ENRICHED WITH HONOUR

Dearly Beloved, ENRICHED WITH HONOUR “But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God.’ ...And Mary said: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed...’” (Luke 1:30, 46-48 NIV). The reality of the real meanings of my names (Adebayo Olayinka Afolaranmi) manifested as I celebrated my fortieth birthday anniversary on December 8, 2010. I had similar experience last Tuesday as I celebrated another birthday. In Yoruba language, “Adebayo” means “One who has come to meet joy,” “Olayinka” means “I am surrounded by honour,” while “Afolaranmi” (my father’s name) means “I am enriched with honour.” Actually, the month of December has been a special month in my life: I was born on December 8, 1970; I got married on December 19, 1998; my daughter was born on December 7, 2002; my family moved to our personal house on December 23, 2005; my elder sister gave birth to her new baby on December 6, 2010 in a miraculous way; my wife got a new employment on December 6, 2010 after she was without a job for almost a year; twice God saved me from danger on December 8, 1992 and 2010; this year, in this month of December, I had breakthrough in a particular aspect of my study here in the UK, and my wife had another remarkable breakthrough. December 25 has been set apart to commemorate the birth of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. These incidents were never coincidental. Indeed, I have come to meet the joy and goodness of God; God has surrounded me and enriched me with His honour. I never thought of these things till December 8, 2010 (and this year also) when people were rejoicing with me and I looked back and reflected on the goodness of God to me. Glory be to His holy name! As I was reflecting on this, I remembered Mary the mother of Jesus. She was so favoured and honoured by God that she was used as the instrument of bringing the Saviour of the world to this world. The Roman Catholics still venerate her till today, though to an extreme. There were many virgins in Israel when God chose her. Likewise, there are many people on earth when God chose me to be favoured and honoured the way He did, and is still doing it. Once again, glory be to His holy name! Have you reflected on how God has favoured and honoured you also? Do you appreciate Him for this? Do not say He has not done so. Indeed, “He has blessed us by giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world” (Ephesians 1:3 TEV). You might have not got what you want from Him, but I know that He has enriched you also with His favour and honour. I pray that as this year is running to an end, He will enrich you more with His honour and favour in Jesus’ name. Amen. In His service, Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor). Prayer Points: 1. Thank God for how He has enriched you with His honour, favour and goodness. 2. Pray that you will always appreciate God for His favour and goodness in your life. 3. As this year is running to an end, pray that God will enrich you more with His honour and favour. NB I am so grateful to people that sent comments and prayers to me on the occasion of my birthday last Tuesday through e-greetings, SMS, phone calls, messages and comments by email, Facebook, etc. Some even sent birthday gifts to me! I am honoured. God will honour you also in your entire endeavour. Amen. * Message originally posted on December 11, 2010.