Thoughts of Our Fathers (TOF)

Luke 5:9

For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;

As a young Christian, I grew up hearing preachers say that God only supplies our needs, not our wants. Yet, in the Bible, God clearly shows us that He wants to meet not just our needs, but also our wants.

For example, the famous “shepherd psalm” begins with “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want”. (Psalm 23:1) Another psalm says, “Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” (Psalm 34:9–10)

One of the names of our God is Jehovah Jireh, which means “the all-providing One”. He provides more than enough. The God of more-than-enough came in the flesh and walked among His people. And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He did not give His disciples small blessings. That is why He said to Peter, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets [plural] for a catch,” (Luke 5:4) and not “let down your net [singular]”. And what a catch it turned out to be—a boat-sinking, net-breaking catch! It was such a big and unexpected blessing that Peter and all who were with him were “astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken”.

Beloved, see God’s heart for you today. He wants to prosper you. Don’t settle for anything less, thinking that He only supplies your needs and not your wants. If you need a job, know that He wants you to pray not just for a job, but for a position. When you have a position, you have influence and you are able to impact lives. Maybe what you need is a pay increment. Then, pray not just for that, but also to be in a position to give increments!

You may start out poor when you follow God. But you cannot remain in lack when you follow the God of more-than-enough. In fact, like Peter, you too will be astonished that God supplies more than what you need and beyond what you have asked!

You deserve it.

One of the greatest resources that you can have in the world today is relationships.

Everything in our world operates based on our relationships and connections.

The connections that we establish, whether with our coworkers, church groups, friends or partner feed us spiritually and emotionally. When life hits a rough patch these connections uplift us and see us through the darkest roads.

Yet, all too often, we are the ones continually giving our time, support and energy to those who take us for granted.

We deserve the real thing and can no longer suffer through one-sided exchanges.



In his book about enduring partnerships and love, an award winning researcher at the University of Maryland found that a key to fulfilling relationships is to have common values and expectations for each other. His research found that people settle for unfulfilling relationships far too often, yet those in successful relationships were both “courteous, flexible, trusting, good-natured and cooperative” towards each other.

Real relationships feed our souls; the time spent together creates a sense of peace and calm in us.

With real friends we don’t feel judged--we laugh, cry and support each other through it all. With real love we don’t feel depleted--we are honest, unified and add happiness to each other’s days.

We know what the real thing should look and feel like in our lives.

The real thing, a healthy, symbiotic union, is worth the wait.

READ: Genesis 8:20-22
The sower soweth the word.
Mark 4:14

The Word of God is a seed that can be sown. You may wonder how the Word of God can generate prosperity. Because the Word of God is God’s wisdom, every time you receive the Word of God, you sow wisdom into your life. Wisdom, the Bible says, gives rise to prosperity.

“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour” (Proverbs 3:13-16).

If the Word of God is a seed then a book about the Word of God, a sermon on the Word of God, a TV program on the Word of God, a CD or DVD on the Word of God is also a seed.

You must sow the Word of God into your own life and reap the harvest of a good life and prosperity.

Sowing seeds gives you the legal right to a harvest.

Sowing seeds makes people rich because every wise planter of seeds is entitled to a harvest. Sowing seeds makes people rich because life is made up of harvest sessions that come after seed planting sessions. “He that hath” has faithfully done his seed planting sessions. He is entitled to harvest sessions.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 2:5

It is impossible to live pure lives until we have pure hearts. Many people today are trying to put the cart before the horse. They are teaching purity of motives, desires, and actions to old, deceitful hearts! No wonder we have ended up such moral failures, in spite of our vaunted knowledge and psychological approaches.

Pure motives, desires, and actions stem from pure hearts. Pure hearts will be Christlike. It is God’s desire that we be conformed to the image of His Son. If Christ lives within us and our bodies become the abode of the Holy Spirit, is it any wonder that we should be like Him?

And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.
Mark 10:51

All of us know what it's like to go round in circles. To pray our way through one financial disaster only to be met by another. To receive healing for one illness just in time to be knocked off our feet by the next.

Oh, we try. We pray. We exercise our faith. But we keep getting caught in the same old problems over and over again. Why? Because all too often, we don't actually know what it is we need to be praying for.

I can almost hear your reaction. "Believe me, Brother Copeland, that's not my problem. I know what I need. It's getting that need met that's got me running in circles."

That's what most other folks think too. So they spend all their time working on getting. They waste their energy praying for things they don't really need and asking for things they don't really want. Then they wind up going nowhere fast.

