Nelson Mandela's Quotes

One of the greatest leaders of the world and former South African President Nelson Mandela died at the age of 95 in South Africa on Thursday, 6th of December, 2013. Nelson Mandela was taken to the hospital earlier this year for an infection and was in critical condition in a hospital in Pretoria where he was getting treated for a lung infection. "Doctors are doing everything possible to ensure his well-being and comfort," said President Jacob Zuma at the time, adding that doctors were doing "everything possible to get his condition to improve and are ensuring that Madiba is well looked after and is comfortable." Nelson Mandela was the sole instrument in the fight for freedom and against apartheid in the Republic of South Africa. Here are 28 great quotes from Nelson Mandela:

 

1. Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

 

2. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

 

3. If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart. 

 

4. If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.

 

5. There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.

 

6. A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don't have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed.

 

7. Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement.

 

8. No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

 

9. A new society cannot be created by reproducing the repugnant past, however refined or enticingly repackaged.

 

10. I was called a terrorist yesterday, but when I came out of jail, many people embraced me, including my enemies, and that is what I normally tell other people who say those who are struggling for liberation in their country are terrorists. I tell them that I was also a terrorist yesterday, but, today, I am admired by the very people who said I was one.

 

11. Freedom would be meaningless without security in the home and in the streets.

 

12. Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfil themselves.

13. The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

 

14. After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.

 

15. When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.

 

16. When there is danger, a good leader takes the front line; but when there is celebration, a good leader stays in the back of the room.

 

17. Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me.

 

18. No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens but its lowest ones.

 

19. Even if you have a terminal disease, you don't have to sit down and mope. Enjoy life and challenge the illness that you have.

 

20. I do not want to be presented as some deity. I would like to be remembered as an ordinary human being with virtues and vices.

 

21. A leader ... is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.

 

22. In its proper meaning equality before the law means the right to participate in the making of the laws by which one is governed, a constitution which guarantees democratic rights to all sections of the population, the right to approach the court for protection or relief in the case of the violation of rights guaranteed in the constitution, and the right to take part in the administration of justice as judges, magistrates, attorneys-general, law advisers and similar positions. In the absence of these safeguards the phrase 'equality before the law', in so far as it is intended to apply to us, is meaningless and misleading. All the rights and privileges to which I have referred are monopolised by whites, and we enjoy none of them. The white man makes all the laws, he drags us before his courts and accuses us, and he sits in judgement over us.

I have never cared very much for personal prizes. A person does not become a freedom fighter in the hope of winning awards.

 

22. Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated.

 

23. I learned to have the patience to listen when people put forward their views, even if I think those views are wrong. You can't reach a just decision in a dispute unless you listen to both sides.

 

24. I like a leader who can, while pointing out a mistake, bring up the good things the other person has done. If you do that, then the person sees that you have a complete picture of him. There is nobody more dangerous than one who has been humiliated, even when you humiliate him rightly.

 

25. Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farmworkers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.

 

26.I had no epiphany, no singular revelation, no moment of truth, but a steady accumulation of a thousand slights, a thousand indignities and a thousand unremembered moments produced in me an anger, a rebelliousness, a desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people. There was no particular day on which I said, Henceforth I will devote myself to the liberation of my people; instead, I simply found myself doing so, and could not do otherwise.

 

27. There is a universal respect and even admiration for those who are humble and simple by nature, and who have absolute confidence in all human beings irrespective of their social status.

 

28. During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for. But, my lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

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Brain study reveals difference between male and female

A new brain connectivity study from Penn Medicine published today in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences found striking differences in the neural wiring of men and women that’s lending credence to some commonly-held beliefs about their behavior.

In one of the largest studies looking at the “connectomes” of the sexes, Ragini Verma, PhD, an associate professor in the department of Radiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues found greater neural connectivity from front to back and within one hemisphere in males, suggesting their brains are structured to facilitate connectivity between perception and coordinated action. In contrast, in females, the wiring goes between the left and right hemispheres, suggesting that they facilitate communication between the analytical and intuition.

“These maps show us a stark difference–and complementarity–in the architecture of the human brain that helps provide a potential neural basis as to why men excel at certain tasks, and women at others,” said Verma.

For instance, on average, men are more likely better at learning and performing a single task at hand, like cycling or navigating directions, whereas women have superior memory and social cognition skills, making them more equipped for multitasking and creating solutions that work for a group. They have a mentalistic approach, so to speak.

Past studies have shown sex differences in the brain, but the neural wiring connecting regions across the whole brain that have been tied to such cognitive skills has never been fully shown in a large population.

In the study, Verma and colleagues, including co-authors Ruben C. Gur, PhD, a professor of psychology in the department of Psychiatry, and Raquel E. Gur, MD, PhD, professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and Radiology, investigated the gender-specific differences in brain connectivity during the course of development in 949 individuals (521 females and 428 males) aged 8 to 22 years using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). DTI is water-based imaging technique that can trace and highlight the fiber pathways connecting the different regions of the brain, laying the foundation for a structural connectome or network of the whole brain.

This sample of youths was studied as part of the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, a National Institute of Mental Health-funded collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania Brain Behavior Laboratory and the Center for Applied Genomics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

The brain is a roadmap of neural pathways linking many networks that help us process information and react accordingly, with behavior controlled by several of these sub-networks working in conjunction.

In the study, the researchers found that females displayed greater connectivity in the supratentorial region, which contains the cerebrum, the largest part of the brain, between the left and right hemispheres. Males, on the other hand, displayed greater connectivity within each hemisphere.

By contrast, the opposite prevailed in the cerebellum, the part of the brain that plays a major role in motor control, where males displayed greater inter-hemispheric connectivity and females displayed greater intra-hemispheric connectivity.

These connections likely give men an efficient system for coordinated action, where the cerebellum and cortex participate in bridging between perceptual experiences in the back of the brain, and action, in the front of the brain, according to the authors. The female connections likely facilitate integration of the analytic and sequential processing modes of the left hemisphere with the spatial, intuitive information processing modes of the right side.

The authors observed only a few gender differences in the connectivity in children younger than 13 years, but the differences were more pronounced in adolescents aged 14 to 17 years and young adults older than 17.

Vacancy for Graduate Trainee at Nigeria LNG Limited

https://sws.nlng.com/e-recruitment/Graduate Trainee

GT/2013/001

LOCATION : PORT HARCOURT (INTELS)  

The Job:
Graduate Trainee

The Duties:
Graduate Trainee

The Person:

Qualifications:
Candidates must possess a university degree obtained at a minimum of Second Class (Upper Division) in any of the following disciplines:

• Engineering
• Sciences
• Social
• Sciences
• Arts
• Law
• Business/Management Sciences

In addition candidates must

• Have obtained either their NYSC discharge certificate or exemption certificate.
• Not be over 28years old as at the date of this advert.

