Acronyms of Life: The Abc of a Living Purpose
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TaskWhat to do;
Operating baseWhere to do it;
UppercutHow to do it;
CharacterWhat to use (an intrinsic tool); and
HourWhen to do it.
Find more in those precious pages of Acronyms of Life.
Leonard Karshima Shilgba
Leonard Karshima Shilgba is a mathematics professor, columnist, public speaker and commentator, and the founder and General Overseer of the Bible Clinic Ministry. He is also the author of From My Heart: The Black Race—Myths, Realities, and Complexes, a chronological assessment of the contributing events between 2004 and 2009 that have helped define Nigeria and Africa. He is a Japanese-trained Monbusho scholar, a JASSO post-doctoral fellow, and a teachers’ teacher. Leonard Shilgba is married to Kemi, and they are blessed with three children, Winnie, Mabel, and Leonard Jr.
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Acronyms of Life - Leonard Karshima Shilgba
Copyright © 2014 by Leonard Karshima Shilgba.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]
Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Website.
Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.
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Contents
Acknowledgement
Introduction
Chapter One
Grace And Righteousness
Grace:
Righteousness Of God:
Chapter Two
Crisis In Heaven
Receiving The Best From God
Abundant Life
Spiritual Warfare
Chapter Three
Introduction Of Man
The Image (Tselem) And Likeness (Demuwth) Of God
Man And Dominion
Chapter Four
Man And Marriage
Love, Faith And Hope In The (Christian) Family
Renewing Sexual Attraction In A Marriage Relationship
Chapter Five
The Ways And Means Of God
Epilogue
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
My wife Kemi was helpful with her valuable suggestions that have been included in this book. No human being owns knowledge; we only inherit and improve on it. I am most grateful to my teachers, formal and informal, who knowingly or otherwise shaped my world view. There are audiences that I used as sounding board for some of the ideas contained in this book. The feedback strengthened by belief that those were ideas worth sharing with wider and much larger audiences.
An unexpected call from my publishing consultant, Joanna Chua pushed me to complete the manuscript just in time for publication. A writer needs such a push when less pressing engagements threaten the speed of his literary pen.
If you have pondered the question, Why are we human beings living on earth, a planet we cannot forever possess, robbed by the brevity of life, troubled by its pains, and confused by its dazzles and vanities?
then, this book is dedicated to you.
Living in this wild world of unending crises and wars,
In the privacy of my soul,
Filled up with unanswered questions,
Expressions spring up from within that catch your attention today.
Off the hook
Off the hook, off the hook,
Attracted by the bait,
Covering the sharp curved hook,
At it I dashed and on it closed my tender lips,
A choke in my throat, held fast awaiting my fate.
Off the hook, off the hook, what a dream, what a dream,
Yes, it is now yanked from the string, what a miracle!
Into my belly it now sinks to its rest.
But the hook, now losing its hardness and sharpness,
In the belly turns into the most delicious meal—nourishing.
Off the hook, off the hook, what a dream, what a dream,
The hook is jerked out of my delicate lips, a scar leaving behind,
A memorable scar, but saved at last,
What a dream, what a dream!
INTRODUCTION
We have space, life, creation, and purpose. These four things relate one to another. We need space for life to exist; life is created, and life must have a purpose. For those who believe in the existence of a creator, the creator is the origin of life. Out of the creator proceeds life; and this life is broadcast in things and persons. We have life in trees and we have life in creatures living in and out of the water. Their life comes forth from the Life—the creator.
When we talk of life having a purpose, then it is only reasonable that every purpose must have life within it. Therefore, every purpose must be life-driven even as life must be purpose-driven. For example, what life-driven purpose do I want to accomplish with this book that I have set out to write? Suppose you are being weighed down by a burden of debt now that you are reading this book. You know that no matter how much you try to save from your current pay check in order to service the debt you can at best only scratch the cold surface of this ever burgeoning mountain of debts. If you find in this book some information that can unlock the fountain of hope within you and clear your eyes to see that hitherto hidden spring of water to quench your thirst and that of your family, the purpose of the book contains in it life for you. Maybe you have tried all tricks and tips that you can find in bestselling books to save your marriage. You have done all in your power to love your spouse. At last you have come to the sad conclusion, That man is impossible,
or That woman is unlovable. I don’t know where I sent my common sense when I fell in love with her at first.
