Listen to your prayers, because they locate your level of spiritual maturity
What are you praying for? Are you asking God to give you more stuff--a bigger house, a new car, a bigger salary? What you pray for indicates what is important to you.
It is a great lesson to examine what the people in the Bible prayed for.
King David, in Psalm 27:4, prayed, One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. He asked God for just one thing: that he would dwell in God's presence. David clearly knew that in God's presence he would receive everything he needed (see Matthew 6:33).
Paul also didn't pray for worldly things. Instead, in Philippians 1:9, Paul prayed that the church would walk in love: And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more. Paul knew the importance of love, and so he made it a point to pray that the church would grow more and more in love.
Furthermore, he prayed that believers would be strengthened spiritually: I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being (Ephesians 3:16).
In short, your prayers can tell what you consider to be important. If you are only praying for worldly stuff, then you are neglecting what is of lasting value: knowing God, dwelling in His presence, walking in His love, and being strong spiritually.
Therefore, decide to adjust what you're praying for. Learn to listen to your prayers, because they locate your level of spiritual maturity.
@facebook Moses Njoroge Twittwer @Sesmoyd or www.mosesnjoroge.blogspot.com www.njorogemoses.wordpress.com
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Inspirational Leadership
Inspirational Leadership
With so much negativity going around free of charge a lot of people are left wondering if they will ever make it. They have dreams and great aspirations but the conditions that are prevailing sometimes make it look like their dreams will never become tangible realities. As I speak to people from different parts of the continent one word that I keep hearing is that people want to be inspired.
A lot of people are in a place where they really do not know how they are going to get to the next form of their lives. As I pondered over it I realized that for every generation there are leaders who emerge to give inspiration to others. The blacks in America had people like Martin Luther King Jr. Pre Independence Africa had the likes of Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Patrice Lumumba among others. These were the voices of inspiration that painted a picture of hope amidst the despair of colonial and racial slavery. Where are the voices of inspiration that will paint the picture of hope against the backdrop of economic meltdowns, terrorism, corporate failures and other shapers of the twenty first century?
What does it mean to inspire? To get a proper understanding of this word we need to look at the other side of the coin – the word expire. When we say something has expired it means it has run its course. An expiry date means the final date of use and cannot be used beyond that date. It sets a limit. It sets a boundary. A lot of people are living with the notion that they have run their course and there is nothing more they can do. They have tried all they know to do. Inspiration therefore being the other side of the coin means to renew its course and give a new lease of life. To inspire means to re-fire. It means to remove the boundaries and the limits.
Inspirational leaders are therefore those leaders who are able to help others to remove the boundaries and limits they have set in their lives. They are able to take people who were looking at expiry dates or even those who had already expired in their effectiveness and significance and then giving them a new lease of life by re-firing them.
What are the characteristics of inspirational leaders? First, they live their talk. What they say reflects what they are doing. In fact their lives are such testimonials of their message that they epitomize what St Francis of Assisi meant when he said, ‘Preach the gospel and if necessary, use words’.
Imagine a river that separates dreams from achievements.
The inspirational leader gets to this river and sees people congregated around it. When he asks what they are doing, he discovers that they are all talking about the challenges the river has posed and the difficulty in getting across the river. They lament about the implications for their lives and families if they are not able to get across. The inspirational leader then looks around and realizes that there are trees on the river bank. The inspirational leader sees the challenges of all but also sees the way out. He gets branches from the trees and builds a raft and uses the raft to take himself and others across. He then teaches the art of raft making and not only does the river stop being a challenge but because of the human traffic that now sees opportunities where there were once obstacles, a lot of people wait in turn for the raft service every day. People then begin to sell sodas and finger foods by the raft jetty. Others get into the raft business and soon it is a booming trade. Suddenly a whole economy has been created. From having a congregation of people who gather to talk about the challenges of the river, we now have a vibrant group of people who realize that the river was never a challenge to begin with. The challenge was the limitation and expiry date they had put on their minds that set boundaries. What the inspirational leader came to do was to remove the limits and show the possibilities.
