HUNGER: THE DRIVE THAT SEPARATES MEN

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By Gbenga Owotoki

There is a reason why some rise in God and others remain where they have always been. It is not luck. It is not chance. It is hunger. Not the kind that fades when prayers are answered, but the kind that burns even when nothing seems to be happening. The kind that makes a man restless until he touches what men before him only dreamt of.

Hunger is the difference between those who encounter God and those who only talk about Him. It was hunger that made Moses cry, "Show me Your glory!" even after he had seen the Red Sea part. It was hunger that made Jacob wrestle till daybreak, refusing to let go until he was changed. It was hunger that made Elisha follow Elijah till the very end, not satisfied with being called a prophet's servant, but desperate for the double portion.

God does not waste Himself on men who are satisfied too easily. He walks past those who think they have arrived and invests in those who are still searching, still yearning, still desperate for more. Because when hunger dies, pursuit dies. And when pursuit dies, encounters cease.

Many have lost their fire, not because they sinned, but because they settled. They prayed, but they stopped pressing. They worshipped, but they stopped wondering if there was more. They saw God move once and built a monument around it, forgetting that the cloud moves, that the river flows, that yesterday's outpouring is not enough for today.

This is why some men burn, and others barely flicker. It is why some grow until they shake nations, while others plateau into irrelevance. Because hunger is not an emotion-it is a law in the Spirit. Those who have it will be filled. Those who don't will be replaced.

Jesus stood in the temple and cried, "If any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink." Not if any man is talented. Not if any man is influential. Not if any man is well-connected. But if any man thirsts-because God's power does not follow titles, it follows desperation.

Some of us are in a season where God is testing our hunger. He has not answered yet-not because He cannot, but because He is watching to see if we will give up too soon. He has not opened the door-not because it is locked, but because He is measuring how far we are willing to push. If what you are asking for can be abandoned after one delay, then you were never truly hungry for it.

This is not the time to retreat. This is not the time to let tiredness win. This is the time to stretch, to press, to cry out like blind Bartimaeus who refused to be silenced, to knock like the woman who troubled the unjust judge until he responded. Because in this Kingdom, it is not the passive who inherit promises-it is the desperate.

Let your hunger rise again. Let your pursuit intensify. Heaven is watching to see who will hold on, who will press in, who will refuse to let go until the heavens tear open and something shifts.

DEVELOPING THE SPIRIT OF EXCELLENCE

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By Amos Dada Ph.D.

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” Col 3:23-24

In today’s world, excellence is often equated with perfection or success. However, from a biblical perspective, the spirit of excellence is much deeper—it’s about consistently doing the best with the gifts, talents, and opportunities God has given you, for His glory. This spirit is marked by diligence, integrity, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

The spirit of excellence is an attitude that strives for quality in every aspect of life. It is not about competition or perfectionism but about giving your best as an act of worship to God.

Daniel – A Model of Excellence: Daniel 6:3 – “Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.” Daniel stood out in Babylon not just because of his wisdom but because of his integrity, discipline, and consistent prayer life. He was trustworthy, diligent, and faithful, even in a foreign land. His excellence brought glory to God and favor with kings.

Joseph – Excellence in Adversity,Genesis 39:2-4 – Despite being sold into slavery, Joseph served Potiphar excellently. His diligence and integrity led him to become the overseer of Potiphar’s house and eventually the governor of Egypt. Joseph did not allow his circumstances to hinder his commitment to excellence. He maintained his faith in God and performed his duties with integrity and diligence, even in prison.

Jesus – The Ultimate Example :Mark 7:37 – “And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well...” Jesus exemplified excellence in His teachings, miracles, and interactions. He did everything with purpose, precision, and compassion.

Dr. Ben Carson – Excellence Through Perseverance-As a renowned neurosurgeon, Dr. Ben Carson achieved medical breakthroughs because of his commitment to excellence and faith in God. His journey from poverty to becoming a world-class surgeon shows how diligence, discipline, and faith can produce excellence.

How to Develop the Spirit of Excellence

1. Cultivate a Mindset of Diligence and Hard Work. Excellence requires consistency and hard work. Set high standards for yourself and strive to meet them daily. “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.” Prov 22:29

2. Commit to Lifelong Learning and Growth. Continuously develop your skills and knowledge in your field. Excellence is a journey, not a destination. – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God...” 2 Tim 2:15

3. Purpose to Live a Life Integrity and Faithfulness: Integrity builds trust and influence. Faithfulness in small tasks prepares you for greater responsibilities.He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much...”Lk 16:10

4. Serve with Humility and Love.Excellence in service involves humility and love for those you serve. This mindset fosters collaboration and builds strong relationships.”Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” Phil 2:3-4

The Rewards of Excellence

Just as Daniel and Joseph were promoted for their excellent spirit, God rewards diligence and faithfulnesswith favor and elevation. (Proverbs 22:29, Daniel 6:3).Excellence attracts people and opens doors of influence. Your excellence becomes a testimony of God’s goodness and draws others to Christ. (Matthew 5:16).When you operate in excellence, you experience inner satisfaction and fulfillment, knowing you have given your best for God’s glory.

