Daily Devotionals

If it does not occur naturally, then it was created by a human being. Electric power plants, distribution systems, the Internet, smartphones, comfortable clothing, and paper and ink were all invented. Devised for the benefit of humanity, and the glory of God. God is glorified when you exercise your God-given creativity to create value in the global marketplace. The ultimate goal of all spirituality and creativity is to add value to the world. When you solve problems, you add value. When you help others improve and become more productive, you create value.

You should always be aware of your responsibility to keep a watch wherever you are. You must be the salt and light of your world. As you look for solutions to the issues affecting your world, you are carrying out this duty. One of your top goals must be to increase other people’s productivity. It is the things you create that will solve problems and enhance productivity. This assignment is not restricted to any particular person or nation or race. Any follower of Jesus can accept the assignment to serve as the salt and light of the world.

God has thoughts on hunger, poverty, illiteracy, a lack of purpose, and many other issues. Will you use your spiritual and creative abilities to add value? Say some prayers along this line. Secondly, give careful thought to how you may use the creativity that God has given you to add value to the market. Your spiritual gift should be used to help others in the community by providing solutions to their problems. Everything good in your world began as an idea in God’s mind. It came from God’s mind and found its way into a human mind that is tuned to God (1 Corinthians 2: 9 – 12).

In an environment where there is integrity and trust, everything works better. Decisions can be made more quickly. When there is trust, money moves more quickly. Unfortunately, trust does not scale. You can’t rely on the masses to do the right thing. However, you should intentionally create trust circles around yourself. Build high quality relationships where integrity of character and mutual trust is high. Never base a relationship on a lie. If you cannot trust anyone with the truth, the person should not be in your inner circle. These kinds of relationships are vital for higher productivity and wealth creation.

It is impossible to attain super success alone. You will need to work with others in harmony and with a single, clear goal in mind. If one fails to establish trust with those closest to them. It is easy to conclude that such a person will never achieve success. How can you succeed if you spend the majority of your time looking over your shoulder? Wondering what madness your friends and family would release next? Great ideas and businesses at the high level require high-trust environments. You qualify yourself for great things by the extent to which you can be trusted.

It makes no difference if everyone in your circle is untrustworthy. You’re supposed to be the salt and light in your community. In a corrupt and broken world, you should have a clean reputation. The Bible says, “the trustworthy person will get a rich reward, but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble” (Proverbs 28:20 NLT). “Just say a simple “Yes, I will” or “No, I won’t,” Jesus exhorts us to a higher level of discipline and integrity (Matthew 5:33-37). Hold on to truth, integrity and trustworthiness. Over time, you will attract people who admire and respect your character strength.

According to a new report, the United States and other Western countries are losing the race with China to develop advanced technologies and retain talent, with Beijing potentially establishing a monopoly in some areas. China leads in 37 of 44 technologies tracked by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute over the course of a year. Electric batteries, hypersonics, and advanced radio-frequency communications such as 5G and 6G are among the fields. The implication of this is that we may be on the verge of a world dominated by Chinese technology.

American ideas and technologies dominated the twentieth century. Ideas that originated in America spread throughout the world. The majority of the technologies that underpin our civilisation are entirely American. Such as the Internet, smartphones, and the world’s largest technology companies. It’s all American. However, this is changing. China has built the foundations to position itself as the world’s leading science and technology superpower. China’s lead is the product of deliberate design and long-term policy planning. Other countries and regions around the world can learn from China’s accomplishment. There is no one group of people who has a monopoly on the best ideas.

The world is changing. It is up to you to ensure that your community is not left behind. God created us and charged us to be fruitful (productive). Science and technology allow us to increase our productivity exponentially. Today’s most productive individuals and nations are also technologically advanced. As the world moves away from the industrial era and towards a knowledge-based economy. It is critical for each country to develop its own technology. There are technological marvels that can only originate from Senegal for example. Ideas don’t come from abroad, they come from God. You should realize that you don’t have to fall behind other countries in terms of technology. You can create your own.

Rather than seeking money or status, you should strive to create wealth. Your wealth is the result of the accumulation of your good works (aka productivity). When you conflate productivity with making money or achieving status, you get off track. You have a tendency to stop being fruitful. You will stop to produce useful, meaningful results. Chasing money will reprogram your mind to accept compromise and mediocrity. And if achieving a certain social status is your ultimate goal, your mission will suffer. The goal is not to make money or attain a status. The goal is to perform the good works God created you for. Riches, honor and glory are byproducts of good works.

