Mary’s Little Lamb | The Lion King

As a Child He came, a Lamb born in a manger,

Coming to His own, yet was treated like a stranger.

He grew in wisdom and stature, in favor with God and man,

He was in a perfect disguise; God as Son of Man.

His passion was for sinners, to redeem all from the curse.

The ‘saints’ called Him a blasphemer and nailed Him to the cross.

They hung Him high, spread him wide, a crown of thorns He wore.

The Father had to turn His face because man’s sin He bore.

The pain was great because they hadn’t separated before,

The sky went black, then an earthquake, the temple’s veil also tore.

Being dead, He was buried and it seemed like a tragic end of His story.

But three days later, mankind witnessed the greatest event of history.

He was risen, death’s sting failed and the grave lost its victory.

A few were there to see the Son of God ascend into His glory.

While they watched Him ascend, two men in white suddenly appeared,

“This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven...” They said,

“...will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven”.

His coming this time won’t be as silent as it was back then,

A trumpet blast will be the final call to rapture all His own.

Those that claim to know Him but don’t, He’ll surely disown.

He came as a Child; like a Lamb born in the manger,

But He’s returning as a Son; like a Lion roaring in anger.

The time is near, obviously, the last days are indeed here.

Look around you, it’s evident in the news that we hear.

Dear reader, I believe the message is clearly understood,

The Son of God became the Son of Man so sons of men could become Sons of God

He came as a Child; a Lamb not seeking the Saints but going for sinners,

He's coming as the Son; a Lion not seeking sinners but going with the Saints.

-'Bayor 

24.12.2012

TAKE OVER | GAME OVER

Debby (Bukola aka Precious1), my younger sister became a mother on Sat. 8th Dec to a handsome dude and we were still celebrating the breakthrough over delayed childbearing (more than a decade) in the lives of the women of the Martins family when the news came that Princess (Funmi), my immediate elder sister also became a mother to a fine gentleman in the early hours of Sun. 9th Dec 2012...(Most folks didn't even know she was pregnant...true to her name; Elizabeth)

Two boys - Valiant Men - delivered naturally in 2 of the 31 days in this miracle-filled "Double-Portion" December 2012.

The most interesting part is that God only starts what He has finished because He's the Alpha and Omega/Author and Finisher so the seeming delay in childbirth or marriage in the Martins family is a thing of the past.

We thank God because we are now more than sure that my chubby twin sister; Juliet Ade-Martins-Micheal Fanwo, is a Mother of Twins and we bless God also for one of the strongest African Women of Virtue & Faith I know, Martina Aderonke-Martins-Tunji Fatogun (Fruitful Vine), another Mother of Twins.

We thank God for those that prayed sincerely...God Bless You!

We thank God for those that prayed not so sincerely...God Bless You!

We thank God for those that spoke in care and true sincerity...God Bless You - you were sent to us after being on your knees before God!

We thank God for those that made snide remarks about the God we serve and the validity of His Call on the life of Daddy T. Ade Martins...God Bless You - you sent us to our knees before God!

To the eyes reading this message...

May God indeed do for you, what ONLY GOD can do BEFORE Jan 1, 2013!

May God's Christmas and New Year gift to you shock and make the world FEAR the GOD You serve!

May God do a Miracle for you that you'll not know HOW to Say "Thank You" to him again after saying it a million times over!

When God steps in, He doesn't take sides, He takes over and when He takes over, game over!

-'Bayor

To PGH with Love

Dear Papa,

Every new day, as announced by the never waning sun, I see myself thanking God for special people like you in my life that make remembering the days gone by worthwhile.

Your leadership, consummate in skill, has made it easier for me to approach life from a whole new perspective, allowing me to look into the horizon with the priceless feeling of knowing am a son.

Pictures of pleasant moments, like a continuously flowing stream of deja vu experiences, refresh my mind as they remind me of moments in time that you’ve literally held my hand in yours via counsel and instruction. These saw me moving from who I was to who I am and becoming.

