TOPIC: Praising God. Monday 30, June 2014

TOPIC: Praising God
Monday 30, June 2014
TEXT: PSALM 117:1,2

KEY VERSE: “O praise the Lord, all ye nations, praise him, all ye people” (Psalm 117:1).

The leper out of the ten who were healed by the Lord Jesus Christ had an exceptional perspective on gratitude. They all cried to the Lord for help. But when the assistance came, the Lord did not hear from them again, except from one who “turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God” (Luke 17:15). What touching and deep-seated show of appreciation!

In the passage before us today, we consider these short but ennobling verses of praises to God for His unlimited love. No wonder John the Beloved in his epistle (1 John 4:8), declared that God is love. His nature is love; His attributes can be condensed into love.

His love is so great when we consider how He bore patiently with apostle Paul (when he was Saul, the archenemy and tormentor of the early church). In spite of the havoc he did to the early church, God, in his sovereignty and love, still arrested, saved and utilized him to expand the frontiers of the gospel. What a great God indeed!

For many of us who were rascals and whose destiny would have been hell, He was patient with us until we became born again. In the fullness of time, He saved and transformed our lives; He lifted us to be seated in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus, enjoying the benefits of the Kingdom - pardon, peace, purity, promotion, preservation, protection and eventually, paradise. We need to praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord!                                                

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Praise unbars the gates of heaven.

TOPIC: Respect The Word. Sunday 29, June 2014

TOPIC: Respect The Word
Sunday 29, June 2014
TEXT: JEREMIAH 23:33-40

KEY VERSE: “And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God” (Jeremiah 23:36).

The Bible warns in Proverbs 17:19, “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.” The prophets in Jeremiah’s time disdained this precious admonition. Predictably, this made them slip, not only into falsehood and wrong doctrine, but also into divine judgment. In the preceding verses, God had been speaking against the excesses of Judah’s false prophets. The Lord also sent Jeremiah to warn the deceivers to be wary of their deceptive acts.

In the passage under consideration, God decided to warn everybody, and not just the false prophets, to desist from unguarded utterances. At this time, the people had begun to wonder about what really annoyed God and what their offences actually were. But they were speaking tongue-in-cheek because they knew why God was not happy with them. God indeed considered their utterances as idle words which He hated.

In our dealings with God, He has always drawn a line between what He expects of us and otherwise. It amounts to sin for anybody to pretend to be in doubt when he or she falls short of such expectation. That was one of the sins of the people of Judah. The almighty God considers such pretence as transgression. Jesus says: “every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”

In this era of permissiveness, many people try to silence their guilty hearts by trying to rationalize the gravity of their sin. When they sin, they find a Bible passage and wrongly apply same to justify their transgression. We must ask the Spirit of God to direct our paths and let the word of God be our mirror.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: God’s immutable precepts is the believers’ mirror and shield.

Daily Manna - The Repercussion. Saturday 26, April 2014

Daily Manna - The Repercussion
Saturday 26, April 2014
TEXT: JEREMIAH 21:1-14

KEY VERSE: “And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people...into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life...” (Jeremiah 21:7).

The axiom, to every action there is a reaction, is not true only in scientific experiments. It holds true in every facet of life and in all generations. If you live all your life in sin without repentance, be prepared to reap the wages: death. And if by God’s grace you live a life of righteousness, expect the reward: eternity with the Lord in heaven.

Pharaoh, king of Egypt in the days of Moses, could have saved himself and his subjects all the agonies they passed through if he had heeded God’s earlier warnings. In today’s  passage, we see the message of God to Zedekiah King of Judah. The entire nation had consistently and willfully sinned against the Lord. The King raised the bar of transgression when he refused to show the people the right path. God decided that they must go into captivity in Babylon. This message was delivered by Prophet Jeremiah, but the response was the persecution of the prophet by the king’s acolyte, Pashur the son of Immer.

God’s word is unchanging. The more Judah resisted the message, the firmer it stood against them. Those who felt they could circumvent the message, the Lord explicitly said: “He that abideth in this city should die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence, but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.”

As believers, we must not harden our hearts when God speaks to us. Consistent disobedience will only lead to perdition. If Judah and her king had repented of their sins and called upon God for mercy, he would have abundantly pardoned.

Today, you have the privilege of going to God in earnest supplication for grace that brings salvation. Remember, there is  eternal banishment for all those who live and die in sin.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Sow in righteousness and reap in mercy.

