Enhance Your Brand 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

The widow of the indebted son of the prophet was a very humble person. She acknowledged their family financial situation - it was very bad, they were in debt that was long overdue for repayment and the creditor had no intention of showing mercy. He would show up at any moment to take her two sons away for debt bondage. Recognizing that such an action would further compound her situation – widowhood and losing her two sons to the creditor she acted. She cried out to God, by going to the spokesperson of God, Elisha the prophet. She told him the truth, the whole truth. She was not economical with the truth. She did not color the truth. Elisha then advised her on what to do. Again, she humbled herself and went to all her neighbors and borrowed empty vessels. She despised the shame and borrowed empty vessels in large quantities as instructed by the prophet. Thereafter, she processed and packaged the seemingly little oil for sale and that ended and destroyed the yoke of poverty in their lives.

Humility enhanced the brand of this woman, her two sons and their family from that of an indebted family to an abundantly supplied family with more than enough financial resources to live on after paying off their debts.

Please, permit me to emphasize the significance of empty vessels. The prophet Elisha instructed the widow to borrow empty vessels in large numbers after she informed the prophet that all she had was a jar of oil. The question is why empty vessels in large numbers? The empty vessels would ensure a continuous flow of the oil – expanding and multiplying the oil. In like manner, institutionalization of the grace of God in your life will always ensure a steady flow of the grace, expanding and multiplying the unction of God in your life; creating further opportunities and platforms for expansion in your life.

Enhance Your Brand 1

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

A brand is the sum total of your true worth, capabilities and influence.  This includes your contacts – all the people you know that can support your brand. Your brand is wealth worth billions if only you know what to do with the brand.

The Presence of God is what you need to enhance your brand. To start with, you did not create your brand. God created you and your brand and He alone knows how you can enhance your brand. That is why you need His Presence in your life to enhance the brand. Besides, He designed that brand in you for a purpose and therefore knows best what you need to enhance that brand to suit the divine purpose for which He created that brand in you.

Jeremiah for instance was divinely designed as a prophet unto the nations and within the makeup of a prophet unto the nations are special characteristics required to function effectively in that brand. Jeremiah obviously had to develop and perfect those characteristics over time in order to be effective in that brand. To achieve this, Jeremiah had to depend on God completely to develop and perfect the characteristics that would enhance his brand as a prophet unto the nations.

Run Away from Strife and Contention

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Contentions start with words, snowball into the strife of tongues and escalate to fisticuffs and who knows what next – sorcery as in the case of Moab, murder as in the case Cain and Abel, Joseph and his brothers, Daniel and the satraps, Haman and Mordecai.

Strife and contention are akin to thorns and weeds in a farm that pierce the plants, compete for nourishment and space for growth. Strife and contention is the same as thorns piercing the plants – daily strife and contention can erode confidence, faith and determination as well as courage, the same function thorns perform to choke out life from plants. Strife and contention can wear out your resolve to excel which explains why the best solution to strife and contention is to always walk away from the strife and contention. Like weeds, they also contend for space in your mental processes - introducing bile such as anger, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness that if not wisely and instantly thrown out can block out productive, fruitful, spiritually, physically, mentally and financially rewarding mental processes. So rather than pay attention to your field, you expend energies fighting battles you should not be fighting because you are paying attention to strife and contention.

Isaac avoided contentions. Rather than contend with the Philistines who closed up the wells dug by his father, he dug new wells and when the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen over the new wells, Isaac and his herdsmen dug other wells and when there was no more contention over the new well, Isaac named the new well ‘Rehoboth’ meaning God has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

Mind Your Business

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Know your sheep by name: carefully attend to your flocks; (Don’t take them for granted; possessions don’t last forever, you know) and then, when the crops are in and the harvest is stored in the barns, you can knit sweaters from lamb’s wool, and sell your goats for a profit; there will be plenty of milk and meat to last your family through the winter. Proverbs Chapter 27 verses 23 to 27, Message Translation

Pay attention to your fields, which is MIND YOUR BUSINESS. It is not the fields of other people that you pay attention to that will yield their strength to you. It is your fields that you mind and pay attention to that will yield their strength to you. Therefore, do not leave your fields fallow and unattended to while you mind the fields of other people. Mind your fields and pay attention to the details of your fields.  You can actually enhance your brand by minding your fields and paying attention to the details of your fields.

In Proverbs Chapter 12 verse 11, the Bible refers to the person who follows frivolity as a person devoid of understanding while a person who tills his or her land will have plenty of bread. This is further reiterated in Proverbs Chapter 28 verse 19 (plenty of bread for land tillers and poverty for those who follow frivolity).

