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The Pianoist IV contd.

"This was why you despirately convinced me to come to church with you, thank you 'cos I wouldn't have met the Lord and, maybe, I would have ended up like Kizito and Lanre", Larry said. "You are welcome, but thank the Lord the most for it was He who had it happen that way", I said. "Beyond that",I continued "I believe my first step to personal transformation began when I took a cue from Evangel's boldness to comfront my demons. I was insecure, afraid and selfish. I was a good actor too, all that ruthlessness and rugedity was a venier masking my inadequacies as a person. I could not show weakness in any way. As such, I denied me access to myself!" "Hmmm, that must have been terrible for you", said Larry. "Terrible is an understatement. I learnt on fundamental truth: what lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us. I was empty, without a value system, without a core."

The Pianoist Chapter IV

Help me Lord, teach me to begin correctly so that I do not stair the wrong feelings, I prayed in my thought. Now the Lord requires that I use my life's testimony to help my dearest friend. Before I got saved, my life was a mess. There was no element of control, I had cast off restraint and was on the fast track of destruction. I had a lot of upsetting experiences while growing up that had defined my values and perception about life. I blamed everyone and every thing except myself for my state. I reduced to a cynical, judgemental and paranoid fellow. My relationships were superficial and characterised by machinations. With elaborate exposure to the life of the streets, I became a master in the art of survival and I could use whatever means necessary to achieve whatever I wanted to achieve. I hurt alot of people but I hurt myself the most, consequence was not an issue for me because I believed that nothing could come back to haunt me. At a point, I was so deep into my terrible lifest

The Pianoist III Contd.

"Well seriously now", I continued, trying to bring seriousness back. "Our souls comprise of our will, emotion and intellect, it's the interface between the physical and the supernatural and our thoughts and attitude derives from paradigms that reside in the soul." "You wanna have me believe that I am defined by something resident in my soul?" Larry asked. "Exactly! Replied Lynn. "You are the product of thought patterns and systems absorbed from your environment. You begin to release these things you have inside as time and circumstances permit." Lynn continued. "This is what Jesus meant when he said that it is out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. He was talking about the abundance of the paradigms residing in the depths of your soul. Apostle Paul calls it 'the spirit of the mind', I said. "This still sounds spookey to me. I should be leery of you guys, you all talk like you've been hypnotised"

CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE: Leadership space

The beauty of leadership is comparable to ripples generated when a stone is dropped in still water. Your circle of influence or leadership space refers to the immediate domain of your authority (Ayodolapo Ajao). Immediate in this context is relative because leadership space- like the ripple- is ever growing, so what may be immediate domain of authority for Mr A may not apply for Mr B. It all depends on how well your ability to lead has developed. As a leader, it is your responsibility to develop your capacity to lead. This is achieved in two ways- experience and personal development. The leader is not so much in control of the fact that his circle of influence is growing as he is in determining the rate of that growth and how well he co-ordinates. There are instances of leaders collapsing or crashing because they could not keep up with their growing leadership space. The leader has to be dynamic and flexible. Doing things the same way- monotony and dogma- will cause your space to implo

THE PIANOIST (CHAPTER III)

Larry and Lynn arrived my place later in the evening and we chatted about how we spent the day. My day was not productive physically but I had covered miles spiritutually. I was now feeling better about myself and I could not wait to share my experience with the others, how that pianoist changed me. I had been meditating extensively on God's word in Habbakuk 2:2 and 2Corinthians 3:18, and I have been mirroring my life with the Word. I reached a conclusion to drop the glories of the present and reach for the higher calling. Larry and Lynn had argued back and forth over the issue of how important perspective is to a man and it was my turn to reconcile their views. "What was it you said we had to talk about? I asked at last, trying to bring in the purpose of their visit. "You've known me since school" Larry began. "You know how well I can handle stuff. As long as I could see the two extremes of an issue, is was a settled thing for me." "That'

THE PIANOIST (CHAPTER II)

Billy "the ferocious" was barking his head off and my alarm was buzzing a sharp reminder that I had reality to confront. I had a magical moment at the Expo center, Eko hotel yesterday and I had not fully recovered from my epiphany. My phone was ringing. "Joseph the dreamer hope you slept well and did not spend all your night meditating" came Larry's voice, laughing. "I did and how was your night?" "Refreshing. I was wondering if me and Lynn can come over for a chat. There is an issue we'd like your input." "And what could this be about? I querried. "It's from yesterday night. Lynn's been talking funny ever since." Of course I knew what he meant by talking funny especially since he referred to yesterday's event. "Hmmm, odviously, you are not seeing reasons with her plus you are now confused" came my reply. He laughed ruefully. "I don't know how you guys see the things you see in every thi

