Unmask You

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

To succeed, the real you has to come to the fore. The real you is God’s original design of you created to fulfill His divine plans and purposes for your life. The following questions may guide you into identifying that you if answered truthfully.

• Whose dreams and visions are you interpreting and for what purpose?

• Whose ideas are you implementing and for what purpose?

• What drives you – your dreams and visions coupled with a desire to excel; or the desire to please and impress other people by deploying your energy and resources to service their dreams and visions while yours are left fallow?

• Do you desire greatness or servitude? The choice is actually yours. 

• Who is God to you?

• Have you identified your purpose in life or you are hoping it will fall on you like a bag of cherries?

• Do you have a trajectory for your life?

• What do you hope to be remembered for in the next ten years?

• What does the gift of time mean to you?

Divine Pathways to Fame 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

God is the One Who raises the poor and needy out of the dust, from obscurity and insignificance, dishonor and lack into limelight, significance, relevance, honor and wealth – Psalm 113 verses 7 to 8, 1^st Samuel Chapter 2 verses 7 to 10, Psalm 78 verses 70 to 72, 107 verse 41, 145 verse 14. Some biblical examples include Hannah, Joseph, Abraham, Daniel, Mordecai, Esther, Obed-Edom, Ruth, Rahab, Mary the mother of Jesus Christ, Mary Magdalene, David,

God raises the poor out of the dust. David was an unknown shepherd boy in Israel, the least of his father’s sons yet God in His infinite mercy chose to make David king in Israel, and gave him national and regional fame as time progressed. Psalm 78 verses 70 to 72, 113 verses 7 to 8, 1^st Samuel Chapter 16 verses 1 to 13, 2 verses 7 to 8, and Isaiah Chapter 43 verse 19.

God raised Ruth out of Moab, widowhood without children and money, obscurity and who knows what else would have befallen her in Moab to become the wife of Boaz, a significant and well known man of substance in Israel as well as the mother of Obed, who fathered Jesse, the father of King David. Ruth Chapters 1 to 4. In essence, Ruth, the unknown Moabitess became an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ – Matthew Chapter 1 verse 5.

Rahab also rose to limelight and fame by the grace of God after she sheltered and protected the two spies sent by Joshua to Jericho. The Rahab who was described as a harlot in Joshua Chapters 2 verse 1, 6 verse 17, 22, 25 is mentioned in the lineage of Jesus Christ as the wife of Salmon and mother of Boaz who married Ruth and fathered Obed, the grandfather of King David.

Esther, a Jewish captive and orphan in Babylon; living with her older cousin Mordecai became famous, royalty when she married King Ahasuerus, the then ruler of a vast empire that spanned Asia and some parts of Europe. Significantly, God raised her to fulfill divine purpose. It is also significant to note that everyone God raised out of the obscure situations and positions in life fulfilled divine purposes.

Divine Pathways to Fame 1

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of English defines fame, an uncountable noun as the state of being known and talked about by many people.

Fame comes by consistently doing the work God assigned you the way He wants you to do it, where He wants you to do it, where He wants you to do it, when He wants you to do it and for whom He wants you to do it. It is the work that is done, albeit the quality of the work that God uses to bring about the fame. It is not jumping or running around other people who are conscientiously and diligently doing their work; engaging in idle chatter and frittering time. It is investing time, God’s precious time in the work God calls you to and has taken ample time to equip you for through His divine deposits of your unique gifts, talents, skills, expertise and divine connections. It is the impact of your work that brings about transformation in the lives of people that ultimately dovetails into fame. It is true that God is the author of fame and blesses His children with fame. However, that fame comes about by doing exactly what God wants you to do. 

Fame and honor comes by doing what God requires of you in the way He wants it done, when and where He wants it done and to whom He wants it done for and not necessarily how you want it done, where and when you want it done and whom it should be done for. God is the Only One who has the capacity and capability to order your steps into fame, wealth, and honor as you walk in divine purposes and timing as you work for God, do your work as unto the Lord. Fame is a function of your total and prompt obedience to God.

Who could be more famous than Jesus Christ? Nobody. How did He become famous? By doing what God asked Him to do in the way and timing and specific places where God asked Him to do what had to be done and by reaching out to the specific people God wanted Him to reach out to. Jesus Christ did not set out to be famous – Philippians Chapter 2 verses 5 to 11. Rather, He always set out to do what God required of Him and in the process, fame and honor followed him – John Chapter 4, Mark Chapter 1 verse 28, John Chapter 9 verse 4.

Always Negotiate Tomorrow

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Always negotiate the future. Tomorrow is the future. The future is where you are headed which is why the future should always be the focus of your negotiations. The past is gone and should not be part of the negotiations. Joseph negotiated the future in his negotiations with Pharaoh. Daniel negotiated the future.

Negotiating Skills – Worth and Value

Esau and Rachel had no negotiating skills which explain why they always negotiated bread and not divine destinies. Their lack of self-control over bread deprived them of the ability to negotiate from a position of power. No matter how famished Esau was, he should have exercised self-control when he realized what Jacob aimed for – a birthright in exchange for a pot of stew – that was enough wake up call to stall negotiations. But Esau in addition to lacking self-control had absolutely no idea of who he was – the first born; and therefore did not know his worth and value as well as that of the birthright. He therefore traded what was of divine value and worth for temporary satisfaction. He repeated the same absolute lack of value and worth in his second negotiations with Jacob. Rather than refuse the gifts as well as insist on providing protection and security for Jacob (these actions would have given Esau an edge over Jacob as they would have kept Jacob in his place, in fear of Esau and never daring to be first born), Esau capitulated to Jacob’s superior argument and became indebted to Jacob. If only Esau knew his worth and value, that Jacob was afraid of him and his men and that Jacob’s life depended on his generosity. But Esau had no idea of who he was and his worth and his value. This infers that any negotiator worth his or her salt should know his or her value and worth or the value and worth of what s/he holds as bargaining chips. That sense of value and worth will be a constant reminder not to trade in value and worth for temporary relief or satisfaction. Also, a seasoned or skilled negotiator should always exercise self control so as not to get carried away by the temporary relief that may appear to be the solution in the heat of negotiations but is indeed no solution as Esau learnt after trading in his birthright for a pot of stew and as Rachel probably learnt after trading in her husband and her right of intimacy with him that night for mandrakes.