Look with me at Mark 10, and I think you'll see what I mean. Blind Bartimaeus sat by the roadside begging when Jesus passed by. "And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.... And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way" (verses 47, 50-52).

Now I want you to think about something for a moment. In the light of what the Scriptures tell us, how many needs did Bartimaeus have? Did he have just one? No! He wasn't simply a blind man, he was a beggar. He probably had more problems than you could shake a stick at, and all those problems would have seemed like legitimate needs to Bartimaeus. But it was sight he needed. If he could obtain his sight, all the rest would fall into line.

He knew that. So, when Jesus said, "Bartimaeus, what do you want Me to do for you?" he knew exactly what to ask for and he got it.

Jesus is just as available to you today as He was to Bartimaeus. He's just as willing to meet your need. The question is, do you really know what to ask for?

Think about that. Pray about it. Let the Lord Jesus open your eyes and show you what you really need. If you do that, your prayers will take on a whole new power. Instead of hitting around at the edges of your problems, they'll go straight to the heart—and solve them. And you won't have to waste your life running in circles anymore.


Scripture Reading:

Mark 10:46-52

And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.
Mark 7:37

Never allow any of these human elements to become pronounced in your perception of God’s servants. They will just turn into barriers to the anointing.

What you must realise is that, we are like specks of dust before God. We are of no importance to him. He is not impressed by our human preferences and he has no intention of impressing us. If you are too choosy , God will bypass you and give his anointing to a humble person who can receive.

Who knows, maybe God may one day use you to minister to others. Why should anybody receive from a mere human like you if you were not prepared to receive from other human beings?

Drop all barriers right now! Open yourself to the Spirit of God! Receive the anointing of God as he blesses you through special human vessels! Do not let questions of age, sex, personality , colour, tribe, family background, education or even rumours block you off from the anointing!

Your life will never be the same when the barriers to the anointing are gone! These barriers are in your mind! They are psychological obstructions to the flow of God’s gift. Humble yourself right now and receive an impartation of the anointing through a human vessel! After all, you have no choice— that is the way the anointing flows!

Hebrews 2:17

Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

In the Old Testament, the Israelites’ standing as a nation before God was wrapped up in the standing of their high priest. What the high priest was before God, so was the entire nation before God.

If the high priest sinned, he brought guilt on his nation, and God would reject the entire nation no matter how law-abiding the people were or how faithful they were in bringing their sacrifices.

Conversely, if their high priest was without fault and acceptable to God, God would accept the whole nation even if the people were sinful.

Unfortunately, the high priests of Israel often failed because like any human being, they were imperfect.

Thank God that today, you and I have Jesus as our High Priest, who is 100 per cent Man and 100 per cent God. As our High Priest, His standing before God is always right. Jesus is always acceptable and pleasing to the Father. Therefore, we can never lose our acceptance with God because as our High Priest, Jesus only brings righteousness on His people.

In heaven right now, Jesus our High Priest is seated at the right hand of God the Father. (Romans 8:34) This means that God does not look at you. He looks at Jesus. If Jesus is good, you are good. If Jesus is accepted, you are accepted. If God sees Jesus perfect, then He sees you perfect. If Jesus is righteous, then you are righteous. And we know that Jesus our High Priest is good, accepted, perfect and righteous, which means that that is how God sees us!

My friend, you cannot lose your right standing because Jesus Christ is your High Priest. To lose your standing, Jesus has to lose His standing first. But we know that we have in Jesus a High Priest who is perfect and who cannot fail. So you need never be afraid or conscious of your faults when you come before God. Because your standing is completely wrapped up in Jesus your High Priest, you can come to God boldly and receive all that you need from Him!

Memorise: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it. Matthew 7:14
Read: Matthew 7:13-14 (KJV)

Don't dull your shine.

Do you know why we give diamond rings upon engagement? They symbolize a promise that the love felt is as strong as the diamond that crowns the band.

Pulled from the depths of the Earth, diamonds are the hardest natural substance in the world and can only be scratched by another diamond.

As durable as diamonds are, it’s easy to forget that every diamond started off as coal.

It takes extreme amounts of pressure over countless years for carbon to transform but it persists and the end result is a valuable treasure greater than before.

And in that way, we must all strive to become diamonds.

Life’s stresses can wear us down to nothing but we can adapt, endure and become better because of the struggle.

A recent study of college students and student athletes found that stress management is not about reducing stress, but learning how to respond to it.

The study found that cortisol (known commonly as the stress hormone) is produced no matter what kind of stress you encounter but it does different things depending on your capability.