Remember, to be an inspirational leader, you must first remove the limits in your mind. The expiry details that you have convinced yourself to believe about yourself must be totally removed. You must dare failure in the face. You must know that it is better to fail at something than to succeed at nothing. You must remember that the bold may not live forever but the cautious will never have a life. Inspirational leaders are people who by the sheer audacity of their actions are able to remove the limitations from the minds of multitudes – even generations unborn. While others read the map and wait for maps to be drawn, inspirational leaders are those who draw their own map and make roads where roads did not exist. They like Winston Churchill are able to say, ‘ History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.
for more follow me on Facebook @moses njoroge On Twitter @sesmoyd on blog http://www.mosesnjoroge.blogspot.com and on word press @ www.mosesnjoroge.blogspot.com
With so much negativity going around free of charge a lot of people are left wondering if they will ever make it. They have dreams and great aspirations but the conditions that are prevailing sometimes make it look like their dreams will never become tangible realities. As I speak to people from different parts of the continent one word that I keep hearing is that people want to be inspired.
A lot of people are in a place where they really do not know how they are going to get to the next form of their lives. As I pondered over it I realized that for every generation there are leaders who emerge to give inspiration to others. The blacks in America had people like Martin Luther King Jr. Pre Independence Africa had the likes of Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Patrice Lumumba among others. These were the voices of inspiration that painted a picture of hope amidst the despair of colonial and racial slavery. Where are the voices of inspiration that will paint the picture of hope against the backdrop of economic meltdowns, terrorism, corporate failures and other shapers of the twenty first century?
What does it mean to inspire? To get a proper understanding of this word we need to look at the other side of the coin – the word expire. When we say something has expired it means it has run its course. An expiry date means the final date of use and cannot be used beyond that date. It sets a limit. It sets a boundary. A lot of people are living with the notion that they have run their course and there is nothing more they can do. They have tried all they know to do. Inspiration therefore being the other side of the coin means to renew its course and give a new lease of life. To inspire means to re-fire. It means to remove the boundaries and the limits.
Inspirational leaders are therefore those leaders who are able to help others to remove the boundaries and limits they have set in their lives. They are able to take people who were looking at expiry dates or even those who had already expired in their effectiveness and significance and then giving them a new lease of life by re-firing them.
What are the characteristics of inspirational leaders? First, they live their talk. What they say reflects what they are doing. In fact their lives are such testimonials of their message that they epitomize what St Francis of Assisi meant when he said, ‘Preach the gospel and if necessary, use words’.
Imagine a river that separates dreams from achievements.
The inspirational leader gets to this river and sees people congregated around it. When he asks what they are doing, he discovers that they are all talking about the challenges the river has posed and the difficulty in getting across the river. They lament about the implications for their lives and families if they are not able to get across. The inspirational leader then looks around and realizes that there are trees on the river bank. The inspirational leader sees the challenges of all but also sees the way out. He gets branches from the trees and builds a raft and uses the raft to take himself and others across. He then teaches the art of raft making and not only does the river stop being a challenge but because of the human traffic that now sees opportunities where there were once obstacles, a lot of people wait in turn for the raft service every day. People then begin to sell sodas and finger foods by the raft jetty. Others get into the raft business and soon it is a booming trade. Suddenly a whole economy has been created. From having a congregation of people who gather to talk about the challenges of the river, we now have a vibrant group of people who realize that the river was never a challenge to begin with. The challenge was the limitation and expiry date they had put on their minds that set boundaries. What the inspirational leader came to do was to remove the limits and show the possibilities.
Remember, to be an inspirational leader, you must first remove the limits in your mind. The expiry details that you have convinced yourself to believe about yourself must be totally removed. You must dare failure in the face. You must know that it is better to fail at something than to succeed at nothing. You must remember that the bold may not live forever but the cautious will never have a life. Inspirational leaders are people who by the sheer audacity of their actions are able to remove the limitations from the minds of multitudes – even generations unborn. While others read the map and wait for maps to be drawn, inspirational leaders are those who draw their own map and make roads where roads did not exist. They like Winston Churchill are able to say, ‘ History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.
for more follow me on Facebook @moses njoroge On Twitter @sesmoyd on blog http://www.mosesnjoroge.blogspot.com and on word press @ www.mosesnjoroge.blogspot.com
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
LEAPING FORWARD..............
One attribute of people who set the pace today is that they were bold and visionary enough to see what others did not see and act on them before others realized what was happening. I guess the proper English term for this is innovation. Many lack innovation because they allow the realities of the present to blind them to the possibilities of the future.
We cannot roll time backwards but we can leap forward in time and make what others call the future our present. This means that by the time they get to that future it will be our own past. When at that future, the pain, the uncertainty and rejection of the present will suddenly no longer be seen as such but as a passage necessary for the migration from today to tomorrow to happen. What if we had seen it as such from the beginning? That means that we would have been ready to pay the price of discomfort in the present to secure a comfortable future.
