Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 28 November 2017 08:57
 “Many women do noble
things, but you surpass them all.”Charm is deceptive, and
beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor
her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the
city gate. Proverbs 31:29-31 (NIV)
For centuries, women may have been oppressed
and suppressed, many thought the right place for the woman is in the man’s
shadow. It is a shame that the women of
old probably had better deals than their modern counterparts. The ancient
Mesopotamian or Egyptian woman had the rights to own, buy and sell or inherit
properties among other things, most of these the modern woman only got in the
19 century. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 27 November 2017 08:07
 There are four things
whichare little on the earth, But they areexceedingly wise: The
ants area people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer;
The rock badgers are a feeble folk, Yet they make their homes in the crags; The
locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks; The spider skilfully
grasps with its hands, And it is in kings’ palaces. Proverbs 30:24-28 (NKJV)
When you imagine outstanding performances, it’s tempting to occasionally
think of great people doing extraordinary things, different people pushing the
boundary of human limitation. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 24 November 2017 07:34
 As water reflects the
face, so one’s life reflects the heart. Proverbs 27:19 (NIV)
The world operates on laws. Some
laws are more obvious than others; you hardly need to explain gravity to
anyone. While people may not necessarily understand the science behind this
force, even a toddler knows that things fall down. Here is one
of such laws, It says, “As within, so without.” Brian Tracy called it the law
of Correspondence; in operation it implies that your outer world is a
reflection of your inner world. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 23 November 2017 06:08
 A sluggard says,
“There’s a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!” As a door
turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed. A sluggard buries his hand
in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. A sluggard is wiser in his own
eyes than seven people who answer discreetly. Proverbs 26:13-16 (NIV)
We have forty million reasons for failure,
but not a single excuse. -Rudyard Kipling. Excuses are the way we explain away
our inability to take responsibility. When you take responsibility, you look
inward, with excuses, you look outward, you need someone or something to blame
for failure. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 22 November 2017 07:24
 Remove the dross
from the silver, and a silversmith can produce a vessel; remove wicked officials
from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established through
righteousness. Proverbs 25:4&5 (NIV)
Though precious
metals are naturally occurring materials, they come with impurities which tend
to obscure their brilliance. In some cases the impurities are so overpowering
that it takes a trained eyes to recognise the precious metal.
There are various
ways of removing dross from silver, ranging from using fire or intense heat to
chemicals and other specialist processes. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 21 November 2017 20:26
 By wisdom a house
is built, and through understanding it is established; through
knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. The
wise prevail through great power, and those who have knowledge muster their
strength. Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers. Proverbs 24:3-6 (NIV)
Demonstrating the
principle of leverage, Archimedes (287BC-212BC) asserted, “Give me a place to
stand and a lever long enough and I shall move the earth”. In practical terms,
leverage refers to a mechanism that multiplies the outcome or results of one’s
efforts without a corresponding increase in the consumption of resources. |
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Abi OLowosoyo: Posted on 21 November 2017 06:27
 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not
trust your own cleverness. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for
they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Proverbs 23:4&5
(NIV)
Getting rich takes a lot of hard work;
you’re not likely to do it otherwise. This advice above is not absorbing us
from hard work. Diligence will always be required in wealth building.
Getting rich for some is like drinking
salt water; the more you drink, the more you want to drink. While there’s
nothing wrong with ambition, putting yourself on a perpetual treadmill with
ever increasing speed is a sure way to break your health. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 17 November 2017 07:19
 The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the
righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10 (NIV)
There are two sides to fortification; one has
to do with the impregnable walls that keep the attackers out. The other side is
the provisions for the people inside. A fortress is not built in a day; in the
customs of ancient warfare, provisions are built up to last at least a year in
case of a siege.
There’s a time for everything under the sun
says the Solomon, the wise king of Israel. There’s a time to advance and a time
to retreat. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 17 November 2017 07:16
 Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest
time they look but find nothing. Proverbs 20:4 (NIV)
There are four, three or two seasons in a year
depending on where in the world you happen to live. The seasons of the year are
non-negotiable. You have no autonomy over the seasons; they come and go with
accurate sequence.
Sometimes I wish it was possible to choose my
seasons, I will probably choose to have 2 summers, springs and autumn. The
truth is we can’t chose the seasons or rearrange the sequence. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 17 November 2017 07:10
 Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, and an
idle person will suffer hunger. Proverbs 19:15 (NKJV)
Lazy, sluggish, slothful all these words
describe an unwillingness to do the works or activities expected but with preference
for a more pleasurable alternative. A person can be described as lazy though he
spends endless hours trawling the internet.
Another person sits in front of the TV for a whole day, this individual
probably feels as tired and hungry as the person who’s gone out to work.