Closing Date:
22/11/2013

Call for Applications: NLNG Post-graduate Scholarship Scheme 2014

Applications are now being accepted into the Nigeria LNG Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme for entry into Masters Programmes in the United Kingdom in September 2014.
Application form for the scholarships can be downloaded here.  Completed application form, along with an attached coloured passport photograph of the applicant should be submitted via email to nlngpgscholarship@ng.britishcouncil.org.
Criteria for Award
Potential beneficiaries must:

• Be entering into a Master’s programme in Engineering, Geosciences, Environmental Sciences,  Management Sciences, Information Technology, Law and Medicine

• Possess a 2nd Class Upper degree in a relevant field of study

• Have completed the NYSC programme

• Be no more than 30 years of age

• Be Nigerian nationals resident in Nigeria

• Provide identification documents from their L.G.A.s

• Provide evidence that they are available to travel in September 2014 if selected

The Application Process
The application form is to be completed and submitted along with a coloured recent passport photo of the applicant. Documents are not to be attached to the form as these will not be accepted. Applications into the NLNG Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme will be received only via email at nlngpgscholarship@ng.britishcouncil.org. Exceptions will be given only to applicants with ‘special needs’.

Please note that due to the large number of applications, we are unable to enter into correspondence with applicants and will contact only those who are successfully shortlisted.
Application deadline is midnight on Friday, 15th November 2013. Applications received after this time will not be accepted.

Students, social media rants and ASUU strike.

Dr. Anderson Uvie-Emegbo
| credits: File copy

This is an open letter from me to all undergraduates of Nigerian public universities and their families – catalysed after reading some comments on a popular social networking site. You are not getting any younger. You would probably be graduating at an older age than your peers in Ghana, Singapore, Kenya and Taiwan.

Fact: Students in Harvard University have not stopped learning because your lecturers are on strike.

Fact: Your future employer(s) may also not understand why you lack certain fundamental skills essential for the workplace.

Fact: Those who have the ability to make your education count have long gone to sleep on the job. It’s your life: You must now make your own way and fast! Great enterprises have always been born out of great adversity. There is no excuse to watch your life fritter away. Now is the time to pause and ask yourself these hard questions:

If there were no certainty that you would get a job after leaving school, would you still go to school?

Is what you are studying at the risk of being taken over by developments in technology? If yes, what’s your response plan? Would what you are studying today still be relevant in 2-3 years after you graduate?

How do you plan to stay relevant in your career over the next 2-3 years? Do you have any vocational (hands on) skills that can earn you money right now or after you graduate even in the absence of a white-collar job?

Are jobs in your profession likely to be lost to non-specialists within your country and/or specialists outside your country? How many transferable skills do you have?

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your organisational, business writing, verbal and non-verbal communication, marketing, selling, customer service, critical thinking, creative thinking and facilitation skills?

In Stephen R.Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” he introduced the concept of an outer, larger Circle of Concern, and an inner, smaller Circle of Influence. In this case, your circle of concern would be what affects all students in public universities – “when would the strike end?

When would I graduate? Would my course be accredited? Would I get a good job as soon as I graduate?” You have no control over your circle of concern.

Your circle of influence involves things that you can do something about. For instance, “how can I ensure that I graduate with a good grade? How can I ensure that I develop the skills that organisations would be willing to pay a premium for?”

Some years ago while leading a transformational project for an organisation, we needed to bring on board some persons with a particular competence and attitude. We identified three of such specialists. However there was a snag.

Fresh out of “public universities”, they had no formal work experience despite undertaking similar roles as undergraduates.

They were also waiting for their call up for the mandatory national youth service.  An extensive search for post youth service candidates with similar skills failed to produce the right fit. Much to my relief, we hired these guys on a contract basis for a couple of months.

During contract negotiations, they held out for a monthly fee of N80,000 (USD 500). However, given the depth of their expertise and their proven record in developing and deploying such solutions even as undergraduates, we eventually paid each N300, 000 (USD 1,875) monthly.

This fee astonished the boys but I strongly believed that these were justifiable, given the expected returns. Barely a year later they had helped achieve a cost savings of several million US dollars. The project became a benchmark in the sector.

One of the guys had become an orphan just about the time he left secondary school. During strikes like these, he started working in cyber cafes. He taught himself how to write web programmes in an obscure part of the country.

Fast forward to the present, he is now the CEO of a private equity funded digital business turning out some groundbreaking products in Africa. Still under 32 years, he is a shining example of how to turn one’s career around by focusing on one’s circle of influence.

He did not allow adversity to dictate his future. I am privileged to have had the opportunity to work with and learn from him. This can be your story and much more.

Rant on social media if you must, quarrel about the system and lament about the rot in the Nigerian society but remember all of these falls into your circle of concern. What are you going to do right now about the things that you can do something about (your circle of influence)?

Today’s formal educational system may not get you to the Promised Land.  The question is not where you stand right now but in what direction you are headed.

It is time to build your “Circle of Influence”  – What is your plan to transform your skills and create your own opportunities – even through this period of relative inactivity? Someone once said, “When Nigerians students are pushed to the wall, they don’t fight back   – that they break down the wall and keep running.”

 They may take away your years but they cannot take away your choices. In an age of technology, there are thousands of teachers willing to teach you practically anything for free. You have no excuse to fail.

Most people fail for lack of pluck and not lack of luck. There are opportunities to learn from an artisan near you. You can do some quick internship, to finally put to practice some of the things you have learnt. This is the time to brush up on your research skills.

“Life is too fleeting to wait for the next unforgiving minute.”  Someone around you needs some help, an extra hand to support the business they are running. Would you step up to the plate? You must redeem the times for the days are evil.

Strike: Education minister, ASUU in secret meeting

Supervising Minister of Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, on Tuesday met with the Academic Staff Union of Universities in Abuja.

It could not be ascertained if the meeting which lasted barely one hour produced desirable results.

The ASUU President, Dr. Nasir Fagge and the minister refused to speak with journalists after the meeting.

Fagge did not respond to questions on the outcome of the meeting and the  next line of action of the union.

He simply told one of our correspondents that, “I am not in a position to talk.”

At the meeting were the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Julius Okojie; the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Isaac Adewole and a few national officers of the union.

Also, Vice-President Namadi Sambo on Tuesday met briefly with stakeholders in the nation’s education sector.

The stakeholders were led to the meeting which was held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja by Wike.

Other members of the delegation included Okojie and Adewole.

At the end of the brief session, none of the participants agreed to speak with journalists when approached.

Other members of the team who came out of the venue of the meeting a few minutes before Wike came out had claimed that the minister would address journalists.

But Wike refused to answer questions when he emerged from the Vice President’s office.

He joined other members of the team in a brief consultation at the forecourt of the Presidential Villa before he hurriedly jumped into his waiting car.

No official statement was also issued by the Vice President’s office on the meeting.

Meanwhile, the Pan-Yoruba Socio-Cultural group, the Afenifere has appealed to both the Federal  Government and the striking members of ASUU to shift grounds in the interest of the future of the students and education sector in general.