Man Utd shares jump 6% after manager Moyes’ sack. On April 22, 2014 at 11:05 pm in sports

NEW YORK  (AFP) – Shares of Manchester United jumped six percent Tuesday after the struggling Premier League giant sacked manager David Moyes just 10 months into the job.
Shares of the popular British football team, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, leaped in opening trade and rose to $19.18, before closing at $18.78, their best level since May 2, 2013.

David Moyes
The company announced Moyes’s departure ahead of the market opening, a much-anticipated move after the club’s poor showing this season.
Moyes was recruited to replace legendary manager Alex Ferguson last year, inheriting a team that had romped to the Premier League title — United’s 20th English League crown — by 11 points.
But under Moyes, 50, United have slumped to seventh place in the league table and been eliminated from both domestic cup competitions and the Champions League.
The club’s owners announced that veteran midfielder Ryan Giggs will serve as interim manager while they look for a permanent replacement.

Council shortlists 42 bidders for 10 power projects under NDPHC

Abuja – The National Council on Privatisation (NCP) said on Friday that 42 bidders were shortlisted to acquire 80 per cent shares of each of the 10 power plants of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC).
A board member of the NDPHC, Gov. Gabriel Suswam of Benue, said this, Friday, while briefing State House correspondents after a joint meeting of the NCP and NDPHC presided over by Vice-President Namadi Sambo.
“On Nov. 8, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company received 66 proposals for the offer of sales of the 80 per cent of the shares in each of the 10 generating companies developed under the National Integration Power Projects.
“The evaluation team carried out an exercise following the approved criteria and guidelines and subsequent due diligence reports have now been reviewed and approved by the joint transaction board.
“Of the 66 proposals received, 54 met the criteria to be technically qualified based on the findings of the subsequent due diligence exercise.
“Forty-two proposals have qualified for the financial bids opening.
“Of the 66 proposals submitted, 24 failed either the technical evaluation or the due diligence assessment.’’
Suswam stated that the 42 qualified bidders, who were selected from the 66 applicants, were recommended and approved by the Joint Transaction Board after passing an evaluation exercise.
According to him, number of proposals received and qualified for each of the Niger Delta power generating companies will subsequently be published.
On the epileptic supply of electricity in some parts of the country, Suswam said efforts had been intensified to address the problems by the appropriate authorities.
“There are difficulties in any transition.
“ Since Independence, government has controlled the monopoly of power generation and distribution.
“This is the first time that they are going to transit from government to private sector.
“So, you should ordinarily expect some teething problems. These teething problems are being addressed by the ministry of power.
According to Suswam, some of the generating companies are experiencing some hiccups with gas supply which is being attended to in conjunction with the NNPC and the ministry of power.
He criticised the vandalism of crude oil pipelines for material gains.
“This is purely sabotage because in crude, people who vandalise these crude pipelines are lifting the oil and selling it.
“But when you vandalise the gas pipelines, there is no way you can scoop it. It is like air.
“These are people who are economic saboteurs and they should be treated as such,’’ he added.(NAN)

Power: TCN gets $1.2bn from FG, donor agencies

BY CHRIS OCHAYI
ABUJA — THE Board of Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, yesterday, revealed that it had received over $1.2 billion from the Federal Government and donor agencies with which it intends to increase power capacity from 5,000 to 10, 000 megawatts by 2017.
The management of TCN, which made this disclosure at a media briefing in Abuja, explained that the company had over 165 ongoing initiatives and projects, aimed at doubling the power wheeling capacity from 5000 to 10,000MW by 2017 but on balance of 7,000 megawatts delivery as of now.
The company, while giving a breakdown of the funds, said it got $150 million from African Development Bank, ADB; $170 million from France agency; 135 billion euros as quantum to fund projects;  $200 million from JAIC; and $500 million from Exim Bank of China.
A budget proposal of N24.9 billion for the company is currently receiving the attention of the members of the National Assembly for the 2014 fiscal year.
Chairman, Board of Trustees of TCN, Mr. Ibrahim Dahiru Waziri, who addressed journalists, expressed readiness to welcome investors in the transmission sub-sector of Nigeria’s Electricity Supply Industry, NESI, in order to attain the vibrancy required to meet the expectations of the growing economy.
He noted that the TCN needed investors who had a long term view of their returns to enable the company efficiently achieve its set objectives.
He said the company was willing to share its strategic national grid growth and stabilisation plans with investors wishing to key into the transmission sub-sector of the economy.
Waziri disclosed that frameworks for such partnership were being finalised to obtain legal backing and safeguards.
He said:  “It is very clear to us that for the sector to attain the vibrancy required to fully meet and exceed the expectation of our rapidly growing economy and Nigerians, we need and indeed welcome investors who have a long term view of their returns.
“We are open to sharing our strategic national grid growth and stabilisation plans with investors wishing to key in. Frameworks for such partnership are being finalised to obtain legal backing and safeguards.”
The new TCN board chairman said the board had asked the management to review and prioritise the raft of ongoing projects to ensure a more prudent focus of limited resources to key projects with immediate tangible impact.
He added that about 522 engineers were recently employed and undergoing off and on-the-job trainings, while old staff were being trained to bring about the necessary revitalisation of the work force.