When I saw myself as a kid, you called me a king. The child in me instantly became a champion when you showed up on the scene. Now, I see a tree in full bloom when I look in the mirror as against the twig I knew all too well.

Permit me to say, with all sense of appreciation and deep seated gratitude, these common words to an uncommon father…

“Thank you"

Love you loads! 

I celebrate you Pastor GoodHeart O. C. Ekwueme

-'Bayor

Time Factor | God Factor

There’s no space for an extra hour between 11:59pm of a Tuesday and 12:00am of a Wednesday in the same week...

There’s no space for an extra month between December 2012 and January 2013...

But...

It’s good to know that God does not work with manmade wristwatches, clocks or calendars.

If He said He’ll do a thing, it’s not because He wants to do it; it’s because He’s done it already and wants you to enter into it.

If He promised it will happen in 2012, then 2013 would have to wait because His word MUST be fulfilled.

If a man can “gain” extra hours by flying across time zones, how much more will the Maker of Time who resides outside of time, step into time to do in time what He spoke of afore time?

May the grace to brace yourself for the deluge of blessings of December 2012, be yours bountifully.
May it indeed be 31 days of Miracles, Signs and Wonders!

Cheers Great One!

-‘Bayor

21.11.12

Good Day to be Alive

Great One,

I’ve got a confession to make. 

I’ve been thinking of something funny to say to you to perhaps put a smile on your face and make your day a lil’bit more interesting but could come up with none yet. 

So, I felt there’s no point prolonging this anymore. I’ll just ask that you assume I said something funny and then smile about it...did that work? No? Ok, why not assume for a moment (work with me on this 'abeg') that I actually did say something very hilarious and you’re no more giggling but now laughing (not the “tush/VIP-ish” kind of laugh but the kind that you laugh when you’re really having a good time and perhaps alone)...still didn’t work? Well, at least I tried... (who send me comedy sef...) J

Anyway, if you’re still reading, then you are one of the many people that I really want to thank today. 

You see, I’m a year older (birthday was on Friday, 21^st September 2012) and I have many things to thank God and you for. 

In no particular order, I’ll list them and keep increasing it as the time goes by...

To those who started sending me birthday wishes since on Sunday, 16th September 2012...Thank you!

To those that called/sent the wishes and said/added their name (because I may have changed the phone I was using)...Thank you for making me not need to wonder whose line it was!

To those who have been receiving my monthly/periodic texts and even sent numbers of their loved ones...I say Thank you!

To those who send in testimonies and lovely messages in response to the texts...I say Thank you!

To those who want to start receiving the texts and will send their numbers to me on Facebook/bayormartins...

I say Thank you!

To those who receive the monthly text messages more than once and understand that I ONLY SEND IT ONCE but the networks keep sending it over and over... Thank you for not taking offence at this and for deleting the copies without allowing the message to lose its meaning or become a nuisance!

To those who forward/rebroadcast the monthly messages and use their name as the author...Thank you for letting your readers know the true owner henceforth!

To those who try to reply to the customized sender name (’Bayor) and see that it doesn’t work...Thank you for sending the reply to my number on your phone instead!

To those who do not have my number (or even know who this “Bayor” character is that keeps sending them texts)...Thank you for visiting my website (bayormartins.com) or Facebook just to get in touch and be apprised.

To those who have read my book and have been telling others (especially Aunty Stella Damasus: http://stella-damasus.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-new-me.html)...Thank you for spreading the word!

To those who have been paying money into my account anonymously (especially the Great One that uses "GreatOne Bayor" as the depositor...Thank you...!

To those who listened to my CDs and gave their friends...Thank you for sharing and even buying the tracks on itunes (itunes.com/bayormartins) or Amazon!

To those who tried to comment here and could not...Thank you for posting on my Facebook wall or sending it as a mail to bayormartins@facebook.com or bayormartins@yahoo.com!