THE PIANOIST

Now, that face that was contorted into such grotesqness was glowing with an expression of ecstactic relief as he ran his fragile fingers through his frail looking hair now thinning with age. He has just delivered a masterpiece and there was so much chatter about his finesse and the precision of his delivery amidst the dying ovation. I remained on my feet for minutes after his performance, dazed by the beauty of it all. I had taken in so much and so much had happened in me while this master played on the indisputable queen of all musical instruments. Each note spoke to me in a personal way as if they were my very dialect.The effect, both stunning and enlightening. "snap out of it boy",Larry said tugging on my sleeve. "I know you are a music junkee but i've never seen you so dazed." "If only you knew how that man spoke to me with every note he played, how much I have come to see within those blissful minutes..." I was saying. "Yeah,yeah, now I t

Vodoo Dream

 Beads of prespiration pouring down as the heat of the sun mercilessly saps from the juice of vitality.With this gloomy reality enshrouding in its overwhelming magnitude, an escape must be sought, and fast. To elope into phantasm, a world surreal but loaded with endless promises of repose from the weariness of the travails of the battles of every day life, is the only open option of escape from this disarticulating, dicappiteting cosmos. Or is it? With so much self imposed definitions to the concept of  humanity, so much ambiguity is left unresolved. Schooled minds advocate pragmatic solutions to humanity's dilema, others prefer some phantasma. In acute despiration to alleviate this seemingly unending affliction, complications emanate by the lack of virtue, the virtue called responsibility. Without ability to accept and be accountable for the initiation of the chain reactions of cause and effect, gropping in darkness is inevitable. Having denied the true essence of living, as rep

Tests of purpose and vision- The sequel

Last time on this series, we examined four of twelve tests of purpose and vision- The test of apetite, pride, sex and money. Let's continue from where we stopped. As an addendum to the test of money, let me quickly say that most christians find it rather challanging to be faithful when it comes to money. Money is the only thing Jesus put in the god class when he said "you can not serve God and mammon". The problem believers have is the love of money which, as scriptures put it, is the root of all evil. We have seen (and we will always see) men do all sort of things for the sake of money. Believers have to be espeially areful in this area because what you do for immediate gain and satisfaction could cost you your destiny. Now to the next test- The test of Parenthood. Honour your parents (Eph 6:1-3). How you treat your parents affects your destiny either positively or negatively. The consequence of dishonouring your parents is not just a curse but the result of breaking

WHERE ARE THE GODS III- The conclusion of the matter.

The great teacher and the wisest king who ever lived, carefully observed life and all the machinations of man and reached the conclusion that all amounts to vanity. In the peak of man's iniquity we seek to answer the question: where are the gods? From the two previous volumes on this subject, we see that man's abstract and tangible gods have grossly failed him: Philosophy, logic, so called primodial beings and ancestral spirits. There is the incontrovertible reality of the existence of certain supernatural elements that have had a strong influence on the civilizations of man in times past. That they are still influencing the trajectory of man's endevours is no excusable fact. However, the issue to settle is that as much as they have defined or given form to the present cosmos, there still remains providing, once and for all, a solution to man's insatiable hunger for a fellowship with the supernatural. It is rather comical to believe in deities who can not provide a pan

Orbis Unum

We witness a display of man's tendency for a unified system in the Babel episode as recorded in the book of genesis. Here we see man uniting and making himself mighty in a "one world" government. I want to answer two questions that arise from that episode: Was man's crave for a one world government (and that crave is still unsatisfied) an accident? Also, was God's refusal justified? "Orbis Unum" is the latin for "one world" and this has been the direction that world politics has been heading. From the time of Nimrod, to the Pharohes of Egypt, to Nebuchadnezzar, to Dairus, to Alexander the great, to Julius Ceasar, the list is endless. The primary motive that drove the manifestation of their dominion was Orbis Unum. Believe it or not, the Roman Catholic Church joined the party and Islam is about Orbis Unum.Why then is this drive towards a one world system? Understanding this will give insight into the direction that world politics is heading to

Test of Vision and Purpose.

What is Vision? VISION IS A MENTAL PICTURE OF A PREFERABLE FUTURE. It is the ability to see the end of a thing before the beginning. In Gen 1:26, God made male and female in his own image and likeness (all of this was in God's vision, these things were not yet in the physical, they were in the mental realm). In Gen 2, we begin to see how God actually carried out his mission to translate his vision into reality. I prophesy into your life that your dream will not die. If you can dream it, you can achieve it. We see how that there had to be a man to till the earth before seed could grow. What about the man in Genesis 1? He was in the vision realm then. God had to put adam into a deep sleep to produce Eve. What happened to the male and female in Genesis 1? Genesis chapter 1 is an account of the mental picture of the God of all creation, Genesis 2 shows us the process. God created time so that the things in the spritual can pass through the proess of manifestation. Every thing in the

Silence of the lambs...