This was contained in a communique issued by the group and read to journalists by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, after the meeting of the group, on Tuesday in Akure. It expressed worries that both parties had failed to shift grounds on the industrial action which had been on since July 1.

The meeting, which was held at the residence of the Afenifere Leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, in Akure, also noted that the development was not healthy for the nation’s educational sector.

In a  related development, the National Association of Kwara State Students has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to take a pivotal role by personally being involved in the negotiation to resolve the strike.

In  a statement  signed by its President, Ajadi Muhideen and Public Relations Officer, Sulyman Alimi, on Tuesday in Ilorin,  NAKSS said such act by Jonathan would further show his commitment to education growth and advancement.

It hoped that the direct involvement of  Jonathan in the negotiation would enhance  the quicker resolution of the crisis.

According to the association, Nigerian students are tired of suffering inadequate provision of infrastructure as well as lack of motivation for their lecturers and insufficient funding.

It stated that there was inadequate lecture rooms in many tertiary institutions, adding that under-furnished lecture halls, poorly equipped or lack of laboratories were some of the challenges facing the nation’s institutions.

NAKSS  urged other labour unions in the country to embark on solidarity strike.

It said, “The Nigerian students are intellectuals and can see where the wrong is coming from.  We do not need anybody to sponsor us, the ills are there for all to see.

“It does not go with reason why any Nigerian student will say a demand for 26 per cent budgetary allocation or the  duly earned allowances of university lecturers being requested for is unrealistic.”

Nelson Mandela, The Great

Rolihlahla Mandela was born into the Madiba clan in Mvezo, Transkei, on July 18, 1918, to Nonqaphi Nosekeni and Nkosi Mphakanyiswa Gadla Mandela, principal counsellor to the Acting King of the Thembu people, Jongintaba Dalindyebo.
His father died when he was a child and the young Rolihlahla became a ward of Jongintaba at the Great Place in Mqhekezweni. Hearing the elder’s stories of his ancestor’s valour during the wars of resistance, he dreamed also of making his own contribution to the freedom struggle of his people.
He attended primary school in Qunu where his teacher Miss Mdingane gave him the name Nelson, in accordance with the custom to give all school children “Christian” names.
He completed his Junior Certificate at Clarkebury Boarding Institute and went on to Healdtown, a Wesleyan secondary school of some repute, where he matriculated.
Nelson Mandela began his studies for a Bachelor of Arts Degree at the University College of Fort Hare but did not complete the degree there as he was expelled for joining in a student protest. He completed his BA through the University of South Africa and went back to Fort Hare for his graduation in 1943.
On his return to the Great Place at Mkhekezweni the King was furious and said if he didn’t return to Fort Hare he would arrange wives for him and his cousin Justice. They ran away to Johannesburg instead arriving there in 1941. There he worked as a mine security officer and after meeting Walter Sisulu, an estate agent, who introduced him to Lazar Sidelsky. He then did his articles through the firm of attorneys Witkin Eidelman and Sidelsky.
Meanwhile he began studying for an LLB at the University of the Witwatersrand. By his own admission he was a poor student and left the university in 1948 without graduating. He only started studying again through the University of London and also did not complete that degree.
In 1989, while in the last months of his imprisonment, he obtained an LLB through the University of South Africa. He graduated in absentia at a ceremony in Cape Town.
Nelson Mandela, while increasingly politically involved from 1942, only joined the African National Congress in 1944 when he helped formed the ANC Youth League.
In 1944 he married Walter Sisulu’s cousin Evelyn Mase, a nurse. They had two sons Madiba Thembekile ‘Thembi’ and Makgatho and two daughters both called Makaziwe, the first of whom died in infancy. They effectively separated in 1955 and divorced in 1958.
Nelson Mandela rose through the ranks of the ANCYL and through its work the ANC adopted in 1949 a more radical mass-based policy, the Programme of Action.
In 1952 he was chosen at the National Volunteer-in-Chief of the Defiance Campaign with Maulvi Cachalia as his Deputy. This campaign of civil disobedience against six unjust laws was a joint programme between the ANC and the South African Indian Congress. He and 19 others were charged under the Suppression of Communism Act for their part in the campaign and sentenced to nine months hard labour suspended for two years.
A two-year diploma in law on top of his BA allowed Nelson Mandela to practice law and in August 1952 he and Oliver Tambo established South Africa’s first black law firm, Mandela and Tambo.
At the end of 1952 he was banned for the first time. As a restricted person he was only able to secretly watch as the Freedom Charter was adopted at Kliptown on 26 June 1955.
Nelson Mandela was arrested in a countrywide police swoop of 156 activists on 5 December 1955, which led to the 1956 Treason Trial. Men and women of all races found themselves in the dock in the marathon trial that only ended when the last 28 accused, including Mr. Mandela were acquitted on 29 March 1961.
On 21 March 1960 police killed 69 unarmed people in a protest at Sharpeville against the pass laws. This led to the country’s first state of emergency on 31 March and the banning of the ANC and the Pan Africanist Congress on 8 April. Nelson Mandela and his colleagues in the Treason Trial were among the thousands detained during the state of emergency.
During the trial on 14 June 1958 Nelson Mandela married a social worker Winnie Madikizela. They had two daughters Zenani and Zindziswa. The couple divorced in 1996.
Days before the end of the Treason Trial Nelson Mandela travelled to Pietermaritzburg to speak at the All-in Africa Conference, which resolved he should write to Prime Minister Verwoerd requesting a non-racial national convention, and to warn that should he not agree there would be a national strike against South Africa becoming a republic. As soon as he and his colleagues were acquitted in the Treason Trial Nelson Mandela went underground and began planning a national strike for 29, 30 and 31 March. In the face of a massive mobilization of state security the strike was called off early. In June 1961 he was asked to lead the armed struggle and helped to establish Umkhonto weSizwe (Spear of the Nation).
On 11 January 1962 using the adopted name David Motsamayi, Nelson Mandela left South Africa secretly. He travelled around Africa and visited England to gain support for the armed struggle. He received military training in Morocco and Ethiopia and returned to South Africa in July 1962. He was arrested in a police roadblock outside Howick on 5 August while returning from KwaZulu-Natal where he briefed ANC President Chief Albert Luthuli about his trip.
He was charged with leaving the country illegally and inciting workers to strike. He was convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment which he began serving in Pretoria Local Prison. On 27 May 1963 he was transferred to Robben Island and returned to Pretoria on 12 June. Within a month police raided a secret hide-out in Rivonia used by ANC and Communist Party activists and several of his comrades were arrested.
In October 1963 Nelson Mandela joined nine others on trial for sabotage in what became known as the Rivonia Trial.  Facing the death penalty his words to the court at the end of his famous ‘Speech from the Dock’ on 20 April 1964 became immortalized:
“I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
On 11 June 1964 Nelson Mandela and seven other accused Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Denis Goldberg, Elias Motsoaledi and Andrew Mlangeni were convicted and the next day were sentenced to life imprisonment. Denis Goldberg was sent to Pretoria Prison because he was white while the others went to Robben Island.
Nelson Mandela’s mother died in 1968 and his eldest son Thembi in 1969. He was not allowed to attend their funerals.
On 31 March 1982 Nelson Mandela was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town with Sisulu, Mhlaba and Mlangeni. Kathrada joined them in October. When he returned to the prison in November 1985 after prostate surgery Nelson Mandela was held alone. Justice Minister Kobie Coetsee had visited him in hospital. Later Nelson Mandela initiated talks about an ultimate meeting between the apartheid government and the ANC.
In 1988 he was treated for Tuberculosis and was transferred on 7 December 1988 to a house at Victor Verster Prison near Paarl. He was released from its gates on Sunday 11 February 1990, nine days after the unbanning of the ANC and the PAC and nearly four months after the release of the remaining Rivonia comrades. Throughout his imprisonment he had rejected at least three conditional offers of release.
Nelson Mandela immersed himself into official talks to end white minority rule and in 1991 was elected ANC President to replace his ailing friend Oliver Tambo. In 1993 he and President FW de Klerk jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize and on 27 April 1994 he voted for the first time in his life.
On 10 May 1994 he was inaugurated South Africa’s first democratically elected President. On his 80th birthday in 1998 he married Graça Machel, his third wife.
True to his promise Nelson Mandela stepped down in 1999 after one term as President. He continued to work with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund he set up in 1995 and established the Nelson Mandela Foundation and The Mandela-Rhodes Foundation.
In April 2007 his grandson Mandla Mandela became head of the Mvezo Traditional Council at a ceremony at the Mvezo Great Place.
Nelson Mandela never wavered in his devotion to democracy, equality and learning. Despite terrible provocation, he never answered racism with racism. His life has been an inspiration to all who are oppressed and deprived, to all who are opposed to oppression and deprivation.

