“The world tells us to seek success, power and money; God tells us to SEEK HUMILITY, SERVICE and LOVE” (Pope Francis)

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)

All too often, we get caught up so many times because of our desire for instant gratification. But scripture teaches us that true success is not marked by how many followers we have on social media, our performance, our social status, or our ability to complete a goal. Godly prosperity goes hand-in-hand with obedience, our commitment to abide in Jesus Christ. After all, what’s the point of gaining the whole world if you lose your soul? (Matt 16:26)

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)

JESUS defines GREATNESS in terms of SERVICE (SERVANT LEADERSHIP): “And whoever wants to be FIRST MUST be your Slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to SERVE and to GIVE HIS LIFE as a Ransom for many” (Matthew 20: 27-28)

“Greatness for me is doing something Positive; USING one’s God-given Talents and DOING your share and helping to make the world a better place and BRINGING HOPE to Everyone who NEEDS It! That’s Greatness! The Good News is We ALL HAVE that QUALITY. Everyone has Greatness! And you know what? We just have to DO it on a CONSISTENT Basis! Now, let’s START a RIPPLE. TOGETHER we can bring about a TSUNAMI of POSITIVE CHANGE and make our World a BETTER Place for ourselves and for our future GENERATIONS.”

Being a SERVANT LEADER means Taking the Initiative by Faith, SEEKING the Guidance of the Holy Spirit along the way, SERVING others for and in the name of CHRIST, in a way in which you GIVE your ALL for HIM, and NO MATTER WHAT THE SITUATION is, you THANK HIM for the ABILITY & OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE IN HIS NAME. It means GIVING ALL THE GLORY to GOD, NO MATTER the OUTCOME, and leaving the Results to God because you TRUST in HIS PLAN for your LIFE!”

Think about this: When we are engaged in God’s work, and we encounter setbacks, we can carry on calmly because “we are the servants of the God of heaven and earth” (Ezra 5, 11). “Obstacles and delays may discourage us, but it is God’s power that enables us and let us remember that it is His work, not ours.”

Considering the foregoing, here is what is, in my humble opinion, THE SECRET FORMULA FOR SUCCESS:
PREPARATION Plus DIVINE PROVIDENCE = SUCCESS (God’s Definition)

FIRST and foremost: “Above all, PUT GOD FIRST in whatever You do!”

“GOD BLESSES ONLY THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES! God PROVIDES when Man STRIVES!”
“With God ALL Things are POSSIBLE! I can DO ALL Things THROUGH CHRIST Who STRENGTHENS Me!” (Philippians 4:13)

“No matter how successful someone may seem from the outside, we all have our own internal struggles. But it’s in our weakest moments that God’s strength works best! “The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” ~ Psalm 34:18

I now ask you the Question: “Why don’t you just trust in God?”
God can use anything, even our biggest messes, for good.

SECOND: “DREAM & PASSIONATELY PURSUE It!”
When you have a dream to Chase Nothing can Stop You!

THIRD: “I DEFINE “SUCCESS” based on God’s Standards.
“BEING SUCCESSFUL”, as well as, “BEING THE BEST & THE BRIGHTEST” is a RELATIVE Term.
God’s Standards vs Man’s Standards

In the world’s system we are taught all about the world’s lust, the world’s greed, and the world’s covetousness. As a result, we get caught up in a system, which eventually causes us to fall down and hurt ourselves.

When you start thinking and acting like the world, you begin trying to accumulate all the things the world accumulates. Then you start measuring whether you are a success by the world’s standards instead of God’s standard.

You see, God’s standard is not based on success in this world, whether you have three cars, or live in a mansion in the suburbs, or have a college degree, or see your name printed often in the newspaper. With God, none of these things equals success.

When you get wrapped up in the world’s system and the world’s covetousness, then instead of acting upon God’s promises to you, you begin to think the world’s way. What happens when you do that? You start putting pressure on yourself to obtain the things of this world.

At the End of our Lives when We Meet our Creator, He is not going to ask for our School Report Cards; nor ask if we are Summa Cum Laudes or Honours Students; nor inquire if we are Lawyers or Doctors or Engineers; nor interrogate us if we are Billionaires or CEOs or Prime Ministers. He will be interested more in asking us: “What have you done with your Life when you were on Earth? What Good Deeds have you done to improve the lives of your Fellow Human Beings?”. What most people forget is that we are all just transients/ travellers here on Earth. 
“The Last will be First, and the First will be Last.” (Mt. 20, 1-16a)

“Well done, my good and faithful servant.” How sweet it would be to hear these words from God when we finally come face to face with Him! There are many beautiful things deep inside us that this world will never know, acknowledge, or understand. It is so consoling to know that the Lord knows and sees everything. People can malign, hurt, judge, and condemn us, but again, how consoling it is that God knows each one of us and sees what is in our hearts.

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In our next Issue, we will dealing with the Topic: “GOD’S VIEWPOINT ABOUT MONEY”