Now think of yourself today. Think of your weakness, your shortcomings, your uncertainties and your fears. Imagine how out of place you will feel if you are this same way five years from today? That means you have not grown in five years. Thinking like this should act as a catalyst towards personal development and change. This should be the thinking that pushes you to reach out and grab the future. It is the thinking that should firm a resolve in you never to trade relevance tomorrow for comfort today.
Those who successfully grab the future realize that what we call the
uncertainty of today, we will one day look at with pride as the place where ideas where sifted. The poverty and lack of today will become the stories that will motivate others to success tomorrow. Frustration comes from a lack of a picture of tomorrow – when we are frozen in the failures of yesterday and trapped in the despair of today.
The ability to be able to bring tomorrow into today before anyone else is the element that brings success out of failure. It is the element that brings technological and business advancements. It is the very blood that runs through the concept of innovation. Innovators are people gifted with the ability of bringing into today what exists tomorrow and bringing it out faster than anyone else.
Today is the seed that needs to be planted for tomorrow. Once we have the seed, there is hope. However, having the seed is not enough. What we do with the seed is the greatest determinant of our tomorrow. So, many have given up because of the pressures of today. They lacked the crucial understanding that the pressure if handled right was the first fruits of the pleasure to come. Every trial has an expiry date.
Navigate your way through the maze of chaos and confusion by choosing to see the chaos as a seed for the order of tomorrow. In the midst of the chaos, groom yourself, talk to yourself, don’t give up, be tenacious and get knowledge.
The mastery of time is what the greatest generals in history have mastered. There is a time for everything. There is a time to launch out and a time to lie low. There is a time to be bubbly and full of life and a time to play dead. There is a time to flaunt what you have and a time to allow yourself to be underestimated.
Masters of time have learnt that a situation which looks significant today might merely be a passing phase while one which looks insignificant today might become the culture of tomorrow. They never dismiss anything on face value. They are people of context who understand the values of aligning pre text and post text to get context.
So, you want to become an innovator? The solution is simple. Aim at bringing tomorrow into today faster than anyone else. What is the next form of your life? What is the next form of your business? What is the next form of fashion? What is the next form of education? Remember that while you are enjoying today, some people are already setting the pace for tomorrow. Conversely the fact that you are not enjoying today will not stop tomorrow from coming. So, tomorrow will come whether you want it nor not. If you are not enjoying the present, ask questions, learn and get over it. If not, you will have no place in the future. The future belongs to those who are able to bring it into the present faster than anyone else.
- #MosesToday I read first I get inspired then I inspire you. Also on www.mosesnjoroge.wordpress.com
I WANNA BE THAT LEADER FOR THIS GENERATION
If you have a vision that caters only for your needs then you are too small to be significant. True leaders develop visions that meet the needs of others and in the fulfillment of that, their own needs get met. They think from the macro to the micro. They think from outside in. Martin Luther King did not have to get involved with civil rights to be comfortable but he did. Take a look at a lot of the leaders who have become borderless and timeless. They did things that really they did not have to do to be comfortable. They were driven by a vision, passion, boldness and wit beyond personal comfort and in the expression of these they became people that ignite passion in others. Each generation has its borderless and timeless leaders whose thoughts and sayings still make their way into some of the world’s greatest speeches today. Nelson Mandela has stood over Africa like a colossus as the reference point of leadership. As the curtain begins to draw on that generation, a search is now on for the next generation of leaders that will be able to speak for the continent and that will command global respect. Where are these people who have a proven track record of personal sacrifice in the interest of their Nations and indeed the stability of the continent? The day can be today and the person can be you. A decision to live outside of yourself will dramatically differentiate you from the norm. It will set you on the course of significance. A lot of people in public service are on a get rich at all cost journey. What they should remember is this. Multitudes of extremely wealthy people have walked the face of the earth and are totally forgotten today. However there are some names that can never be forgotten. What do these ones have in common? What differentiated them from the rest of the wealthy pack? They lived outside of themselves and they made an impact and a difference in the lives of others. At the end, it is not about how much you accumulate but rather about how far the little you have goes in making the world a better place for someone else. That is when you move from success to significance. It is of such people that it is written that the world was not worthy of them. - #MosesToday AS A YOUTH CHAMPION AND AN ADVOCATE FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE I AINT DOING THIS FOR MY OWN,I AM PROPELLED BY A DESIRE TO BETER MY LIFE AND THAT OF AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND SERVICE TO MANKIND.......www.mosesnjoroge.blogspot.com
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