3 Steps to Determining Your Dream Job

As kids, we are told life is a boundless journey and that anything is possible. Every day is an energizing experience as we explored new things, and learned new ideas. Our minds were filled with clear thoughts, and a clear direction on how we were going to take over the world. We wanted to be missionaries or artists. We wanted to write novels or make films. We wanted to study.
Fast forward 20 years later. What happened to that dream we were so passionate about?
The obvious answer is that we grew up. The security from family slowly eroded into student loans, bills and so-called reality. With that, we sacrificed our dreams—our happiness—for some vague idea of “success” or “security.” Getting a steady job with a decent salary, some benefits, and a cool title gradually replaced any passion-driven dream. Being a missionary became impractical. Being an artist seemed too risky. A novel, too daunting. School, too expensive.

If you don’t like what you’re doing right now, pinpoint exactly what you dislike in your current situation and do everything you can to fix it.

We all swore it wouldn’t happen to us. Yet for many of us, it has. We still have our passion to know God and do what He’s made us to do but, after that, it gets fuzzy.We were meant for better. In fact, you were created for something more than mere “success”. So let’s get back to the real versions of us. Let’s become who we were meant to be.
This is a simple process and—contrary to popular belief—the less emotional the better. If you don’t like what you’re doing right now, pinpoint exactly what you dislike in your current situation and do everything you can to fix it.
Too often, we are quick to jump ship, as opposed to fixing the problems with our current state. Who knows, maybe once you fix the problem(s) you will be exactly where you need to be to accomplish your dreams. The grass is only green where you water it.
However, if things seem destined to fail, it’s probably time to move on. Ask yourself if you are simply trying to make an excuse for why you’re not happier with your life, or if you’re truly trying to move toward a greater purpose. If it is the latter of the two, you are ready to take the next step.
When it comes to choosing our dream job, we usually ask ourselves, “What do I like to do? What am I good at?” Or, “What makes me happy?” Some people even make lists of what they are good and bad at, and then try to mathematically decide on what they should do.None of this is wrong. These are good and valid questions to ask so we can understand more about ourselves. On the other hand, these questions may leave us more confused than when we started. Once we travel down that rabbit hole, we tend to find there are many things we like to spend our time doing. Subsequently, we are overwhelmed with deciding which activity to pick as our craft.
There is an easy, more effective, process to find an answer.
Full disclosure: this only works when we commit to being completely honest with ourselves. No one is listening, so don’t say what you think the right answer is. Equally as important, we must get into the correct state of mind. So here we go.
First, get to a place where you’re far away from any stress. Forget about your student loans, other bills, the judgments of others and anything else that might be standing in your way for the moment. Whatever your current situation—good or bad—it doesn’t matter right now. None of that will help you get a clear answer. You don’t want your passion to just be a negative reaction to your current state.
Second, ask yourself, “What impact do I want to have on the world?” In other words, what do you want the byproduct of your results to be? Start with the end in mind, and work backwards from that. Like a road map, if you know where you’re going, you can plan how to get there. For me, the answer is to add value to people’s lives through leading by example. Yours could be anything else. That’s the point. Don’t judge any of your answers, but approach them prayerfully too.

ask yourself “If you could do anything in the world and be instantly good at it, what would you do?” The answer is your passion.

Third, ask yourself “If I could do anything in the world and be instantly good at it, what would I do?” The answer is your passion. There may be more than one result, and that’s perfectly fine. There’s no rule that says God only gives one career passion to each person. With your options, pick one and go. There is absolutely no wrong decision here. Chances are, when you pursue your first passion whole-heartedly, you’ll be able to incorporate your second passion later in life.Transitioning into the last and final step, understand that you can accomplish your dream. At first glance it will seem daunting and frankly, scary. But look at it this way: worst case scenario, you pursue your passion and dreams and fall short three years later. Where does that leave you? Miles ahead of where you were when you started. You’ve met new people, learned life lessons and expanded your comfort zone. Best of all, you tried. You didn’t just fall in line and take the safe road. You did the one thing no one else is doing, and you made it your own. That is a rare and notable accomplishment.
One final note: if money is your goal, this exercise for true passion will not be very effective. Money can be a little important as it allows you to explore certain things in this life. However, it is not very much. From this point forward, commit to viewing money as just the byproduct of your effort and attitude towards accomplishing your true passion.
The more positive your attitude, and the more effort you give to the world, the more opportunity the world has to give back. There is no better day than today.

Just Because It’s 'Christian' Doesn’t Mean You Have to Like It

At my Christian college, the question of “Is it biblical?” was somewhat of a joke: scribbled on articles posted in the student center or said in jest whenever students gathered in a dorm room to watch a movie that didn’t have a PG rating.
Rather than being insulated during my time in school, I felt my college experience introduced me to much of the world’s greatest literature—whether secular or faith-based—and I learned profoundly from the rich literary tradition of the English language. But along the way I began to notice a potentially harmful double standard cropping up in the Church. It seems we engage secular culture with mental filters while at the same time we choose to absorb Christian books, music or films with a certain laissez-faire attitude of complete and naïve trust.
Here’s the truth of the matter: Just because something has been labeled “Christian” does not mean it is biblical.
A quick look at the “Christian” sections of bookstores will remind us just how much of a fan club the Church can be: the latest John Piper book, the plethora of Tim Keller works. I’m not saying that any of these writers—or filmmakers or musicians, for that matter—are bad, or that they’ve got their theology all wrong. But I do think God calls us to think critically of everything we take in, making sure to read widely rather than narrowly.