Conclusion

Developing a spirit of excellence is a journey of continuous growth, integrity, and dedication to doing all things for God’s glory. By looking to biblical examples and applying practical principles, we can excel in every area of life, impacting our world for Christ.

Shalom.

Pastor Amos Dada is a trained engineer with the call of a preacher. Lives in Toronto. Reachable at amos.dada@gmail.com

Russia ready to support Iran nuclear programme, says Kremlin

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Russia has expressed its readiness to support Iran in addressing issues related to its nuclear programme, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who spoke to Iranian news agency IRNA on Tuesday.

Peskov emphasised that Moscow views its strong relationship with Iran as highly significant and aims to strengthen cooperation across all areas.

“Iran support includes providing assistance in dealing with important matters like the nuclear programme,” Peskov said.

He further noted that diplomatic efforts remain the preferred method for resolving international concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear activities, provided all parties involved show the necessary political will.

In 2015, a nuclear deal was reached between Iran and the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia, the United States, and France, offering Iran sanctions relief in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program.

However, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.

In retaliation, Iran began gradually reducing its nuclear commitments, including uranium enrichment.

Global News

Sharia proposition in Southwest politically and ill-motivated – Ahmadiyya leader

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By Sivowaku Abiodun

The Amir and National Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at of Nigeria, Alhaji Alatoye AbdulAzeez has expressed concerns that recent discussions surrounding Sharia law enforcement in the Southwest might be driven by political motivations rather than genuine religious intentions.

The Amir stated this at a press conference on “World Crisis and the Pathway to Peace”, where he received the managing director of Muslim Television Ahmadiyya (MTA) International, Sir Munir-ud-Din Shams, at Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at headquarters in Lagos.

Alhaji AbdulAzeez described the comments as overly sentimental, clarifying that Sharia courts have long been established in the Southwest region.

He cited a Sharia court in Ojokoro as an example, noting recent disagreements on marital issues where individuals chose between customary and Sharia courts.

Alhaji AbdulAzeez affirmed that Nigeria remains a secular state, with Sharia courts serving only Muslims, adding that, “The Southwest is peaceful, with various religious groups living harmoniously. Sharia courts resolve issues between Muslims who opt to use them. No non-Muslim can be forced to adhere to Sharia law.”

He suggested that the recent discussions might be politically motivated, reiterating that Sharia has existed in Nigeria long before anyone began mobilising for crises and wars. According to him, this is a case of political Sharia rather than religious.

The Amir highlighted concerns over the wrongful application of Sharia such as stoning individuals to death for expressing themselves, which is a criminal offence under Nigerian law.

He stressed that Sharia courts in states like Lagos, Ogun and Kwara primarily handle marital and inheritance laws, not criminal offences.

Drawing from the recently published book by the worldwide head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Sir Munir-ud-Din Shams assessed the current world situation, describing it as a turbulent time marked by a continuing global economic crisis and alarming parallels to the period preceding the Second World War.

Leadership News

THE TRUMP DESIGN TO LIMIT BLACK ACCESS TO EDUCATION

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CREDITS - NOWTHIS IMPACT

The Untold Struggles for Education Access

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CREDITS - NOWTHIS IMPACT

$700m Sugar investment will end Nigeria’s importation – Dangote

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By Gift Oba

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has said the company is committed to ensuring that Nigeria ends the importation of raw sugar by “actively intensifying its execution of the Sugar Backward Integration.”

Dangote said the group has committed over $700 million to land acquisition, machinery, infrastructure, manpower, and other impactful activities to boost local production.

He spoke on Wednesday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during the ‘Dangote Special Day’ at the ongoing 14th Gateway International Trade Fair.

Represented by Tunde Mabogunje, Regional Director, Lagos/Ogun, Dangote Cement, the industrialist maintained that Dangote Sugar, as a leading brand, has made a remarkable impact on Nigeria’s sugar sector.

He said: “The company is committed to ensuring that Nigeria ends the importation of raw sugar by actively intensifying its execution of the Sugar Backward Integration. In this regard, it has committed over $700 million to land acquisition, machinery, infrastructure, manpower, community relations, corporate social responsibility, CSR, and other impactful activities.

“Similarly, to support the government in food security, we are also investing in the agricultural sector. These agricultural products will soon be in the market.”

Speaking on the trade fair, he said, “Our expectations, therefore, are that through this trade fair, we will be able to expand awareness of our innovative products, generate sales, attract prospective buyers, improve the image of our brands, and open new markets that will further translate to job creation and overall economic development.

“We are confident that this longstanding partnership with OGUNCCIMA will not only be beneficial to both of us but also to Nigeria and, indeed, the African economy as a whole.”

Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Oludaisi Elemide, applauded Dangote Group for its various interventions and urged the company to improve its environmental friendliness.

DAILY POST

Tesla’s Nemesis, Chinese auto giant, BYD, to integrate DeepSeek….

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Shares in Chinese automaker BYD jumped on Tuesday after it unveiled plans to unroll advanced self-driving technology on nearly all its cars, including budget models priced below $10,000.

