Naija Vampire Blog: September 2016

Friday, September 30, 2016

God's Word For Today: Is it You?

‘Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?”' - Matthew 26:25

In a sermon about commitment to Christ, the great preacher Charles Spurgeon said: ‘I’ve known some who preached the gospel with power, but lived to depart from it altogether. I’ve known others who discharged the duties of deaconship and eldership with considerable diligence, who have afterwards given way to their evil passions. I’ve thought some of them to be the holiest of men. While they’ve been praying I’ve been lifted up to the very gates of heaven; if anyone had said these would one day fall into gross sin, I wouldn’t have believed it. I’d sooner have believed it of myself. Those who seemed stronger than we have fallen, so why not we? Our Lord’s disciples who sat at the table with Him, when they were told that one of them would betray their master, each enquired: “Lord, is it I?” That was a very proper question. There wasn’t one who asked, “Lord, is it Judas?” Probably not one of them suspected him. And it may be that the worst hypocrite in this assembly is the one upon whom there doesn’t rest at this moment a single shade of suspicion. He has learned to play his part so well that his true character hasn’t yet been discovered.’

If those words hit too close for comfort, don’t walk - run to the foot of the cross today! Run to the One who, with full knowledge of your struggles and temptations, loves you unconditionally; the One whose blood cleanses you from sin, whose grace can lift and sustain you, and whose power can help you live an overcoming life.

"This devotional is taken from the UCB Word for Today and you can sign up to receive free copies at www.ucb.co.uk/wft. © United Christian Broadcasters."

Thursday, September 29, 2016

God's Word For Today: How to Improve Your Relationships

‘Let us not love with words … but with actions.’ - 1 John 3:18

Here are five scriptural ways to improve the quality of your relationships:

1) Always show appreciation. Who are the people that really matter in your life? Let them know you love them, and do it often. Practise the ten-to-one rule: ten compliments to every one criticism! Many of us think the best way to help people is to ‘straighten them out’. No, the best way to help others is to look for the best in them. Dr John Maxwell calls this ‘the 101 Percent Principle’. Look for one thing you admire in somebody, then give them 100 percent encouragement for it. That’ll help you to like them and vice versa.

2) Put others first. ‘Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men’ (Ephesians 6:7 NIV 1984 Edition). If you adopt that mindset in your dealings with others, you will go far in life.

3) Serve others gladly. Talking about how difficult it is to hire and train people, an airline executive said, ‘Service is the only thing we have to sell, but it’s the toughest thing to teach because nobody wants to be thought of as a servant.’

4) Forgive it, resolve it, and move beyond it. If someone has hurt you and you need to address it, do it immediately. Then forgive it, resolve it, and move beyond it. And if it’s not worth bringing up, forget it and move on.

5) Make time for the people who matter. Don’t give away your time on a first-come-first-served basis. Don’t devote so much energy to ‘the squeaky wheel’ that you short-change the people in your life who matter most.

"This devotional is taken from the UCB Word for Today and you can sign up to receive free copies at www.ucb.co.uk/wft. © United Christian Broadcasters."

Friday, September 23, 2016

God's Word For Today: Staying Power (3)

‘Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses.’ - Numbers 12:1

Staying power overcomes family opposition.

When Moses’ sister Miriam and his brother Aaron complained about his relationship with God, Moses remained gentle and humble in the face of their opposition.

When faced with the challenge to ‘fold up or hold up’, David Livingstone demonstrated staying power. His wife, Mary, gave him so much trouble, always complaining and criticising, that she made his life’s work almost impossible. The tension between them became so great that Livingstone sent her home to England for a period of more than twelve years while he suffered, bled, and ultimately died in Africa for the cause of Christ.

When Jesus went home to Nazareth to minister to the people He grew up around, some of them tried to throw Him off a cliff. And in spite of His teachings and miracles, His family thought He was mad. Did that hurt Him? Of course. But He didn’t let it stop Him. He said: ‘Anyone who wants to be my follower must love me far more than he does his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters - yes, more than his own life - otherwise, he cannot be my disciple. And no one can be my disciple who does not carry his own cross and follow me…don’t begin until you [first] count the cost’ (Luke 14:26-28 TLB).

When your family opposes you, love them and pray for them because God can change their hearts. And until He does, keep serving Him.

"This devotional is taken from the UCB Word for Today and you can sign up to receive free copies at www.ucb.co.uk/wft. © United Christian Broadcasters."