To those who used my picture as their DPs on BB...May you never lose face...Thank you!

...etc

-'Bayor

The Cook

When Mummy's taking her time in the kitchen, it's most likely because she's adding the finishing touches to that meal.
When she's through, we are sure to sup up a dish that's much more than just a meal...it's an experience...you know, the sort that makes the eater ask "more please".
The Fully Breasted One, The One who fed His children with bread that was "outta dis world & fresh from heaven's bakery", is cooking up your story.
He's adding the needed ingredients to make your life a blessing to the world...
A dash of salt: so you are preserved as much as you are meant to be a preservative; keeping your generation from moral decadence...
Few slices of onions: so He can use the experiences that brought you to tears as a means of helping others...
A sprinkle of pepper: so you are too hot for the enemy to handle...
Few measures of water: so you know the things that seem tasteless in your life sometimes hold other things together...
A little oil: so there's not much friction in your life...
A sprinkle of mixed spices: so you learn to go past your idea of what people should look like and see God's idea of variety in them...
...
So, when your manifestation shines forth, the world will surely run to The Cook saying "More of such sons and daughters of yours on earth".
Your expectation will surely not be cut off. Please keep at it and in the words of Pastor GoodHeart, "Keep Living, Keep Winning, Don't Stop, there's Victory Ahead".
Cheers Great One!
-'Bayor

Favour Flight

Going through the security check and on getting to the pay cashier, a guy, brawling and broad chested, approaches us and has no regard for my being there. He wants to jump the queue whilst giving courtesy to only my friends ahead of me partly because they were expatriates. Perhaps because I was quite a “summarized” bloke, I could easily be tucked away from his sight.

He asked me “are you with them?” I answered “yes” and he immediately stepped in front of me. I was surprised and wondered if I just spoke in Spanish or if the rules of English had been changed without my notice whereby ‘yes’ means ‘no’. I then said politely (I think), "but I also need to write my name” and his countenance changed and the courtesy reserved for only my friends suddenly flowed in my direction! He was out of my way in no time and while I was writing my number (because my friends had written my name) for the cashier to fill out our tickets, I was sure the virtual movement on my clothes was his eyes scanning me toe to head and back again to place what exactly I was doing with these guys. Then, one counter after the other, I kept getting the question, “are you with them?” and the ‘scanning’ would then follow. You could almost think I was a document in a fax machine with all the ‘scanning’.

We got cleared to check-in and at the security post, one of the guards said he knew me being that I had travelled with the airline before. He had been with his colleague who on finding out I was a musician, asked for my CD which I autographed and gave to her. So, he was asking for his and after writing out his name, ‘Philip’, I gave him a copy. The fact that my friends were introducing me as a gospel musician after calling me by my office sobriquet “Bayor the rock star” seemed to give me an instant preference.

Now, the fun part was getting to wait in the VIP lounge and getting the double take from people coming in every time (you know, that “who is he” kind of look). We were asked if we wanted coffee or tea and I went for healthy tea, no sugar and cream milk. It may not have tasted delicious but I want to be around long enough to still be able to say if something is delicious or not. So, I watch my diet…and my height you might add.

Well, it’s easy to get carried away with the drift of fame on earth without consideration of what our name means in heaven. I am glad that am not overly qualified for this job but God has favored me. As I have seen often, when He blesses you, He ensures He’s your only qualification. 

The VIP lounge is cozy and comfortable; a contrast from the lobby where you get to sit on steel cast park seats that remind you; via pressure from the other end, that you are supposed to be leaving in a hurry so quit getting comfortable. The people that come here are all quiet, courteous and busy people. It also reminds me that the top isn’t crowded. People from other nations strut in one after the other. When seated, they're either reading a book, a newspaper or buying books that are brought to them (unlike the lobby where you have to go get it yourself). Also, they’re mainly working on their laptops, listening to the news, receiving calls or planning the schedule for when they arrive at their destination. You are told when the flight is leaving and also helped with your luggage.