If you can find that needed solution in this book, for you, its purpose contains life. You are wondering if a man can truly know the mind of God about life-decisions. You had been very sure in the past that God was leading you, but have only come to a dead-end now. Can we ever be sure on earth? Is life not simply a guess quiz? You have lost many loved ones; almost every year there is a funeral in your family. Superstitious neighbors and co-workers have concluded that your family is cursed. Even your fiancé or fiancée has asked to end the relationship between the two of you on account of this curse in your family. How can you cope with life? You are right within the bondage of some terrible addiction to alcohol, sex, drugs, smoking, pornography, anger, depression, etc. If this book brings a smile on your face and freedom to your soul, it is life-giving.
But what is the end (purpose) of life? The creator knows the end from the beginning before he begins to make. We may have different elements of the full purpose—the full end of life. But all of those elements must gravitate towards the fulfillment of the ultimate end of life.
We now talk of God, severally called different names in different languages in different generations. Some people don’t believe in God, but they believe in the law of cause and effect. There is no effect without a cause. We elect to refer to what they believe as God. They believe in a cause that brings about an effect; that cause, we choose to call God in our discourse throughout this book. So whatever is your philosophical persuasion (theism, polytheism, atheism, agnosticism, pantheism, or deism), this premise should reasonably bring all of us—writer and readers— on the same plane of understanding.
Jesus Christ—the central personality of the Bible—says, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
[John 14: 6] There is no life without the word (truth); there is no purpose (way) without the truth; and there is no creation without the truth. Biblical revelations show that in the beginning was the word; the word was life. So there is no life without the word and there is no word without the life. God, the cause of effects, has an end, by which we mean a purpose. Every person on earth, every animal or insect that exists in our universe and every plant that has been created on earth has life, which did not originate in them but in the cause. The purpose of God is that every man and woman that He has made will have life forever. When Jesus Christ came to the earth, He said, "As the Father has sent me, so send I you. [John 20: 21] He was talking to those that believed in Him; He was talking to the sons and daughters of God. They believed in Him and so they had become the children of Life. They believed in Him and they had become children of the cause—that which brings about life. So, they also can create. Therefore, Jesus Christ says,
I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. [John 14:12] The natural question is,
What were the works that Jesus did?"
We are told in the Bible that God created everything by Christ Jesus:
John 1: 3: "All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made."
Ephesians 3: 9: "And to make all men see what the fellowship of the mystery is, which from the beginning of the world had been hidden in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ."
Colossians 1: 15-19: "Who (Jesus Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell."
Hebrews 1: 1, 2: "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe."
It is not difficult for the enquirer to see the consistency of the testimony that Jesus Christ is not only his or her creator, but is also the creator of the universe, both the known and yet to be known planets and bodies.
The first reference is emphatic that there is no existence outside of Jesus Christ. The second reference acknowledges that those things we have encountered so far and shall yet see later are indeed a mystery. The reader might be turned off by some of those weird
assertions. But I should urge some meditation and deep reflection. The third reference states that Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible, the institution of institutions and authority of all authorities in all conceivable and inconceivable realms. He sustains all things. He sustains marriages and relationships that are surrendered to him; he sustains the entire universe. Scientists may frame theories about forces, but those forces are his creations. The earth, for instance, is suspended on no visible pillars; it rotates and revolves in regular patterns and geometries. These are only examples of the powerful sustenance of the universe which originates in Jesus Christ. The fourth reference declares that by Jesus Christ (God’s Son) the entire universe was made.
