LESSONS FROM 50TH BIRTHDAY

LESSONS FROM MY 50TH BIRTHDAY.

June 8th was my birthday, and on that day I became 50 years of age. This has been an exciting time in my life and gratitude and appreciation to God.
My birthday brought a lot of soul searching and a lot of serious thoughts. At 50 I have come to realize that I have lived longer than I will ever live and there are not as many active years in my life that I would wish to have.
The scripture that came to my heart was;
Psalms 90:12: 12Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

God is showing me as an individual that we have to plan our lives, budget our time, have priorities in life, in order for our lives to be fruitful. For example if I am not mistaken, at 50 it means that I have 20 years of very active life of ministry and if I am to live longer and I am given a 10 year bonus in life, then I have ten years of retirement. So the question I have for you today is; how you learnt to manage your time and life? We don’t grow backwards, we grow forward, a day lost, time wasted is a big loss in God’s kingdom.
Scripture again says: Ephesians 5: 15-17; 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is

God has been speaking to me about priorities. Our first priority should be my relationship with my God, second priority is my family, the third priority is my service to my God, and the forth priority is my service to my community and my nation.

Relationship with my God
After everything is said and done, we return to be with our God and our father and the greatest question God will ask me and you is what did you do with Jesus Christ whom I gave to you as a gift. So God is teaching me that I need to nurture my relationship with Him. I need to draw closer to God, I need to have quality time with my God in prayer, the Word and in fellowship.

My family
God has blessed my wife and I with four children and He has given us a very wonderful wide family of spiritual children. For now these children are in our home but one of these days it will only be the two of us at home. God is challenging me to invest in their lives so that they will know who God is and also know how to live.
As parents we should never surrender our responsibility to schools, churches, housekeepers or any other person. Your major responsibility as a parent is to pass on your values, your faith and to model real life to your children. That is how we can shape the next generation.
My question for you today is, how much time are you investing in the children that God has given you.

My service to God
Every man and every woman was born for a purpose and it is for that purpose that God has decided to keep you alive, it is for that purpose that God gave you education, friends, gifts and talents. To some of us it is being in fulltime ministry as preachers or teachers of God’s word but to many others it is to serve God using the vocations that you have, every thing you do should be looked at as a ministry.
Being faithful in that calling gives me fulfillment joy and keeps me going everyday in my life. Again I realized that I will not be doing this for ever, but while I have the energy I need to give my God the best .

The other realization I have is that God requires me to invest in other people by giving them what I have in terms of skills and experiences. When you are empowering people you are helping them to succeed and their success becomes your success.

This is my mission in life to equip and prepare the next generation of leaders that will transform our nation and continent for Jesus Christ.
As a leader who is reading this article today, do you have 1, 2, or 3 young men and/or women that will carry the torch when you are tired, retired or gone?
2 Timothy 4:7; “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. ”

My service to my community and my nation.
Every country and nation depends on its current leaders to empower the next generation of our leaders, when today’s leaders fail to do that then we lose the future of our nation and always end up with broken systems, disorder and a country without direction.
At this age in my life I realize how important it is for me to think more about my community, nation and God’s church. We need to mentor the current young leaders, we need to serve them and we need to give them the tools that they need to carry on the work after we are gone.
Therefore, God is challenging us to live a selfless life and to give our time, talent and treasures to our community, nation and the body of Christ.
My prayer is that you will prepare yourself now and that you will live a full and fulfilled life.
In Christ,
Peter K.