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Smartphones killing cybercafe business – Operators

Cybercafe operators in Abuja have complained that since the advent of smart phones, the level of patronage has reduced drastically. The operators said that the use of smart phones by majority of the populace had negatively affected patronage resulting to many closing shop.

A cybercafe operator, Mr Hector Ajero in Area 10 Shopping Complex, Abuja said that since smart phones entered the market “business is no longer the way it used to be”. He said that before the advent of smart phones, business was a lot better and interesting “unlike now that everyone has the facility to access the internet conveniently’’. He said, “Before, when there were no smart phones, business was a lot better, now business is really going down.”

He said that what many customers now come to cybercafes to do was just to print and sometimes type documents. He said, “But we spend money to buy fuel to carry out these services because of poor electricity and this has been affecting our businesses negatively. “These days people do their jobs with their phones, save it on their flash drives then come to print, unlike before when they come to do their entire internet work and printing here.”

Mr Christian Okpara, another cybercafe operator said, “the business is really tough now as sales are no more like there were.” He said, “People no longer come for our internet services, we recharge the internet just for recharging sake because people rarely come to browse.

For Mrs Faith Deke, another cybercafe operator, the competition between cybercafes was high now because people do their works on their phones.

She said that her challenge was the charging rate by telecommunications operators, adding that “the good thing is the rollover process that has been put in place to help internet users’’.

She said, “There is a lot of competition; we are just trying to get by because most people do their work on their phones. “Charging rates are high compared to before but the good thing now is that there is rollover unlike before when there was no such thing.

“Roll over is a process whereby the unfinished data balance is transferred to the next month when another data is purchased.”

She therefore appealed to the government to put in more efforts in making sure that they improved on electricity, saying “that is one major tool for running our business. When there is constant supply of electricity, the business will move well,’’ she said.

Real Estate: Lands for sale

My dad bought 2plots of land in Badore, Ajah area of Lagos, back in the 90s for N80k/plot. In 2014, even with "omonile" problems and some portion of his land being sold to somebody else, he sold the remaining about 1000sqm for N15m. WOW! right?. Yeah, true story. Today, you can't find a plot of land less than N7m/plot in the same Badore.

Real estate investment is one of the most lucrative investments you can ever make. Buying a property, whether land, house, etc, is a long term investment that will keep appreciating as time goes by. Say for example, you buy a plot of land for N1m, in 2 to 3 to 5 years, the value of that land will be multiplied giving you profit should you choose to resell.

Make a choice, a wise choice, to invest in real estate today. For the first time in Nigeria, real estate has been advertised in a never-before-seen medium. Instead of the usual pictures, you get to see an actual video of the property being described to you. Find below a list of lands and houses/duplexes for sale:

LANDS:

1. 5200 Square Metres Waterfront Land [Suitable for Residential High-Rise] at Banana Island Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos State.

Title: Federal Certificate of Occupancy

Price: N2,000,000,000.00

Video Link: https://youtu.be/D8qqaC1g6ew

2. 5100 Square Metres Waterfront Land at Queens Drive, Old Ikoyi, Lagos State.

Title: Federal Certificate of Occupancy

Price: N2,500,000,000.00

Video Link: https://youtu.be/Tw0rmU_PvPs

3. A large expanse of dry and sand-filled Land measuring 4200 Square Metres beside Pinnock Beach Estate, Lekki, Lagos State.

Title: Governor’s Consent

Price: N380,000,000.00

Video Link: https://youtu.be/bYwraJCSC7w

4. A Plot of Land measuring 660 Square Metres at Farmville Estate Ajah, Lagos State.

Title: Deed of Assignment & Receipt

Price: N8,500,000.00

Video Link: https://youtu.be/9JJOlUwFx8g

5. A Plot of Land measuring 660 Square Metres at Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos State.

Title: Lagos State Government Gazette

Price: N3,000,000.00

Video Link: https://youtu.be/0hHfbjsqQxU

6. A Plot of Land measuring approximately 660 Square Metres at Abijo GRA, Lekki Peninsular, Lagos State.

Title: Lagos State Government Gazette

Price: N6,000,000.00

Video Link: https://youtu.be/DFGuCfySuIU

7. A large expanse of Land measuring 9.458 Hectares along Lekki Free Trade Zone Expressway, Lagos State.

Title: Governor’s Consent

Price: N568,000,000.00

Video Link: https://youtu.be/EZFPN63inuE

8. A Plot of Land measuring approximately 900 Square Metres at Lekki Scheme 2, Lagos State.