Nothing stirs my spirit more than when I see men rejoice in ignorance,Ignorant men who do not wnat to get wisdom. Oh brethren, did not the scripture say that wisdom is the principal thing and that in all our getting we should get wisdom? Men of this age are pursuing every other thing but wisdom. My bible tells me that wisdom was present when the foundations of this world was laid. What then is there that we desire to be instructed in that we can not get from the school of wisdom. How overwhelming is the foolishness of this world, how pathetic is the life of the man who celebrates his ignorance! He is caught in the trap of an insatiable urge to always hear his own voice and bewitched by a strong sense of entitlement. Let us therefore listen more than we speak for in patient listening comes epiphany. The enterance of God's word gives light and understanding to the simple. Seek wisdom and you shall find her. Not in the volumes of man's knowledge for man has been confused since af

My Epistle To The 21st Century Church

Fellow members of the body of Christ,calvary greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ whose blood procured our  redemption and justification. In this age where knowledge is increasing,there has never risen a greater challange than getting and appropriating accurate information.Christ emphasised this when He said we are to live by every word that comes out of the mouth of God (Matt 4:4).He told us this so that we can be reminded of the position where we are,where we see things from.You see,this sense ruled world is saturated with sense generated information that is an enemy of faith.Faith enables us to stand above circumstances as we encounter them but with the wrong source of information and the wrong kind of information, we will only walk by sight. When Paul the apostle said that we walk by faith and not by sight,he was saying in effect that our life in this kingdom is not a consequence of the things we register with our five senses, but a consequence of what the

Gratitude.

Today,dear reader,wordcompany takes form as a person with emotion,plagued with the same challanges that beset every man.With a deep sense of gratitude to the author of the universe,I can not help but reflect on my life as I have lived it thus far. This morning I was in an auto crash which left several of us wounded.I however escaped without harm even though I was sitting in front,just behind the driver.It so happened that the driver had an epileptic siezure while driving and lost control of the vehicle as a result.With one very swift sweep of 180 degrees,we saw our selves colliding with the pavement of concrete along Lekki Epe express way.I was on my way to work. Sitting back in my office with a disconsolate disposition,I can not help but beat myself  up over how much I should have done for my generation,that is still undone.I came out without harm but I have not stopped asking myself if I deserve such degree of mercy-I have not been as faithful to God and to purpose lately. It is w

WHERE ARE THE GODS II

WHERE ARE THE GODS IS A TRIBUTE TO THE VICTORY OF WISDOM OVER IGNORANCE,the victory of redemption over slavery. In this sequel,I will continue based on what I term my favourite part of the previous volume. History is a catalogue of man's abysmal failure in his attempt to find the primordial force and understand the primeval order of the universe.In all the lofty pursuits that have made up the disciplines,civilizations and cultures of man,there is yet to be found a convergent,exhaustive and conclusive view that answers once and for all, the question of the mystery of the supernatural. In this state,man could not understand the workings of the supernatural,this being the consequence of man's separation from God and His divine nature.Man attributed every phenomenon he could not understand to figments of his imagination as well as other forces that man's separated spirit connected with by virtue of his fallen state.In the first volume I referred to the abstract gods: reaso

WHERE ARE THE GODS.

Wrapped in the cocoon of self consciousness,we have grappled with the complexities and intrigues of our primeval essence.As a species,we have tried to profer solutions to the mind bugging,ageless question of our identity,origin,purpose and destination . As a consequence of the confusion we have found our selves,various schools of human consciousness have proferred answers that have left us more bewildered than ever.We find ourselves surrounded by a cacophony of opinions without the prospect of convergence. Devoid of adequate understanding and exhibiting exhuberance in ignorance,we attributed every phenomenon that defied our logic and cognition to some force or metaphysical element and brewed a concoction of deities.Some say these deities are primodal beings while others believe that they are the essence of our forebears watching over us.When we have questions,we run to them.When we have problems,we ask them to solve them.We make elaborate sacrifices and pour libations,each cult fe

Love is calling.

Love bade me welcome,yet my soul drew back, Guilty of dust and sin But quick ey'd love,observing me slack From my first enterance in, Drew near to me sweetly questioning If I lack'd anything. "A guest", I answer'd, "worthy to be here"; Love said,"you shall be he." "I, the unkind,the ungrateful?Ah my dear, I cannot look on thee." Love took my hand and smiling did reply "who made the eyes but I?" "Truth, Lord, but I have marr'd them; Let my shame Go where it doth deserve." "And know you not," says Love, "who bore the blame?" "My dear,then I will serve." "You must sit down," says Love, "And taste my meat." So i did sit and eat.

Complete in Him.

We have been given different templates for defining completeness in life by pou society.Some schools of thought have it in the form of physical substance.They believe that you are complete if you have money and influence.Others believe you are complete if you have men at your beck-and-call,yet others believe that a complete man is one who can satisfy his woman in all ramifications. What is completeness then?The bible tells us that completeness is not in the things we do but in who we are.In this world,there are two kinds of people: those who are in the middle of an identity crisis (No thanks to the fall),and those who now know who they are in Christ. Paul the Apostle said in Eph 1:22-23 that God made Christ the head over all things to the Church which is his body,the fullness of Him who fills all in all , so you see that Christ is not only the fullness of all things in God but he also fills all things in God.We can also say that Christ is the completenes of all things in God and He co