God calls us to think critically of everything we take in, making sure to read widely rather than narrowly.

By nature, we as humans can’t be expected to produce utterly orthodox work every time we put pen to paper, every time we press record and start speaking. I think of Church pillars such as Luther and Calvin and Barth and shudder when things they’ve done come to light. Luther with his anti-Catholic and anti-Jewish writings, Calvin with his persecution of purported heretics, Barth who housed his wife and mistress under the same roof. Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not judging these men at all because, just like any Christian, I have made my own share of mistakes. I simply ask that we temper the way we consider Christian figures—from the Church Fathers to the rock band Third Day—that we realize their faults and need for a God who guides and corrects weakness.If we absorb Christian art and culture without calling it to a standard, we run the risk of having our theology messed up in very subtle yet devastating ways. We run the risk of absorbing ideas we never intended to. And often the ideas we think are safest can be the most harmful.
Perhaps we come to see God in a harsher light than who He is. Or we are urged to see God entirely as a friend in place of His identity as author and judge of the world. Articles and books might convince us that church growth is a simple step-by-step process. We might be urged to see the secular and Christian worlds as polar opposites, rather than realizing there is an in-between.Our faith is not meant to be condensed and explained in a single book’s thesis. Christianity is and always has been a mosaic that stretches as far as the eye can see. Each of us can only see a few square inches of it, but with the help of Scripture and those around us, we come to comprehend a bigger picture while recognizing there is still so much more we don’t know.
I am convinced that all writing and all work that we as humans produce has bias. The next time you read an article online or listen to a song, make sure you realize that the person is arguing something. God gave us brains with both logic and emotion by which we can feel our way through the arguments of the world. I’ve found that the best so-called “Christian” books are the ones I struggle with—the type of books I want to throw across the room while at the same time keep reading.

Christianity is and always has been a mosaic that stretches as far as the eye can see.

A recent collection of essays by the poet Christian Wiman, My Bright Abyss, is a perfect example of a writer I respect but with whom I don’t always agree. Wiman grapples with suffering and doubt and finds the diagnosis of cancer as a stepping stone for belief in God. But his articulations of who God is and his concepts of time and eternity are not beliefs I thoroughly share.And there are many more: from C.S. Lewis, the patron saint of modern Protestantism, to Saint Augustine to Thomas Merton—all of whom journey towards God while making missteps. But that is a part of being human. Our journey to God is exactly that: one in which we constantly understand new ways and relearn old ways of perceiving Him.
So let me challenge you to genuinely and wholeheartedly ask the question “Is it biblical?” as you go through your daily life and take in everything the culture around us has to offer. Perhaps you will find that a secular band might have a greater and deeper understanding than a Christian band you hear on the radio. You might find that a film by Terrence Malick can do wonders for your understanding of suffering in place of a book with big words like “theodicy” and “kenosis.”
But always look at things critically, making sure to ask the right questions and to guide the development of your heart and mind with the help of God.

20 Things to Know Before You're 30

September 18 marked a big milestone in my life.
3-0.
I can finally say goodbye to my twenties. I’m happy to say it’s been a good run. But if I’m completely honest, I feel a sense of grief coupled with excitement. I am sad for the years that have passed. They’ve gone by so fast. And I haven’t been able to slow them down.
But more, I’m filled with excitement. It has been an adventure, to be sure, and I’ve had the privilege of watching God at work in my life in so many ways. I’m excited to see what the next years hold.

There are many things I know at 30 that I didn’t know at 20.

I’ve had the chance to reflect on the past 10 years of my life, and I realized there are many things I know at 30 that I didn’t know at 20.1. Time is limited, so invest it in things that matter. I remember the days of wasting my time away on meaningless things. Now that I’m older, I see that my time is valuable and limited.
2. Say no to one-way friendships. Not only is it important to use your time wisely, it’s crucial to spend it with people that care. So much of our time is wasted on superficial friendships and obligations. Invest in people who are worth investing in.
3. It doesn’t matter what people think of you, and you can’t please everyone. Often, your twenties are defined by living a roller coaster life, allowing the choices and decisions of others affect you rather than taking control of your own life. It’s sad to say that so many years are spent defining yourself by others, instead of for the sake of who God has called you to be.
4. Life is more expensive than you think it is. This life lesson isn’t fun. But it’s amazing how much $100 seems to a 20-year-old, and how little it seems to a 30-year-old. As you get older, you learn to really see the value of money and how to spend and use it wisely.
5. Being healthy matters. You realize you’re no longer invincible when the aches and pains begin to slowly creep into your life. And it only gets worse—or so I hear. Learn to appreciate your health, and to be more proactive about taking it seriously.
6. Joy can come from unexpected places. So many things that may have never seemed fun in my younger years have taken on a whole new meaning. As life gets more complicated, you learn to take more joy in the simple things.
7. You should value your parents. You will make the same mistakes as they did. The older you get, the more you realize your own flaws, and it helps you have grace for the flaws of others. We’ve all gotten to that moment where we realize that in so many ways we are just like our parents.
8. You’re not stuck. By God’s grace, you get to choose how you will live. You don’t have to repeat patterns, and you’re not paralyzed to a certain mold. 9. Your decisions affect more people than just yourself. There’s a ripple effect, and it gets clearer with each passing year. When you’re young and single, this can sometimes be hard to see, but as you grow up, you cease to be on center stage and you see that life is all about the big picture, and you are a small but important piece in it.
10. Your words have a lot of power, so be careful what you say. From writing a blog post to saying a kind word, from a thoughtless comment to a negative remark, I’ve seen first hand how powerful words can be. They can build up and they can destroy. You learn to be more careful with how you use the words you have been given. They have the power to change lives.
11. Forgiveness is worth the hard work. More than ever, you see how much an unforgiving spirit impacts your life in a negative way, and how letting go has so much more to do with you than with others.
12. Success in life means so much more than what you thought it would. My definition of success has drastically changed for the better. My friendships, family and faith have taken on a whole new meaning within the definition of success. God has changed my heart over the years, and with it, what I define as my treasures.
13. Worry doesn’t really change your future. I wish I could have learned this way sooner, and wish I could prevent relapses. But by God’s grace, I want to continue to walk with more faith than fear.
14. There’s so much more to your identity than you ever imagined. Physical appearance is a small fraction of who you are. Hopefully this is something you learned early on, because as you learn to accept your body and your appearance you find there is so much freedom in that. And along those lines, gray hairs aren’t so bad after all. They’re actually kind of cute, once you get used to them. Well, we’ll see how we feel about that by 40.
15. You’ve made a lot of mistakes, and you will make many more. But you learn to forgive yourself and move on.
16. Life doesn’t always turn out how you expect. But it still turns out just right. I know so many things have not happened on my time frame nor in the way I expected them to. But looking back, God’s time frame was so much better than mine. I’m learning to trust that He is good and that He really knows best.