I’m sure everyone have met or worked with
someone before who could probably be described as lazy. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 13 November 2017 05:56
 For your ways are in
full view of the Lord, and he
examines all your paths. The evil deeds of the wicked
ensnare them; the
cords of their sins hold them fast. For lack of discipline
they will die, led astray by their own great folly. Proverbs
5:21-23 (NIV)
Our God seats in heaven and considers the
earth; nothing is hidden from Him for Hebrews 4:13 says "Nothing
in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid
bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account”. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 13 November 2017 05:47
 Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider
her ways and be wise, Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, Provides her supplies in the summer, Andgathers her food in the harvest. How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise
from your sleep? Proverbs
6:6-9 (NIV)
In the world of insects, ants are probably
the most successful; they are found in nearly all continents. Their
relationships in the colony is referred to as eusocial, this is a situation
where members of various castes have unique distinguishing abilities which the
others have lost entirely. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 13 November 2017 05:05
 Better isa little with the fear of the
Lord, than great treasure with trouble. Better isa dinner of herbs
where love is, than a fatted calf with hatred. Proverbs 15:16-17(NKJV)
Great treasure doesn’t guaranty happiness just
as spending money at a Michelin restaurant might not necessarily guaranty a
great time. It’s all about context. While we might desire the pleasures that
great treasure is able to provide, our pathway into the treasure determines whether
we enjoy it or not.
Jacob deceived his father to obtain a blessing
that should have gone to his older brother, the result of his action was he had
to leave home in a hurry for the fear of his brother or better still the fear
of the repercussions of his actions, twenty years later, he was still afraid of
meeting his brother. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 11 November 2017 08:28
He who has a slack hand becomes
poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summerisa wise son; He who sleeps
in harvestisa son who causes shame. Proverbs 10 (NKJV)
 Every
time I see the word diligence, I think of hard work; however diligence is more
than just working hard. Diligence describes hard work as much as it describes
right work.
Growing
up, for a while I lived with my grandmother in a village in Africa. Sometimes
mama sent my cousin and me to get something from the farm. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 11 November 2017 08:19
 The integrity of the upright will
guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. Riches
do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death. The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way
aright, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness. Proverbs
11(NKJV)
We have
two definitions of integrity. One deals with honesty and having strong moral
principles, the other deals with the integration of character. Together these
say you are not out to cheat, lie or manipulate but it also says you are whole
and complete, comely and delight to deal with. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 11 November 2017 08:07
 “I, wisdom, dwell
together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. To
fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behaviour and
perverse speech. Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have
insight, I have power. Proverbs 8 (NIV)
In ancient times, temperance,
wisdom, justice, and courage were considered most desirable character traits.
Temperance relates to discretion, restraint or self-control; in life, there are
some things we serve and others we master. It’s usually your choice who or
which you serve, leisure, pleasure, ambition, emotions, appetite, money, family
etc. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 11 November 2017 07:56
The lazymandoes not
roast what he took in hunting, But diligenceisman’s precious
possession. Proverbs 12 (NKJV)
 Hunting
is an ardours task, makes no difference whether it is Warren Buffets hunting
the next business to buy or a hunter targeting games in the amazon jungle. It
could even be an applicant targeting a job with a company of interest. In every
case the hunter seeks to understand the tradition of the game. It’s important
to finds out their hangouts and drinking holes. Every game has a playground and
sleeping cave. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 11 November 2017 07:47
He who walks with wisemenwill be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed. Proverbs 13:20 (NKJV)
 “Man is
by nature a social animal”, asserts Aristotle, he observed that the society
precedes the individual and anyone who cannot lead a common life or is so
self-sufficient not to need to is either a beast or a god. In other words we
all need to be part of an aggregate of
people living together in a more or less ordered community.
In our desired society, the
natural tendency is to blend in because we want or need the benefits of the
society usually expressed in acceptance, interdependence, cooperation etc. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 29 October 2017 06:44
1 Timothy 3 New International Version (NIV)
 1 Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an
overseer desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach,
faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able
to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome,
not a lover of money.
While all these attributes of an overseer are desirable, for
today I just want to pick on one of them; self-control.
Self-control, an aspect of inhibitory control, is the
ability to regulate one's emotions, thoughts, and behaviour in the face of
temptations and impulses. |
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Abi Olowosoyo: Posted on 29 October 2017 06:40
Hebrews 13 New
International Version (NIV)
 Keep on loving one
another as brothers and sisters. Do
not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have
shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Prejudice against
strangers is not a new thing in our world; this probably came from the dark
ages when a wrong association with a stranger may result in you losing you
livelihood or even your life. It’s therefore a common instruction to young ones
not to talk to strangers and judging by some horrible stories in the news even
in recent times, it’s probably not a superfluous instruction. |
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