I refuse to listen to the entreaties of luxurious cars; flat-screen televisions; iPhones; barley shoes; Rolex wrist-watches and Edikankong soup.

Where do you live? Do you live in this world or do you live in Christ? If you are a Christian, then Christ must now be your life. (Colossians 3:4). Moses says to God: “You have been our dwelling place in all generations.” (Psalm 90:1). Paul amplifies this: “In (God). we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28).

Several years ago, I was listening to a powerful sermon by a sister-in-the-Lord, Ethel Aderemi, when the Lord suddenly asked me yet another of his enigmatic questions. “Femi,” he said, “what is the name of Jesus?”

When Christians preach the false prosperity gospel, their focus is on this life.  They talk of Christ becoming poor that Christians may become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9).  But the true gospel is not about poor Christians becoming rich in this life.  It is about rich Christians becoming poor.

Nobody likes trouble. Nevertheless, it habitually confronts us. In lamentation, Job says: “Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.” (Job 14:1). However, Jesus presents a completely different paradigm where trouble is good for believers. He tells us to cheer up when we are beset by trouble: “In the world you will have trouble. But cheer up! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).

Jesus was going into Jericho, and blind Bartimaeus repeatedly shouted for help but Jesus did not answer him. On his departure from Jericho, Bartimaeus was still by the wayside. When he realized it was Jesus passing by again, he cried out so much more than before and made a complete nuisance of himself.

Before we pray for anything, we need to pray first for the grace to be able to pray.

Paul warns that the love of money is dangerous: “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10).

The door to the pastor’s office swung open with a loud bang. Out came the praise worship leader running for dear life. Running after him, with shoe in hand ready to strike him down, was our dear pastor, shouting: “I will kill you. I will kill you.”

If I were to ask you to lend me N1,000 of your money, what would you say? You may or may not give the money to me. But if I were to ask you to lend me N1,000 of God’s money, what would you say? Do you keep God’s money with you or not? What precisely is the difference between God’s money and your money?