Jesus Christ says, "For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself…. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him." [John 5: 26, 22, 23]
This is the same Jesus who says to those who believe in him, Greater works than these will you do.
This means that God’s intent is to share the work of creation with his creatures that believe in him. We are talking of human beings that believe in him; for the whole creation is waiting for their manifestation when they begin to create the way God intended from the beginning. So, Jesus would say to his believers, You will have whatsoever you say.
God has always had whatsoever he said. He said, Let there be…
and it was. We also who believe begin to create accordingly. And God, knowing the power in the human being to create, warns, Be careful what you say, because you will create it.
What you may create may be something you will never admire in the end. So, be careful what you create with your tongue, because life and death are in it. I ordained so; I decreed so.
Like a father would say, Son, I am about to retire; I want you to take over the business empire. I want you to learn how to manage the business so that when I am not here you will know how to run it without me,
God says, Children, I want you to take over. I don’t want to be the one making decisions all the time. Before you take over, you must know me so that my power will be at work in you.
The power in the believers in Christ increases as they grow in the knowledge of him so that they can and will create the right things and not the wrong things. There is abundance of power in everyone that connects to the creator. In anyone who believes, there is abundance of power; and all of that has to do with the word—knowing the word, knowing God. So, grace and peace are multiplied to us through the knowledge of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he gives us his word so that through this knowledge (of the word) we might partake in the divine nature which is far above the human nature that all natural beings are subject to; so that we will operate at the level of God. That is what God has purposed in him before the foundation of the world.
A time is going to come when there will be no death. Death will be conquered because death and life are opposites. And death is an enemy because it threatens to interrupt the creation and work of God. Death is never and has never been a friend of God. God doesn’t glorify death and neither does death glorify God. God doesn’t broadcast death; he doesn’t sermonize about death. So, death is the last enemy of God that will be destroyed. Why is death the last enemy that will be destroyed rather than being the first to be destroyed? Because the earth is not yet full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea. If every person on earth understands and begins to operate in this truth the Millennium (The time when Jesus the Christ shall rule physically on the earth for a period of 1000 years) would commence today, because death would find no room; death would find no space to operate.
When God made man, he made man not to be conquered by death (not to die). He made provision to overcome death—the tree of life was right there in the Garden of Eden. God did not tell man, You shall not eat of the tree of life.
He did not tell that to Adam (the first man) because the tree of life is meant for us men. After the Millennial reign of Christ and the Great White Throne Judgment, the tree of life would be made available in the new earth:
Revelation 22: 1-2: Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
In Ephesians 3: 20, 21, God says: "Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]. To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen (so be it)."
God is only able to carry out his purpose in a man only by his power which is at work in that individual. And this power only comes as we know him; it is directly proportional to how much of God we know, even as we are told:
2 Peter 1: 2-4: "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord; according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
The power of God at work in us is dependent on what we know about God and His purpose for us. We must be convinced that God wants us also to become creators—little gods in Him; and He is all in all, Supreme. Then, we will be able to see the impact of what he does in and through us beyond our wildest dreams, imaginations, and prayers. Then, we can create; we can take those decisions according to His revealed will that will bring about prosperity, healing, and growth.
Hebrews 1: 1, 2: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds." God made the worlds by His Son; he wants to accomplish many things by us. He wants to build great empires by us. But it must be through the power at work in us, which only comes by what we know of Him.
Hebrews 1: 3: "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." The point is that He upholds all things by the word of His power. He upholds all things—the solar system, people, nations, businesses, families, etc.,—by the word of his power. Your life holds together through the word of his power that you believe; that is the victory that overcomes the challenges, trials, lusts, and provocations of this world, even your faith! When you give space in your life for God’s word, there is life in your family, business and everything that pertains to you. Where God’s word is not, death is. His word is life; where there is no life there is death. God warned Adam, In the day that you will eat of this tree, you shall surely die.
In other words, "In the day you operate outside of the