Prepare for Tomorrow

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Everything God created exists in time and everything God created has a purpose and a season (the time frame for the implementation of that purpose). The season is the time for improvement and the time to move your life forward. When a season is missed, there is usually a problem with change. There is a correlation between time and purpose. God in His infinite wisdom gives the exact amount of time to fulfill a purpose. When the time expires, it is assumed that the purpose is fulfilled but when the purpose is not fulfilled, a person becomes a victim of change and carries over a purpose. The issue of how time is used is therefore very critical. If you are caught up in a new season with carried over purpose, it means that you mismanaged time and when time is mismanaged, purpose and destiny is mismanaged.

Time is an equal opportunity employer. Some people use it wisely while others fritter it. Unfortunately, time cannot be managed, recouped, saved or created. Rather it is our lives that can be managed to achieve divine purpose and success. People who achieve much in life are likely to be those who make efficient use of their time. Conversely is the case with those who waste time. Effective use of time correlates with purpose. What separates successful disciples of Jesus Christ is the way they use their time.

Time, a rather limited resource is a resource given for the actualization of purpose, a resource to create value and wealth. Time is effectively used when time is used to achieve divine purpose. It is therefore a colossal waste of time to pursue things contrary to divine purpose. Man lives by purpose and not instinct. Purpose is the precursor of success. What then is the value of all the ever busy you if the ever busy you is not achieving divine purpose and success.  The model of Jesus Christ teaches on how to manage time effectively.  When it came to spending time, Jesus was conscious of His purpose. Jesus used time to achieve divine purpose and that purpose guided what He did, who He spent time with and what He spent time on. Please see John Chapters 12 verse 27, 9 verse 4, 4 verse 34 and 17 verse 4. He glorified God by finishing the work He was assigned to do on earth.

Succeed Through the Word

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper [in the thing] whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap [their] hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign [that] shall not be cut off. Isaiah Chapter 55 verses 8 to 13 KJV

The word of God has creative abilities and capacities. These abilities are activated each time the Word of God is prophesied into a situation, our lives. To prophesy is poles apart from to proclaim or proclamation which is official declaration. To prophesy according to the OXFORD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of English is to say what will happen in the future. However, because humans do not know or see the future except through the Word, it will be more accurate to say that prophesying is speaking the Word of God in the Bible into situations or he lives of people or your own life in order to activate the creative power in the Word of God. Please see Hebrews Chapter 11 verse 3, Romans Chapter 4 verse 17 and Ezekiel Chapter 37 verses 1 to 14.

The Word of God has power, great power to always accomplish what God purposes – Isaiah Chapter 55 verses 8 to 13. Scripture cannot be broken. Therefore when you have the Word of God you have everything you could ever need in life. This is because the Word of God in your heart, in your thought processes, imagination, your desires, and your likes will give you everything you want as long as they are within the will of God – Hebrews Chapter 11 verse 3.

Elijah had the Word of God – he prophesied rain after a long period of drought and there was a downpour on the same day. Peter had toiled all night yet at the Word of God released by Jesus Christ, Who is the Word of God, Peter let down his nets for a haul and the boat was full of fish. In both situations bordering on despair, the Word of God reversed the situations to joy, happiness, blessings of God and abundance. Drought and fruitless toils that characterize unsuccessful activities are not of God. The will of God is for His children to enjoy fruitfulness, rain of blessings, success and abundance.

You are a Channel of Blessing

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

There is a difference between being blessed and being a blessing. God blessed you to be a blessing to other people, a conduit of God’s blessings to other people. This makes you a distributor of blessings and not a custodian of blessings. The circles of blessings are - be blessed, give, be blessed again and give again, an endless circle of receiving and giving. This implies that every blessing you receive must flow to other people to enjoy. If you stop being a blessing, you automatically stop the flow of blessings. Please see Galatians Chapter 6 verses 9 to 10. That is why every opportunity to give should be taken advantage of.

Secondly, each time God blesses you is an opportunity to for you o be a channel of blessing. There are people that are divinely connected to you to for you to bless them and as you bless them, you cause joy and thanksgiving to God which further expands your blessings and your capacity to be a blessing.  2^nd Corinthians Chapter 9 verses 8 to 15. However, if your refuse to bless them by giving whatever God expects you to give them, you cause pain and of course interrupt the flow of blessings to you. God put something in your hand to be a blessing and every time you allow yourself to be God’s source of blessing to someone else. God will always reward you. And significantly, you can never out give God no matter what you give. God will always out give whatever you give in His name. King Solomon’s sacrifice appeared great until God reciprocated.

The level to which you are prepared to be a blessing is the level to which you are blessed. That is why the Bible says that God gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater. Seed sowers multiply seeds as they serve as God’s conduit pipes of blessings to humanity. That is why they multiply and increase to become very prosperous and successful. Bread eaters on the other hand consume bread and the bread stops with them, in fact gets digested and is passed out as waste without necessarily blessing anyone.