For the eyes reading this, very soon, the blessed will call you blessed. You won’t be broke and yet you won’t be able to afford poverty. Like the moon aligned to reflect the sun, a tree moving in sync with the wind or perhaps a “tall” Nigerian in the company of foreign expatriates, may you begin to experience favor you obviously don’t qualify for. Enjoy the flight to the top. Success isn’t a destination, it’s a journey.

‘Bayor

9th April 2009

How Do You See Yourself? by Joyce Meyer

Do you like yourself? After years of trying to help people emotionally, mentally, spiritually and socially, it was a major breakthrough when I discovered that most people really don’t like themselves. Some of them know it, while others don’t even have a clue that this is probably the root of so many other problems in their lives.

God wants us to have great relationships, but self-rejection and even self-hatred are the roots of many relationship problems. In fact, I’ve found the Bible to be a book about relationships, providing valuable advice about my relationship with God, other people and even myself.

How are the relationships with other people in your life? What about your relationship with God…and even with yourself?

Did it ever occur to you that you have a relationship with yourself? While I’ve never given it much thought, I spend more time with myself than with anyone, and it’s vital to get along well with me. Remember, you are the one person you never get away from.

We all know how agonizing it is to work day after day with someone we don’t get along with, but at least that person doesn’t come home with us at night. We can’t get away from ourselves, not even for one second, so it’s of the utmost importance that we have peace with ourselves.

Many of us fall prey to self-rejection because we feel that nobody really loves us or accepts us. We figure that if nobody else loves us, then why should we love ourselves? Because we think others don’t love us, we feel that we must not be worth loving. But that’s a LIE we’ve believed for way too long!

We should love ourselves—not in a selfish, self-centered way that produces a lifestyle of self-indulgence, but in a balanced, godly way that affirms God’s creation as essentially good and right. We may be flawed by unfortunate experiences we’ve gone through, but that doesn’t mean we’re worthless and good-for-nothing.

We must have the kind of love for ourselves that says, “I know God loves me, so I can love what God chooses to love. I don’t love everything I do, but I accept myself because God accepts me.” We must develop the kind of mature love that says, “I know I need to change, and I want to change. In fact, I believe God is changing me daily, but during this process, I will not reject what God accepts. I’ll accept myself as I am right now, knowing that I will not always remain this way.”

Many times people who reject themselves do so because they can’t see themselves as good, proper, or right. They fail to see themselves the way God sees them—as precious children He dearly loves.

As you begin to see yourself through God’s eyes—someone who’s loved and cherished—your view of yourself will begin to change. You’ll begin to see yourself not as rejected, but as loved and accepted…unique and beautiful in His sight.

Excellence in the Corporate world

·         Manage your time – think like a business owner and not an employee. This makes you prioritize and delegate properly.

·         Take care, initiative – surprise your boss with extras but be sure you get the most important one done first.

• Politics: understand it and make it work for you.  – it’s simply humans doing what they’ve known to do since being cavemen…working together. Work on building a network of supporters. A broader base of supporters will give you more power to enact your great ideas in the future.
• Make your boss look good: when he does, so do you! Think ahead of your boss. Stay above the fray and strive to associate with top producing colleagues.
• Don’t gossip: try nor to speak ill of others, it does you no good…neither does it do to anyone for that matter! If you need to vent, do so with your family at home. Gossip is a waste of time.
• Be a good leader: You can be a thought leader as well as being an action leader

-          Follower: Be a follower…even if your title says you’re the designated leader, be open to ideas from people below you in rank and never fear their success, embrace their success and you win too. Trying to squash their ideas and success out of fear only makes you weak and lose respect.

-          Team player: A good team player facilitates the involvement of others on the team according to their strengths.