Life doesn’t always turn out how you expect. But it still turns out just right.

17. Those doors closed for a reason. I look back at the failures and disappointments in my life now, and I am so thankful for those closed doors and broken roads. God knew then what Iknow now. And I’m so glad He did.18. God is bigger than you could have ever imagined. And I’m so thankful He is.
19. Wisdom is really a gift from God. And something that you have to ask for now just as much as ever.
20. There is still so much to learn. I have learned so much about myself over the past few years, and I’ve learned that there’s so much more to be learned. Like the old saying goes, the more you know, the more you know you don’t know.
Here’s to the next decade!  May it be blessed for you and me both.
Source: Relevant Magazine

How to manage expenditure when income increases

The author of ‘Practical Steps to Financial Freedom and Independence,’ Mr. Usiere Uko, in this report writes about how you can overcome the impulse of increasing your expenditure when your income goes up.

Tony works in one of the big four telecoms companies and lives in his Uncle’s boy’s quarters in Lekki Phase I. His Uncle does not charge him rent and he takes his meals at the main house. The boy’s quarters was fully furnished before Tony moved in. Apart from his clothes, toys and the Range Rover parked beside the boy’s quarters, Tony has little else to his name. A third child and only son in a family of five, Tony is the richest among his siblings. His parents had returned to the village upon retirement years back, leaving Tony with his senior sisters with the responsibility of seeing the remaining ones through school.

Fresh from youth service, Tony first moved in with his Uncle after he got a job in an eatery in Lekki Phase I through his Uncle’s connections. He later got a job in a bank before finally crossing over to the telecom company. One thing has remained constant since Tony got his first job. He is always broke and owing; hence he could not contribute to the sisters’ education or send money to his parents in the village. He always had one excuse or the other. As he changed jobs, the situation remained the same. His sisters are the ones paying the school fees of their siblings in school and sending money to their parents in the village. None of his sisters earn up to half his salary, though they live on their own. Tony is always broke. It had become a family joke.

Murphy’s Law of Expenditure

Tony is operating under the Murphy’s Law of expenditure which states that:

Expenditure will always grow to meet income.

This means as your income increases, your expenditure catches up. You return to your financial comfort zone, the place you are used to, which for many is being broke.

There is a way we instinctively act anytime money comes into our hands. If you think back each to time money gets into your hands, you will notice a pattern. Your money reflex kicks in. You do what you normally do with money and end up how you normally end up – usually where Murphy’s Law said you would. For Tony it is with an empty wallet and increased debt.

Increasing your expenditure when your income goes up is due to inability to delay gratification. We want to enjoy life now by acquiring things that we think will make life easier and make us feel happier. Consequently, as our income rises, we are better able to pander to our wants list; hence the truism in Murphy’s Law. Wanting better things is not wrong in itself. Life is supposed to get better and more fun. The challenge is doing the right thing at the wrong time, spending in the season for saving and investment.

Increase your savings as income goes up

If we want to move ahead financially, we have to break Murphy’s Law over our finances so that we can have money work for us. That means we have to fix our expenditure and increase our savings when our income goes up. Prices of things do not go up in the market when you get a pay increase, promotion or bonus. The market does not know, hence your expenditure should not go up when your income goes up; rather your savings and investment should go up. Your expenditure should go up by reason of inflation, not pay raise. How do you achieve this?

The best way to escape the pull of Murphy’s Law of expenditure is to switch our mindset from – spend first and save what is left (often nothing) – to save first and spending what is left. It means cultivating the habit of paying yourself first. When you cultivate the discipline of saving first and sticking to a fixed recurrent expenditure, you have escaped the gravitational pull of Murphy’s Law of expenditure. More money now translates to moving faster towards your financial goals.

Derive pleasure from saving

Shopping makes us happy. As children, we loved new toys and were forever pestering our parents to buy us things. Anytime a visitor gave us money, the first thing that came to mind was what to buy. This habit has been carried over into adulthood and taken to a whole new level. If you feel bored or down, go to the mall and let retail therapy work its magic on you. Hence spending makes us happy while saving is boring and painful (being deprived of instant gratification), so we gravitate towards spending. We naturally seek pleasure and avoid pain hence we love to spend and procrastinate on saving. We give our money away instinctively. Therefore the idea of our savings growing month by month does not fascinate us. We believe the future will take care of itself – just enjoy the moment.

We can turn it around. We can link pain to shopping and pleasure to saving. When you meditate on how much money has passed through your hands in the past five to ten years with precious little to show for it, it makes you angry, especially if you are trapped in a job you hate. When you think about what you could have do with that money – your sweat and blood – if you dwell on it long enough, you will start to feel different about giving your money away just like that. When you start to see your money as potential employees capable of working long and hard for you come rain or shine 24/7 public holidays inclusive, you want to invest more, even in fixed deposits or treasury bills if you have no idea what else to do.

Focus on your financial goals

When you set clear financial goals and focus on achieving them, you find it easier to delay gratification and save towards your goal. When you have a goal, nothing motivates like making steady progress towards that goal. If you put money aside from your salary every month, your pile grows each month. You look towards each pay day with anticipation because your portfolio is going to grow yet again. If you are investing, it means the returns are going up each month. No paid job comes with a pay hike each month, but that is what happens when you add to your portfolio each month.

As you practise delayed gratification, it becomes a habit. You start to prioritize your financial goals above spending, accumulating stuff that will eventually end up in the trash. More pay speeds up the process, moving you faster towards financial independence, where your monthly returns grows to cover your monthly expenses thereby giving you the power of choice. Powered by the magic of compound interest, you begin to gather momentum and acceleration towards your financial goals.

When you get to this place, you have escaped Murphy’s Law of expenditure. Your savings grow to meet your income rather than your expenditure. You are now in control of your finances and fully back in the game.

The Message without Darkness ! By Bro. Gbile Akanni.

Prayer: Father we honour You once more for this privilege of looking into the Living oracles to set the path of our feet on the right course, the path that our Elders have trod. Lord I pray this hour that the Spirit of Truth might come down to speak with us. As many as are listening to your Word today, Lord, raise a standard in our midst and cause men to hear you again and afresh. Lord we are praying that no man who partakes of this sharing today would regret at the end-time. Thats our prayer. Thank you Father for hearing us for we have prayed in Jesus Name. Amen.

We praise the Lord for the privilege He has given us to come your way once more. And I thank God that He has made it possible for us to continue this series of teachings on Living Seed. You will remember that last week we began to speak about Guideposts for the End-time Believer and we decided to study, as the Lord led us, the First Epistle of John from chapter 1. We only did some general introduction to this theme in the course of the last edition of Living Seed.