Many people see life as a status game. They have no desire to do anything. The goal of obtaining a PhD is to equip the mind to create new knowledge. Such critical knowledge is essential for the advancement of civilisation. However, there is an issue when people regard a PhD as nothing more than a status symbol. Many pay undisclosed sums to some backwater university in order to receive an honorary doctorate. They receive a “PhD” (the status) without having to study, research or do any form of original thinking (good works).

Do not desire the glamor, honor, and respect that come with the status. Without the responsibilities and work ethic that come with such a status. Do not marry for social status. Marry for the sake of companionship. Get an education because you will need it to succeed. Do not pursue a degree for the sake of status. Obtaining a PhD will not do for you what simple confidence in your abilities will. You must be confident that your productivity and results will support your case in any debate. Get to work on the tasks assigned to you by your heavenly Father. Everything else will fall into place.

To make an economic impact in your world, you need more than passion. While zeal, bravery, and courage are admirable qualities, they will not help you succeed. It is suicidal to go through life following your untrained instincts. To succeed in your calling to keep watch over your world, you must prioritize knowledge and discipline over all else. Talent and gifting are less important than discipline. According to Proverbs 19:2 (NET), “It is dangerous to have zeal without knowledge, and the one who acts hastily makes poor choices.” You will not build large businesses simply because you are passionate about it. If you want to play in the economy, you must first learn the basics.

Athletes who want to compete in a standard competition must first learn the rules. It makes no difference how talented a footballer is. They must manifest all of their gifts within the parameters of the game’s rules. A gifted footballer cannot throw a temper tantrum on the field and demand to score with their hands. To make a difference in your local economy, you must first understand how it operates. You might have the talent for business and making things happen. However, failure will result from a lack of knowledge of the rules that govern business at the highest levels.

Knowledge and discipline always outweigh talent and passion in the long run. Where there is knowledge and sufficient discipline, talent and passion will make a significant difference. Do not think that it is enough to have the passion for a better nation. A motivated fool is still a fool. You need knowledge and the discipline to get things done. So, as you document your community’s economic problems, consider the type of knowledge required to make a difference. Familiarize yourself with the applicable laws. What political or economic resources would you require to deliver the change you want?

Onyeka Nwelue is a Nigerian author and filmmaker who lost his academic visitor status at Oxford and Cambridge for misusing their logos and premises. He was exposed in a March 2, 2023 report by the Cherwell newspaper, published by Oxford University students. The damning report demonstrated that the 35-year-old frequently misrepresented himself to the public for personal gain. On an online forum, Nwelue had said, “I am a university professor, attached to two of the top best universities in the world.” These are all misleading statements. He does not have an academic PhD, and was leveraging the prestigious institutions to drive his own credibility. He has reportedly apologized to Oxford for his actions.

As an agent of change, seeking the betterment of your world. The day will come when you will think that acquiring a certain status will help your cause. The need to become associated with other credible people and institutions. When you do this to the detriment of your mission, you have a problem. Or when you have to exaggerate your accomplishments in order to attract the attention of certain people. It will lead you to a spiritual state that you should avoid. If you cannot trust your productivity and results to do the talking. You will always struggle with inferiority complexes and insecurities. You will never be able to overcome impostor syndrome.

The Bible is harsh in its condemnation of lies, misleading statements, and all forms of falsehood. If you have to lie to get people’s attention, you’ve already set yourself up for failure. You do not require any status to complete your mission. What you require is education, planning, and mentoring. You must commit to doing things properly. We don’t remember great people for the titles and positions they held. We remember them for their impact. Grow your influence, thoughtfully increase your impact. Everything else, including glory and recognition, will take care of itself. If you fake it like Onyeka Nwelue, you will crash.

Every day as you work to further your mission, you will inevitably run into resistance from others. You’ll experience fraud, shortchanging, and betrayal. People will make grandiose promises that they won’t keep. It is all part of the game. You should understand human nature and make allowances for such behavior. Jesus understood this aspect of human nature. He would not entrust himself to the crowd, as he knew what was in their hearts (John 2:23-25). So, just like Jesus, stay focused on your mission every day. Also, make room for others. When problems arise, be quick to forgive. Allow no one to derail your mission.

Albert Einstein once said: “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly.” You must recognize and accept this unpleasantness as a characteristic of people. Recognizing that you are being opposed or sabotaged because your attackers are ignorant is crucial. They have no idea what they are doing. In a court of law, ignorance is not a valid defense. However, you are not a court, and getting offended with people will stop you in your tracks. You will lose.

