15 verse 6, 28 verses 11 to 13, 2^nd Corinthians Chapter 8 verse 9, 2^nd Peter Chapter 1 verses 2 to 4.

Be More Strategic 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Did Mordecai even in his wildest mental processes ever anticipate the antics of Haman? Was Mordecai aware that Haman would someday tow the path of annihilating the Jews?

For reasons that even Mordecai could not explain, he chose to enroll his orphaned but younger cousin, Esther in his care in the kingdom search for a new queen contest.  Significant and instructive is the fact that Mordecai instructed Esther not to reveal her race and nationality to anyone. Again, was Mordecai futuristic in his thinking? I believe he was being directed by the Holy Spirit; his mental processes already accustomed to being controlled by the Holy Spirit were simply responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, unknown to Mordecai, he was strategically, by the leading of the Holy Spirit placing Esther where God wanted her so that at the opportune time in history, Esther would serve the divine purpose of God for her life by being the one to speak to the King about the Jews because she was the only Jew who could gain access, significant access to the King at that point in time and in history.

Secondly, Mordecai also played a very significant and strategic role in the safety and deliverance of the King from untimely death in the hands of his servants Bigthan and Teresh who plotted to kill the King. When Mordecai heard about their plot, he reported the matter to Esther who the n informed the King.

Mordecai could have shared that information with anyone in the palace who could have probably used such information to advantage. But again, acting in divine wisdom, he chose to share the information with Esther which is quite strategic.

The King would believe Esther; secondly Esther had direct and immediate access to the King. Additionally, Esther would not betray Mordecai. Esther could be trusted to manage such information wisely. And when Esther informed the King, she also mentioned the name of her informant, Mordecai. When the matter was investigated and the plot was discovered to be true, Bigthan and Teresh paid with their lives while the safety of the King’s life was credited to Mordecai for future rewards. Significantly, it was documented in the royal records. At the appointed time in history, Mordecai was amply rewarded.

Beloved, being strategic is key to success in business and every other area of life. Being strategic means that you do not waste God’s precious resources.

Stretch Out to Expand

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

"Sing, O barren, You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, You who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate Than the children of the married woman," says the Lord. 2 "Enlarge the place of your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes. 3 For you shall expand to the right and to the left, And your descendants will inherit the nations, And make the desolate cities inhabited. 4 "Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; For you will forget the shame of your youth, And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. 5 For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth. 6 For the Lord has called you Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, Like a youthful wife when you were refused," Says your God. Isaiah Chapter 54 verses 1 to 6.

Lift up your eyes, open your eyes and look beyond where you are; your present location and circumstances to the divine possibilities, opportunities which God has blessed you with. They are all yours. Therefore, do not spare, do not hold back on resources required for the expansion. Stretch out as far as you can see. Please read Genesis Chapter 13 verses 14 to 18. Access and use plenty of resources for you are expanding to take over whole nations as well as resettle abandoned cities. Access resources, plenty of them, as much as you can get from everywhere.  The widow of the indebted prophet was instructed to borrow many vessels from everywhere and as she obeyed the divine instructions, her seemingly limited oil filled several vessels which were sold to pay off the family debt. Their family history of indebtedness was rewritten as they were no longer debtors. They had paid off their debts and had more than enough to live on for the rest of their lives. That can also be your testimony if you lift up your eyes to see the divine possibilities God has placed before you. Please read 2^nd Kings Chapter 4 verses 1 to 7.

Do not be like the King of Israel who struck only thrice. 2^nd Kings Chapter 13 verses 14 to 19. Strike as many times as God gives you opportunity.

Lender to the Nations 7

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

The Wisdom of the Virtuous Woman 2

Back to the unnamed virtuous woman of Proverbs Chapter 31. She was a business woman who understood the dynamics of business. As a skilled designer, she could produce great clothing and accessories but those great clothing and accessories would amount to nothing if they remained unsold, shelved in her home. So what did she do? She took them to where they could be sold – she marketed them to people who would sell them off easily and who would pay for the clothes; not people who would owe her. She also took the trouble to take the clothes to where they could be sold. This was despite the fact that her clothes were well made and elegant – she still marketed them and advertised them.

Beloved, you may have created great products and services; you are endowed with great intelligence, skills, expertise and wisdom. But if these are not advertised and marketed to draw global attention to the rich divine deposit of God in you, you will just be a room champion unknown to the world but known to you and perhaps your family members and some nosey neighbors. Secondly, recall how Elisha instructed the widow of the indebted prophet to go sell her packaged oil in the public domain. She was asked to be quiet about the production and packaging process but was instructed to be loud in the marketing process – take it outside your home and sell – to the teeming buyers God has raised for your products. The widow obeyed and the family became debt free from money realized from selling the oil. Significantly, this was a family who had never earned money. They only borrowed and probably lived off other people’s generosity. But now they earned money from selling what had always been there in the house but which was never utilized for money making purposes.

It is also instructive to know that the virtuous woman had great confidence in her clothes which explain why she took them to the marketplace for sales. Beloved, do you have confidence in the products and services which God enabled you to create? If yes, then get them into the global marketplace as fast as you can so that you can make money from selling them. And if unfortunately you do not have confidence in the products and services you have created, then ask yourself some very pertinent questions – what is it that you do not like about the products and services? Did you create to divine specifications as the Holy Spirit directed you to create or you did a shabby job which you are ashamed of? Whatever be the case, the situation can be quickly and easily redeemed. Rectify what you do not like about the products and services and if you were hasty in your production process and left out significant touches that would create the perfect finish, then sit up. You have ample time and significantly great guidance by the Spirit of God to do a great job that you will not only be proud of but the whole world will be proud of and you will be celebrated globally and remunerated richly.