Today we are going to continue a little further on our current theme of Guideposts for the End-time Believer. Can you turn your Bibles with me as we now look at 1st John chapter 1. For continuity I would like to read from verse 1 again but this time I would read quickly to verse 10.

1Jn 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

1Jn 1:2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

1Jn 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

1Jn 1:4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

1Jn 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is Light, and in him is no darkness at all.

1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

May God bless His Word as we read and as we study together in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

I would like you to come with me as we now begin to examine what are the Guideposts that helped and held the Patriarchs, the Elders, the men that have embraced this same faith that you and I are embracing today. What are the Guideposts that kept them? What are the issues they obeyed? What are the words that God taught them that kept their lives the way it was kept. And what gave them the victory that they had over the devil, over sin, over the flesh and over the world system? These are the issues that we are trusting God to reveal to us as we study together in the course of this broadcast today again.

Having said to you in the course of our last broadcast, we said that this whole Epistle was written and in it all these Principles are being declared unto us - that you also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. I would like to pick our discussion from that verse 3 today as the Lord moves us on.

Now when you look at that verse 3 from the New International Version of the Bible, it says

1Jn 1:3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

1Jn 1:4 We write this to make our joy complete.

Last week I said that God has not just called you unto something local, if God had just called us unto something local then a local standard, a convenient local arrangement would have been alright. It would not have mattered much if you say - Well, in our own village or in my own town or in my own group or in my own denomination, this is what we chose to believe. There would not have been a need for this study!

But you see God is calling you into a fellowship and these Guideposts, these instructions that the Lord passed on to our Elders, that the Lord passed on to men of the earlier generation of believers and that God has continued to pass on to anybody that would hereafter believe, they are the issues that would make you to also have fellowship ...when they say with us, that us includes all the Apostles, all the Patriarchs, all the Elders, all the martyrs of the faith. It includes all those that have served God in one capacity or the other and who have gone to heaven to rest waiting for the rest of us to join them.

Now one of the reasons that we need to pay attention to these Guideposts is because the fellowship unto which God is calling us - and truly that fellowship is with the Father and with the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that fellowship is with all the believers all over the ages, all over the world; regardless of their tongue, regardless of their culture, regardless of their upbringing and regardless of their civilisation. This means that the truth that God has presented to us is timeless truth, its truth that cannot be localised: it is not affected by our culture or by our upbringing.

The issue now is are you laboring, are you walking in order to be in that fellowship?

While we now study, we need to begin to find out what was the instruction and what was the Word of God that they believed? What was the message that God spoke to them so that we also as end-time believers, as men that the end of the age has come unto might set our lives aright and that we might set our faces like flint, not to be deviated, not to be diverted, not to be polluted, not to be adulterated from the same path that is leading to that common fellowship of all the believers.

Follow me as we now look at chapter 1 of the Epistle of John starting from verse 5. It says

1Jn 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

I want you to wait there meanwhile before I continue.

It says - This then is the message which we have heard of Him. Now, this issue weighs heavily on my heart and I would like to pick that for you to see the kind of instructions that is coming to my heart even as we look at that Scripture from other versions of the Bible

1Jn 1:5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

New American Standard Bible.

When you look at that Scripture from the Amplified Bible it says

1Jn 1:5 And this is the message [the message of promise] which we have heard from Him and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all [no, not in any way].

I want you to note that! THIS is the message that we have heard from Him.

Now that is the first issue I want you to note: these men that have believed, these elders that have jeopardised their lives on the field of the Gospel, they heard a message that changed their lives. They held a message that turned their situation around. They held a message that propelled them forward. What was the message that they heard from the mouth of Jesus? What was the message that was preached unto the early believers? What was the message that parcelled and packaged their lives for heaven and for the glory of God?

Now if you also are going to share from the fellowship into which they have entered, then you need to also hear this message and understand it and critically examine what kind of message are you hearing nowadays. What kind of message are you focusing your mind on nowadays? What kind of message are you placing your life on? On what message is your conviction built upon? I need to put this to you my dear brother, my dear sister! If not that we have a common fellowship unto which God is calling you ...that fellowship is higher than your local fellowship, that fellowship is higher, more superior than the one you are going through in your local church, I dont care who your Pastor is, I dont care who your Evangelist is, I do not care who your Prophet is and who your Prophetess is. If that man or that woman is not sharing this same 'Message' that prepared our elders for the glory of God, if he is not sharing that with you, I want you to know that that man is NOT preparing you for that important fellowship. Maybe he is preparing you for another fellowship somewhere on the other side in hell!

Now that God is giving you an opportunity, you must critically hear what was the message that they (the elders) listened to!

Lets take that message together as the Lord now helps us. Lets look further at how some translations put this matter. Lets check the Williams Translation of the Bible.

1Jn 1:5 And this is the message that we have heard from Him and now announce to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness at all in Him.

Now lets go over that: the message that they had from the Lord Jesus Christ from the beginning says GOD IS LIGHT! That is very interesting - that God is Light and in Him there is no darkness at all. That God, unto Whom we have come to walk with, unto Whom we have come to share fellowship with, is Light. That is to say that in God there is no darkness at all!

Please note the words in that Scripture as it is coming. That God is Light: THIS is the message that we heard Jesus preach, this is what we heard Jesus present! And this is what the Apostles of old heard from Him and they announced right from the day of Pentecost until each one of them was hanged or crucified or roasted alive! THIS was the message that they passed on unto every other person that believed! You remember what Paul was telling Timothy and he said - the things that you have heard of me among many witnesses, commit the same to faithful witnesses who will be able to teach others also.

Now, this was the message that they heard from the beginning - GOD IS LIGHT.

Now what does that mean? What does THAT mean? One thing you know about light is that light is transparent. Light is what reveals. Light does not conceal, it does not hide anything. If you look at Ephesians chapter 5, lets quickly check Ephesians 5 and see what God calls light and darkness there. If you will read from verse 8 of that Scripture it says,

Eph 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

Eph 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

Eph 5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

Eph 5:12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

Eph 5:13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

When we talk about God being light, we are saying that in Him there is no darkness at all. There is nothing that can be hidden; there is nothing that you would be ashamed of. If you just say - let me look into Gods life, you cannot see something that God would want to be hiding!!

One property of light is that light is not ashamed of its work; light has nothing to hide! Actually light does not hide anything neither does it hide anyone; rather light actually reveals. If you put on light, light will point out everything, every contour, every mark, every scratch on the surface. When light is so strong there is no shadow at all.

The Bible says the message we heard from Jesus was that God is Light and that in Him there is no darkness at all - there is no here and there with God, there is no shadow of turning - there is no hide and seek with God.

I dont know if you have come along with me to that point.

God is Light! When you come to God, He doesnt say Yes and No at the same time. His Yes is always Yes and His No is always No! You cannot meet God with double tongue. Whatever God said 2,000 years ago, He is still saying it today! He stands by His conviction, He doesnt swallow His words. God is Light AND in Him there is no darkness at all! Not even one. Lets see how the Amplified Bible puts it. It says

1Jn 1:5 And this is the message [the message of promise] which we have heard from Him and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all [no, not in any way].