Electricity: Power plants in 1bn SCF gas shortfall

By SEBASTINE OBASI
THERE are indications that about 1 billion standard cubic feet (SCF) of gas shortfall may stall the early realisation of constant power in Nigeria, as stakeholders in the energy industry have said that it will take at least five years before uninterrupted power supply could be achieved.
Speaking on the issue of gas supply in the power industry, Austin Avuru, Chief Executive Officer, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Limited, said that gas demand in the last four years has gone up from under 500 million SCF, to over 1 billion SCF, per day and by the end of 2016, it will be approaching 2.5 billion SCF, to 3 billion SCF, per day.
According to him, “As we speak today, there is a shortfall of 400 million scf supply of gas a day to the power sector.   The demand is 400 million SCF, higher than what we can supply. By the end of this year, when the last batch of the NIPPs would have been sold, the short fall will be 1 billion SCF.
“There are probably one or two companies that are investing in gas development. If you start investing today in gas development, you are targeting that production for 2016 to 2017.   By 2017, we are talking about over 1 billion SCF shortfall in a very critical sector as the power sector. It is already a national emergency. Everybody in Abuja knows there is no immediate solution,” he said.
On his own part, the Chief Executive Officer of Sahara Group, Tonye Cole, said it will take at least five years from now before Nigerians begin to experience uninterrupted power. Cole explained that there were certain areas needed to be improved upon before stable power would become reality.
According to him, one of such would be improvement in the way information is shared among key players in the sector for the next couple of years. He also said that pipeline vandalism in Nigeria had contributed hugely to the poor power supply.
“Anybody that vandalises a pipeline may vandalise the pipeline to go and sell crude somewhere thinking that he is making money, but each time he vandalises a pipeline, whether it is a gas pipeline or an oil pipeline, it affects everyone.
“But before we can get to a point where we don’t have to think about power because it is just there, it requires a lot of investment, a lot of capital has to go into that,” he stated.
Cole further explained that the power sector had taken a new shape with the taking over of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria by private owners, saying that the private companies still have to work with the government and the regulators to achieve realistic results.
“It is a new area and it is expected that laws and relationship between the regulators, investors and customers will be shaped along the way.
According to him, people need to understand the difference between generation and transmission and then the difference between transmission and distribution.
“Most people don’t know what these things are and as far as the customer is concerned, he wants just one thing, power. That is all. We will begin to see improvement within six months, but improvement in communication is the first thing that we need,” he explained.
Due to inadequate supply of gas operations of the new power stations built under the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), which are currently undergoing privatisation, have been stalled, Vanguard learnt.
It was gathered that some units of most of the 10 medium-sized gas-fired power stations, which are expected to add 4,774MW of electricity to the national grid, have been completed and ready for test-firing. However, insufficient gas supply from NNPC is threatening the operations of the power plants.
Though the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) confirmed the repair of its gas-to-power supply pipeline that would lead to the re-injection of an equivalent of 1,505 MW of electricity into the national grid, the power plants would still have to contend with gas shortfall.
For example, the 634.5MW-capacity Calabar Power Plant, operated by Calabar Generation Company Limited, which has since been completed technically, has not been able to secure gas to test-run the plant for its inauguration as there are no indications that Addax Petroleum, which is billed to supply 100 million SCF, of gas per day to the facility, would deliver the gas this year.
Inadequate gas supply has also stalled the operation of the six-unit, 1,131 MW capacity Alaoji Power Plant in Abia State, which is the biggest plant under the NIPP. Vanguard learnt that four out of the six units of the plant, built by Rockson Engineering Limited, an indigenous contractor, have been technically completed but only two units are producing at sub-optimal capacity due to gas shortage.
Sources told Vanguard that without adequate gas to fire the four gas-powered units, the remaining two units, which will run on steam, cannot generate power. It was also learnt that as a combined cycle power plant, which runs on both steam and gas, the two steam turbines can only generate electricity when the four gas turbines generate enough steam to fire the two steam turbines.
According to a source “It is the four gas turbines that will fire the water boilers to produce steam that is used to operate the steam turbines to avoid waste of energy. Without gas to fire the four completed gas turbines, the two steam turbines cannot generate power.”
Source: Vanguard