Lender to the Nations 6

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

The Wisdom of the Virtuous Woman 1

She loved her job – knitting and sewing and because she loved her job; she thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the job. This explains why she took extra care to shop for the best yarns and cottons. Why? So that she would produce quality clothing for her clients, her family and of course herself. Please read Proverbs Chapter 31 verses 12 to 13.

The Bible also records that she knows the value of her work and for that reason, she is always at her work station, unsupervised, first thing in the morning and is never in a hurry to leave. Lesson – she has great work ethics – commitment to her work. Knowing and understanding the value of one’s work, skill, expertise and talent is a precursor to how a person treats the work, skill, expertise and talent. King Solomon for instance valued his God given wisdom and traded it profitably, guarding it jealously, respecting it as a great gift from God to him. King Solomon prospered and made great wealth from the deployment of that gift. Royalty and the wealthy from the global village of his day shipped money and other gifts to King Solomon just so they could hear his wisdom.

Unfortunately, the lazy owner of the vineyard in Proverbs Chapter 24 verses 24 to 30 had no knowledge, understanding and value of what God blessed him with. So he left it to rot through his negative attitude and behavior of making excuses for his body; getting extra sleep and rest which his body did not really require. He left the vineyard unattended to and after a while, he lost the vineyard – the walls which cracked a little and were not attended to; the cracks had widened and the walls had collapsed – they were broken down and open to all kinds of prey. There was no more protection of unrestricted access to his vineyard – anyone and anything could walk in.

Always Request for Seeds

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Every seed is a potential great harvest but the potential great harvest can only manifest when the seed is planted. Therefore, do not destroy your harvest by eating the seed. Rather, plant the seed so that your great harvests can manifests. This is because harvest is always guaranteed when seeds are planted.

It is the will of God for His children to always access seeds and plant them in the right places by the leading of His Spirit. This is because seeds rightly planted are the gateway to abundance and wealth. That is why God makes the earth to yield seed to the sower; and bread for the eater. Please read Isaiah Chapter 55 verse 10. This is further reiterated in the book of 2^nd Corinthians Chapter 9 verse 10 – God supplies seed to the sower; increases the sower’s store of seed. What this means is that the sower always has seeds; abundant seeds to sow. Abundant seeds planted appropriately translate into abundant harvests.

Beloved, God always multiplies and compounds seed especially seeds that He directs you to plant where He wants you to plant them. And sometimes He also tells you where to reap the harvest. Peter was asked to launch out into the deep. Isaac was asked to plant in Gerar. Abraham was asked to go sacrifice Isaac at Moriah. Though Isaac was not sacrificed, God not only provided a sacrificial lamb, He pronounced generational blessings on Abraham.

In some other cases, seeds could be money. God also multiplies and compounds such seeds. To enlarge your coasts financially, you have to plant financial seeds by the leading of the Holy Spirit. As you do so, God moves wealth from all over the globe to transfer to you. Please read Isaiah Chapters 45 verses 14, 1 to 3; 60 note verses 5 to 14, and 17; 61 verses 5 to 6 and 1^st Kings Chapters 4 verse34; 10 verses 14 to 15, 22 to 29; 2^nd Chronicles Chapter 9 verses 9 to 28.

Therefore, plant money at any opportunity and platform you have to plant money. The seed planted will always grow, multiply and compound to your account. The planting of money is and should never be a one off activity. Sustain it by and through prompt obedience to the Holy Spirit and you will always harvest more than enough money to lend to the nations. Please read Luke Chapter 6 verse 38.

How God Blesses the Work of Your Hands

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

One of the ways in which God blesses the work of your hands is by blessing you with divine wisdom to do the work excellently and better than anyone else so that you end up working profitably. Please read Isaiah Chapters 48 verse 17; 28 verses 23 to 29, Genesis Chapter 41 verses 14 to 49, Daniel Chapters 1, 2 and 5. This also includes exceptional skills and abilities to always do excellent work; and because excellent work always attracts attention, especially from eminent people, it is always handsomely rewarded. Please read Proverbs Chapter 22 verse 29.

By sending rain and other resources in the right quantity and at the right time so that planted crops grow, blossom to produce abundant harvests. Please read Leviticus Chapter 26 verses 3 to 9, Deuteronomy Chapter 11 verses 10 to 15, Joel Chapter 2 verses 21 to 26, Zechariah Chapter 8 verse 13, 10 verse 1, and Isaiah Chapter 30 verse 23.

God also blesses the work of your hands by watching over the work of your hands, to protect you and the work of your hands from destructive processes and persons that would have made you to labor in vain. Please read Deuteronomy Chapter 11 verses 10 to 12. This is what the Bible refers to as rebuking the devourer in Malachi Chapter 3 verses 10 to 12.

God gives unusual and uncommon intelligence to excel above other people; to solve problems which other people cannot solve so that you are greatly sought after and handsomely rewarded. For example, the Prophet Elisha resolved the issue of the problematic water of Jericho which made the ground barren and was causing death by bringing in God’s healing unction on the water. Elisha put salt in a new bowl and cast the salt at the source of the water (prophetic action) and then spoke the mind of God concerning the water    (prophetic declaration of healing and life and fruitfulness from the water). Beloved, the Bible records that the water remains healed to this day; according to the word of Elisha he spoke. Please read 2^nd Kings Chapter 2 verses 19 to 22. God blessed Elisha with great problem solving skills and used him severally to solve many problems in the lives of the people of God in Israel.

Huram was unusually gifted with the ability to make beautiful designs on buildings. He not only worked for King Hiram; he was also recruited by King Solomon to work on the temple in Jerusalem as well as Solomon’s famed palace.

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