The company also said it would integrate AI startup Deepseek’s software into its cars, following domestic peers such as Geely, Great Wall Motors, and Leapmotor.

BYD is Tesla’s biggest rival in China and increasingly abroad, and Monday evening’s announcement led analysts to suggest a new price war might be on the horizon.

BYD will install its “God’s Eye” autonomous driving system in at least 21 models, including the Seagull budget hatchback priced from 69,800 yuan ($9,550).

The system includes features such as remote parking and autonomous highway navigation previously found on more expensive vehicles. Tesla has similar features available in its EVs priced from $32,000.

“Autonomous driving is no longer a remote rarity, it’s a… necessary tool,” BYD founder Wang Chuanfu said at a livestreamed event on Monday.

Self-driving technology would become an “indispensable tool like safety belts or airbags” within a few years, he predicted.

The integration of DeepSeek, the company said, would help improve self-driving technology and provide a more personalised experience for consumers.

The AI firm made headlines last month when it unveiled a chatbot that can match its American competitors apparently at a fraction of the cost.

Shares in BYD jumped 4.5 percent to a record high in Hong Kong on Tuesday — having already risen almost 20 percent in the days leading up to Monday’s event.

China’s auto market, the world’s largest, has seen a prolonged price war among dozens of EV producers desperate to grab market share.

Almost 11 million electric and hybrid vehicles were sold in the country last year, up more than 40 percent from 2023.

BYD accounted for around 4.2 million of those sales, with its quarterly revenue overtaking Tesla’s for the first time in the third quarter.

AFP

White settlers in South Africa clamour for US resettlement after Trump order

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A deluge of more than 20,000 queries crashed the email server of the South African Chamber of Commerce in the United States after President Donald Trump said he would prioritize white South Africans in a refugee program, the chamber said Monday.

Trump and Pretoria are locked in a diplomatic row over a land expropriation act that Washington says will lead to the takeover of white-owned farms.

Trump, whose tycoon ally Elon Musk was born in South Africa, said on Friday the law signed in January would “enable the government of South Africa to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation”.

It allows the government, as a matter of public interest, to decide on expropriations without compensation — but only in exceptional circumstances.

The Afrikaners are descendants of European colonists, mainly of Dutch extraction, and are mainly engaged in farming in South Africa.

English and Afrikaner colonists ruled South Africa until 1994 under a brutal system in which the black majority were deprived of political and economic rights.

“Our email server crashed over the weekend just due to the sheer volume of inquiries we have received,” Neil Diamond, head of the South African Chamber of Commerce in the US (SACCUSA) told AFP in an email.

“Given the scale of interest, SACCUSA estimates that this figure could represent over 50,000 individuals looking to leave South Africa and seek resettlement in the United States,” he said.

– Trump order ‘flawed’ –

Diamond warned that this could lead to a skills shortage in South Africa that would impact agriculture and other sectors of the economy.

“If we look at the EB-5, which is an investor visa, you need roughly about 15 to 20 million South African Rand ($800,000 to $1 million) to be able to immigrate… What is alarming to us is the large volume of people that is interested in taking up this opportunity,” he said.

South Africa’s foreign ministry has said Trump’s order “lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognise South Africa’s profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid.

“It is ironic that the executive order makes provision for refugee status in the US for a group in South Africa that remains amongst the most economically privileged, while vulnerable people in the US from other parts of the world are being deported and denied asylum despite real hardship,” it added.

Trump has asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “prioritize humanitarian relief, including admission and resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program, for Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination.”

There were no details of how the plan would be enacted as Trump halted refugee arrivals immediately after taking office.

Land ownership remains a contentious issue in South Africa, with most farmland still owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid.

However, some Afrikaner farmers say the new land laws could lead to the confiscation of white-owned farms as carried out in neighbouring Zimbabwe.

The second largest party in South Africa’s national unity government, the Democratic Alliance, on Monday launched a court bid to annul the land law.

AFP

God bought my first aircraft not Living Faith offerings – Bishop Oyedepo

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The founder of the Living Faith Bible Church, Bishop David Oyedepo has declared that God bought him his first aircraft and not church offerings.

Speaking during his sermon at the church’s headquarters in Ota, Ogun State, Bishop Oyedepo dismissed rumours of using church funds to acquire his aircraft.

He, however, revealed that God miraculously provided the aircraft without any prior planning or prayer.

According to Bishop Oyedepo: “He bought the first aircraft without any prayer, without any idea that the aircraft was coming. He said it, he delivered it nobody had any pressure on his life. There was no pressure on the offering

“The offering didn’t buy it, God bought it. There was person contacted under heaven? No! God said it and I believe it and that settles it.

“It wasn’t an ambition, it was a unveiled divine agenda. If God asked me David when do you want that aircraft to be bought I would have said “God take it easy, take it easy, we are not near ready. Aircraft?

“Okay, let me find out first how much they sell it, he didn’t give us the room to find out. Not the aircraft that would go from here to Ilorin or Ogbomosho, we travel the whole of Africa with the aircraft.”

GLOBAL NEWS DESK