• Take smart risks: Forge a new path.
• Pick your battles carefully: Don’t fight for every idea. Make sure it will benefit the company.
• Details: find the right balance – don’t forget the details of your job and don’t drown in them either.
• Work hard, work smart: hard work makes play so pleasurable.
• Be positive and enthusiastic: don’t think you have to be serious all the time. people want to be around positive happy people. See good, speak positive, encourage everyone and watch it come back to you.
• Seek out mentors: if you admire someone successful, contact them and offer to help them in some way. You’ll hopefully be able to build a relationship with that person and learn from them over time.
• Manage your career: don’t wait for your boss to send you on training: set your quarterly objectives, write your reviews or give yourself a career coaching because these things don’t happen sometimes. Take the bull by the horn. Make it easy for your boss to review you by handing him or her all your accomplishments. Seek out coaching all the time from lots of different people.
• Understand the big picture: make it happen on your own and make do with what is available. Try to understand where the company is headed in the long term and how your team fits into the overall picture.
• Learn how to motivate people to take action: thus being able to implement your ideas to improve the company and make a difference for clients. This grows your career. Act with integrity and fulfill your promises to build trust.
• Always be learning: seek out training and education, read business books and magazines, learn from mentors, heroes, enemies and from your mistakes. Make a habit of reflecting on the things you learn each day. Be creative in what you learn. It may be unrelated but is a parallel that fosters a new idea for business growth.
• Self promotion: let people know the good things you are accomplishing. You won’t always be noticed by just working hard.
• Focus on excellence: do all you do well – dress well, be on time, deliver on your promises, produce high quality work. Your career will manifest in accordance with your focus on excellence.
• Recognize moments of truth: everyday you have moments of truth. When you consistently do the right thing at many moments of truth, they will add up to a massive positive impact on your career.
• Make others feel good: it’s the Golden rule. Celebrate other people’s success. Be sincere and demonstrate that by being specific in what you say.

Source: Woman to Woman Magazine, 10^th Anniversary Edition. 

THE RIGHT CIRCLE

“…they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. However, when the disciples gathered round him, he rose up and went into the city…”

Acts 14:19 -20 (NKJV)

An adage in one of the languages in Nigeria when transliterated says “when the sun is hot and the flies are thick, use the horse’s sense”. That maxim describes the way in which horses pair, side by side, head to tail when the flies become too much for the tail of either horse to handle. By pairing, they help each other by warding off flies from the face of one another.

The story of Stephen as recorded in the book of Acts 7 ends with the account that the witnesses to the stoning laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. No one came to his rescue or help and he was said to fall asleep. In the case of Paul the apostle in the anchor passage, the Bible says he was surrounded after the stoning then he rose. The people that surround you determine the things you can survive. Examples abound in the scriptures where associations have led to positive outcomes. Naaman was guided to his healing by a slave girl; Joseph was directed to his brothers and consequently his destiny by a certain man in the wilderness. David had both Nathan and Gad as Prophetic voices over him. We all need the right associations.

We are called to compliment and lift each other up. Not to bring each other down via competition against one another. There is a commanded blessing on associations of unity and like passion. (Ps. 1:1; 133:3). John and James were killed but prayers went up to God for Peter and he was miraculously released from prison. The quality of a man’s destiny can be predicted by the quality of the associations he keeps. The person we look down on today might just be the solution to our most pressing need. It behooves us to find, keep and service our relationships. Like Elisha, we need to input a conscious effort to maintaining a close contact with those people we see are significant to our life in as many facets as there are. Jesus our perfect example had to work with not just one or two but twelve men. This gave him the honor of a king. The lack of people could lead to the downfall of a person.  (Prov. 14:28). It is said that one of the former presidents of Nigeria spends at least one hour daily making “power” calls. He goes as far as asking about each child by name. It’s no surprise therefore that despite his misgivings while he was on the throne, we still have quite a number of influential people vouching for him. We need to examine our circle of friends if indeed they are God’s right circle for us.