THE MARK OF FATHERHOOD

Exactly today eight years ago my father Mr. Bolarinwa Olasode went to be with the Lord. I must confess the last eight years has been a bitter/sweet ride for me. On one hand I seriously miss his physical presence and that confident smile that takes away you fears. I wish he were here to celebrate my successes with me and encourage me in times of setback. On the other hand sometimes it feels like he never left this word. This is because since his death, there has not been a week past that I did not have a reason to remember his words or borrow a leaf from his actions. Many times I have been saved from heart ache and trouble simply by considering his words and actions before taking decisions. Thinking about it, I believe he deliberately lived a life that would speak to me throughout my journey through life especially when he was no longer there to speak to me. Of course he had his own short comings; I believe he did a good job as a father. In honour of this great man whose contribution to my life is immeasurable, I want to share with you a few things from his life that still speaks to me. MY FATHER WAS A HIGHLY DETERMINED MAN Born to an artisan father and a non working mother who were both illiterates, he was raised under conditions that could excuse his failure. However he was determined not to fail in life. Even his father’s death when he was 15years old did not deter him. With great determination, he went through many days that he was not sure he would get food to eat, many sleepless nights, a season of lack and many uncomfortable situations. At the end of his life he had bagged several degrees, worked as a banker and lived abroad. He was also married with kids who he did his best to give greater opportunities than he had at the beginning of his life. He used to say ‘ONLY WHAT YOU PERMIT HAS THE POWER TO HOLD YOU DOWN’ MY FATHER WAS A MAN OF DISCIPLINE AND INTEGRITY My father was a man not given to frivolities at all. When he decided to put a stop to any endeavour, no Jupiter can make him change his mind. He used to say that the measure of a man is how he took his word. So if he wasn’t going to do it, he would never say it. I can boldly say that throughout his life there was no other woman and there was no vice that threatened the sanctity and stability of our home. We could expect that our needs would be met according to his capacity and we were seldom disappointed. MY FATHER LIVED A HONOURABLE LIFE As a result of the conditions he had to endure growing up, some people would resort to unwholesome means to help themselves. Not my father. He abhorred anything evil with so much passion that all it took to lose his friendship was to attempt to get him to do anything bad. Even though I was a child then, I can recall many friends he dissociated from because they gave him bad advice. He used to say ‘THE ONLY THING THAT IS TRULY YOURS IS YOUR NAME.’ MY FATHER HONOURED WOMEN I am among the privileged children who can boldly say I never witnessed physical abuse in my home as a child. I remember being so aghast the first time a friend told me his father usually beats his mom. My father always said that it was a brute of a man that beats his wife. I was raised in an atmosphere where the men took on the physically exerting chores in the house like carrying heavy things, grass cutting etc. The beautiful part of this story is that his treatment of women was not limited to his family. He would not even allow maids to be maltreated. To him they were not maids but PEOPLE who help us to maintain and manage the house while we are away. Daddy, I thank God for helping you to be the kind of example that you were. By God’s grace I promise to take the baton farther to a place of greatness. I DEDICATE ALL MY PAST AND FUTURE SUCCESSES TO YOU AFTER GOD ALMIGHTY. You were a great dad who lived a powerful life. By God’s grace I know I would be at least as great a father as you were. YOU LIVE FOREVER IN MY HEART.

SPIRIT SENSE 2

IF YOU MISSED THE FIRST PART OF THIS PIECE, PLEASE VISIT http://titans-arising.blogspot.com IN the beginning of this piece, it was established that faith is needed to experience God’s promises in your life and SPIRIT SENSE is the key to walking in faith. I believe it is therefore important to talk about developing spirit sense. Every believer has the potential to operate in spirit sense because their spirits came alive at salvation. Unfortunately, not every believer fulfills that potential. This is because to operate in spirit sense there is a need to consciously develop the mind of your spirit to a point where it can subdue the mind of your flesh. With a developed mind in the spirit, you begin to reason like God. At this realm it is easy to understand his ways and believe his capacity. As a result experiencing God’s promises in your life becomes a natural occurrence. Having said this much, it is important to state that the key to developing your potential to operate in spirit sense is maintaining a close relationship with God. Psychologists affirm that we are most likely to become like the people we relate to the most. This statement is true both for natural and spiritual relationships. Another true assertion is that all relationships (including man’s relationship with God) thrive with communion. Therefore to maintain a close relationship with God you need to stay in constant communion with him. The exchange that occurs in your communion with God helps your spirit to mature which in turn increases you ability to operate in spirit sense. For the purpose of this piece, I want to briefly describe three basic avenues of communion with God. HIS WORD The word of God is the medium through which he communicates with his children. Through his word, God reveals his personality, attributes, actions and intentions to the believer dedicated to its study. To help us benefit maximally from the word of God, Jesus told us that the word of God is spirit and life. Thus the believer relates to God’s word through his own spirit and with the help of the Holy Spirit. Only then can he experience the renewing power of God word in his spirit. As his spirit becomes renewed, his mind becomes transformed and he is now able to operate his spirit sense. PRAYER While God speaks to us through his word, we speak back to him in prayer. However, prayer is effective as a means of communing with God if we understand his word. Otherwise, it is like speaking my dialect (ile-ife) to a French man who has never being to Nigeria. One thing effective prayer does for a believer is make tremendous power available to the believer. This power transforms the believer by empowering his spirit. With an empowered spirit comes increased understanding of the person of God through his word. When this happens, his spirit sense becomes more active and he to not only experiences God’s promises in his life, he becomes a channel through which God’s kingdom in established on earth. PRAYING IN THE HOLY SPIRIT I can’t talk about prayer without talking about praying in the Holy Spirit. Apostle Peter recommends praying in the Holy Spirit as a means of building up your most holy faith. Praying in the Holy Spirit is important because it helps to break through language barriers and bypass all protocol to speak directly to the Holy of Holies. You can be rest assured that at the close of that conversation, your spirit man would be much more powerful. As such, you would not find it difficult to operate with your spirit sense. WORSHIP Naturally, an understanding of the personality and attributes of God produces worship in the heart of any believer. This heartfelt worship is a sweet smelling aroma to God and he responds with his mighty presence. Whenever divinity meets humanity in a scenario like this, the seed of divinity resident in humanity takes a step closer to becoming a mighty tree. The mind of man becomes more in sync with the mind of God. When this happens in the life of any believer, it becomes very easy to experience the manifestation of God’s promises. This is because your mind now agrees with God and all doubt has been completely destroyed. In computer terms, SPIRIT SENSE MODE FULLY ACTIVATED. In conclusion, the measure of God’s promises manifesting in your life is a function of the degree of spirit sense you are operating with. Take a step to improve the power of your spirit sense today and see your faith rise to the stratosphere. Remember, the world is waiting for you to manifest the promises of your father. MAY GOD BLESS YOU. IF YOU WERE BLESSED BY THIS PIECE, PLEASE SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. 08030633106, olasodeoladapo@gmail.com