Now, how does that apply to our own faith? Verse 6 now says

1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

So if we say we are partakers together and we enjoy fellowship with Him and we move and we live and walk about in darkness, we are speaking falsely and do not live and practise the truth of the gospel. Friend, lets begin from that point. The message that we heard from Him from the beginning is that God is Light. That if anybody wants to relate with God in fellowship if anybody says - Look I belong to Jesus, I belong to God, I have been saved, I have been born again - one of the first things to notice about that man is that he himself has to become light! There will be no darkness about him, there will be nothing he is hiding. There will be nothing you will discover about him and he will be ashamed about!

The believers of those old times are transparent. They are transparent because they knew that God is Light and in Him there is no darkness at all!

Now I want to ask you - Did you say you were in fellowship with God the Father and the Son? Did you say that you were preparing for that eternal fellowship in the heavenlies? Can we check your life now? What kind of gospel did you believe that your life is still full of darkness up till this time that I am discussing with you?

There are several of you listening to me that say you are baptised, you say you speak in an unknown tongue, you say you are performing miracles.. YET your life is not transparent! Some of you listening to me now are on the pulpit, there are some dark corners in your life, there are areas of your life that even your wife knows nothing about! I wonder what kind of gospel you heard, I wonder what kind of God you have encountered - the God that Jesus began to speak about in the beginning is Light, AND in Him there is no darkness at all! With God there is nothing to hide, with God there is nothing that He is ashamed for you to discover!

There are some of you who have impregnated somebody somewhere for the past 5 years. That child is growing! And you moved from that place, you went into another town a-n-d you have started up your church now! You are preaching. You are a big Preacher now!! And you are making big noise everywhere!!! I wonder what message did you hear from the beginning! What message did you hear? What kind of God did you meet? What kind of Jesus Christ did you encounter in your life that there is still a bundle of darkness in your life?

Several of you listening to me today are very good church members but the Pastor does not know everything about your life! There is darkness about you! There is darkness about your character! There is darkness about your life! There is darkness about your life! In the office where you are working, you are not straight forward - your life cannot be predicted! There are so many things that are confusing about you.

Now we see a lot of people today, this end time Christians - and they are A LOT - you cant take them by their word! If they enter into an agreement with you, you just know that you have entered into trouble because they are not going to honour their word! They have a different and a hidden agenda in their heart.

Now! The question I want to put to you is that - IF you are preparing to join that general fellowship that is above, what message did you hear and darkness has not disappeared in your life?

Several of you are telling lies and you call it diplomacy! Several of you stand up and even on the pulpit you exaggerate and you collect money from peoples pockets and you never declare everything! I wonder what kind of message you heard from the beginning.

Friend! What kind of message did you believe that DID NOT remove darkness from your life? There are very many areas of darkness - dark corners - in your life! There are many things that are unknown about you. Oh it is so painful today that several brothers, several Christians, several Prophets, several Prophetesses, several Evangelists - that it is only when they die that we begin to discover terrible things that they have covered.

Now that Scripture says - THIS then is the message that we heard from Him and we declare unto you that God is Light AND in Him is no darkness at all! Are you a Bible-School student? See the kind of exaggeration, see the kind of fictitious claim you are sending back to your own church! And I want to ask you - Have you really encountered God who is light in Whom there is no darkness at all? Can you say you are walking in fellowship with Him and your life is not straightforward? You are a liar!

You husband listening to me - Does your wife know everything about you? Does your wife know what is in your bank account? Does she know all the money that comes in? Sometimes you say you are going to Lagos and then you face Ilorin. Sometimes you say you are delayed in the office YET your delay in getting home is because you went out with one girl. I want to ask you - Is your life in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you really living in consonance with the Word of God? So if you say we are joint partakers and in fellowship with Him a-n-d we live and move and are walking about in darkness, we are both speaking falsely and do not live and practise the truth of the Gospel!

That is the word of God.

I hear you say - O Brother, why are you doing this to me? I am NOT the one doing it to you. The message that we have heard from the beginning says - GOD IS LIGHT! I cannot reconcile the kind of Christian life you are living now, this your life that has a lot of cloud and a lot of confusion, and a lot of crookedness and unstraightforwardness is not lining-up with a life that has had contact with God Who is light and in Whom there is no darkness at all.

Dear Preacher, there is darkness about you if there are issues you have been hiding - Nobody knew that you are still committing sin secretly, you cover everything up: THAT is darkness! You are in darkness dear Brother. You are in darkness dear Preacher - you NEED to repent today IF you are planning to be part of that fellowship at the end of the age.. And I dont know how many years you have left, I dont know how many more years before the Lord comes to take His own people!

I ask you - Are you in the light?

GOD IS LIGHT AND IN HIM IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL ...none at all. No! N-o-t in one case!!

Now verse 7 says

1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Can I ask you dear Friend - Are you walking in the light? Are you walking in the light of the Word of God? Is your life completely exposed? Is your life completely revealed, completely manifested under the light of the Word of God? Or are you still walking in darkness? Are you still moving in an environment that conceals your true nature? Are you an hypocrite?

The Bible says if we walk in the light as He is in the light then we have fellowship one with another. As long as you are a liar you have no fellowship with our Father in heaven, you have no fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ and I dont suppose you have a fellowship with the saints who have gone on high. You may be having fellowship with other crooked men. Some of you say - Yes, our fellowship is so big our fellowship is so great? Can I ask you - Is there no darkness about how you are gathering the people? Is there no darkness - some cloudy thing, some shady thing - some shadow about how you have been doing the work? Is there no darkness about the way you say you have been praying and people are falling down? Are you not pushing them down, are you not using some means that are NOT from the Holy Spirit? Is there no darkness about your life? Is there no darkness about your activity? Is there no darkness about where you are going?

If you say you are in the light and you walk in the light then we have fellowship with the Father? Are you truly in fellowship with Him? When you come under the light of His Word, His blood cleanses us from all sin, His blood makes us right with Him. I am asking you - Are you in the light or are you walking in darkness?

This is the message that we heard from Him from the beginning. And so the next Guidepost we are dealing with is the Message that does not allow darkness, that does not allow any shadow, that does not allow any cover-up! This is the Message that will take you to heaven.

If as we are listening to the Word of God here today you discover that your life is not straightforward, the contract you are doing is not straightforward, your relationship with your wife is not correct, why dont you bow down and repent right now? I dont want you to go about with the false hope that you are in fellowship: You are NOT in fellowship with our Father! In this regard, I do not know who your father is.

Bow your head right now and say - Jesus, dont let me run in vain, dont let me deceive men, dont let men deceive me! Bring me into light, bring my life into light, bring my activity into light, no more will I walk in darkness.

Bow your head. Surrender every darkness, bring it to the limelight of the Word of God and God will use the blood of Jesus to cleanse you from every sin.

God bless you.

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God bless you.