So, let us learn to imitate great biblical heroes. The way they forgive their enemies while remaining focused on the mission. Joseph never sought vengeance on his brothers. He acknowledged their evil ways, but pointed out that God used it for a greater good (Genesis 50:15-21). If you are serious about completing your mission. “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing,” has to be your favorite prayer point. If your critics realized you were working to make the world a better place. They would have done better. They don’t realize their future survival depends on your success. Forgive them and find a way to avoid them.

Every human being is capable of creating something from nothing. But only a few of us will ever be able to focus enough to do so. You need to be conscious of your power to create something out of nothing. The key is to define in clear terms, the things you wish to create. There is a distinction between things that exist, and things that do not exist. It is the fact that you can describe how something works. It’s characteristics and utility. You can describe the feeling something evokes when others interact with it. This is the first step towards creating something of value, from nothing.

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth from nothing. We can see that the first step was to define what needed to be created. And then God spoke it out, using words to paint a picture of what the thing to be created would look like. If you can learn to imitate this pattern, you can create anything. It is real if we can imagine it, define its behavior, and explain how it works. It is prepared to be spoken into existence (a.k.a prayed into existence). You cannot create anything from ignorance. There must be some base knowledge.

You need to get started by defining the things you want to create in clear terms. You need to start defining your ideas as engines, gadgets, books, and organizations. They should be described as though they exist. By describing them and the feelings they evoke when others engage with them, we bring them to life in our spirit. The next step is to speak them into being. And pray them into reality. You must direct your creative energy toward your ideas. That is how you will attract all of the resources required to make them a reality. Before you can create something, you must possess a clear vision of it.

Accountability is an important characteristic that is frequently overlooked in our daily interactions with others. It is the act of accepting responsibility for our actions and the consequences of those actions. You might not realize it, but lack of accountability is one of the reasons many people fail to achieve their dreams. You would struggle to complete things that are important to you. Accountability is a crucial aspect of our personal and professional lives. People who lack accountability have a negative reputation in their dealings. This is especially true when they are sent on an errand and fail to return change.

Imagine someone entrusts you with 30k to run an errand, and you spend 21k and keep the balance for yourself. This action may seem harmless. You might even find justifications for such a wicked action. However, it will have a long-term negative impact on your life. By keeping the balance, you are depriving yourself of bigger opportunities that could have come your way if you had returned the change. You are losing trust by concealing your true dealings or refusing to account for the money. You should not wait for people to demand accountability before taking action out of integrity.

Luke 16:10 – 12 teaches us that being faithful in little things is the key to unlocking greater opportunities. When we are accountable with small things, we become worthy of greater responsibilities. In contrast, if we fail to handle minor tasks with integrity, we limit our chances of being trusted with more important tasks. You will miss out on life’s true riches if you cannot demonstrate accountability in the little things. Being accountable is not just about returning change when sent on an errand. It all comes down to being dependable, honest, and trustworthy in all aspects of our lives. Accepting accountability is the key to gaining more opportunities.

If you want to make your dreams a reality, you must increase your productivity. However, becoming a productive adult requires more than just passion, hard work or determination. It requires knowledge. You cannot consistently perform at the highest levels from a place of ignorance. A broken clock may be correct twice a day, but that is just luck, not knowledge. There is luck, and there is the knowledge that can help you get the results you want every time. You want to operate from the realm of knowledge. Without knowledge, you cannot make sound decisions. Knowledge helps you take effective action.

Knowledge is the key to unlocking your full potential and reaching your goals. To become the most powerful version of yourself, you must commit to acquiring more knowledge. Knowledge fuels creativity and innovation. It equips you to think outside the box, come up with new ideas. And find better solutions to existing problems. With knowledge, you can create, build, and accomplish things that were once thought impossible. In fact, everything that appears impossible to you right now is due to some level of ignorance. You must embrace lifelong learning and continuous personal development.

Your knowledge is your power. This thought should fire you up to reject ignorance and mediocrity. There is no honor in ignorance. The Almighty God is the author of all knowledge. Apostle Peter advised us to add knowledge to our faith (2 Peter 1:5). Therefore, pursue knowledge with boldness and conviction. Become the most knowledgeable and powerful version of yourself by expanding your knowledge. It will enhance your ability to deliver results. You can learn how to deliver any result consistently. Seek out people more knowledgeable than you. Find out how you can double your results, increasing your effectiveness. Embrace the power that knowledge provides.