If you are confident you can meet the challenge before you, cortisol will push your performance to new heights; if you are doubtful, cortisol will hinder you.

The pressure will either build you up or break you down.

Even if we are doubtful, we can still become diamonds by learning how to get into the correct frame of mind.

Often we sabotage ourselves by focusing on our worries. We can counteract this by taking an inventory of our skills and successes.

By reminding ourselves of our strengths, we can become even stronger.

There is no escaping the pressures that will invade your life, but you do not have to react to them with fear or anxiety.

Instead, face them head on and let it transform you for the better.

When you do that, just like a real diamond, nothing will be able to scratch you.

Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do . . .
—Philippians 4:9

Integrity is the glue that holds our way of life together. What our young people want to see in their elders is integrity, honesty, truthfulness, and faith. What they hate most of all is hypocrisy and phoniness. That is why it is important for us to go to church, to read the Bible, and to say grace at the table. Let them see us doing what we would like them to do.

Galatians 1:15…God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace,

Beloved, you are not an accident with no destiny. God has called you from your mother’s womb. You have a special calling and a destiny in Christ, and it is all by His grace!

There are Christians who are called by God to be doctors. But I believe that among them are those separated from their mothers’ wombs for the healing ministry. They are passionate about seeking cures to alleviate the sufferings of humanity.

Likewise, I think that there are Christians who are called by God to be teachers in secular schools. But among them are those separated from their mothers’ wombs to be Bible teachers. What gives them tremendous fulfillment is seeing lives saved and transformed under their teaching.

What about those famous magicians you see performing tricks on television? They have a love for the mystical and supernatural. If they were to become Christians, they might just become prophets with ministries marked by the miraculous!

The apostle Paul knew that he was called from his mother’s womb. He had a misguided passion for God though, as he was persecuting the church, until he had his encounter with Jesus. (Acts 8:3, 9:1–6)

If Paul, a terrorist to the early church, could be touched by Christ to become an apostle of grace, what about today’s terrorists who blow up people in the name of their god? For all you know, if they receive Christ, they might just become trailblazers in the kingdom of God!

Now, don’t think that your calling has to do with your qualifications, abilities, achievements or even your walk with God. You were called from your mother’s womb by His grace. As a fetus in your mother’s womb, there was not much you could do—good or bad. That is why your calling is all by His grace. And since He has given you a calling, ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern the desires that He has placed in your heart, the passions that drive you in life, and fulfill your calling and destiny in Christ!

READ: Mark 6:1-6
Is not this the carpenter, the Son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?...
Mark 6:3

Is that not interesting? After interacting with a man of God for so long, you can still receive him as an anointed vessel of God!

This is what the people of Jesus’ home town were not able to do. Jesus came into his own country and preached the same type of message. He came with the same anointing and the same spiritual gifts. But the first response to Jesus was to question his background.

You should hear how people talk. Is the man educated? Is he from the right family? Does he have the right accent? By the way , how old is he? Which tribe is he from? Is he tall? What does he look like? What kind of personality does he have? Is he choleric or phlegmatic? I hear the minister is a woman! Can a woman deliver the goods? Surely a woman can never be as anointed as a man! Please stop it right now! As they say in Ghana ‘stop dat roff derr’!

The most anointed healing minister I have ever known about was a woman — Kathryn Kuhlman. That woman carried a very strong healing anointing (yet she was not a man!).

If the sex of the minister is so important to you, you may end up excluding yourself from much of God’s blessing. God may desire to bless you through a woman.

The essential difference between a man and a woman is found deep within the genes. Women have ‘XX’ genes and men have ‘XY’ genes. This is a very tiny difference.

Why should that little gene within, prevent you from receiving a life changing impartation?

Memorise: While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition: that the scripture might be fulfilled. John 17:12
Read: John 17:9-12 (KJV)

If you want more, do less.

When I was 22, I remember sitting down with one of mentors and eagerly telling him about all of the success I had building my company. Within minutes, I started telling him about a franchise I was getting ready to launch, an investment collective I was going to help expand, and an idea for a new technology company. Throw in the family obligations and my desire to maintain an active lifestyle and I was way over my head.

At this point, I had been engaged with my current company for a little over three years. We had received traction and a bit of publicity, but we were nowhere near our fullest potential. After patiently listening to all of the things I was working on or going to be working on, my mentor directed my attention to one of the most valuable leadership lessons I’ve learned in my life: the disciplined pursuit of less.

The disciplined pursuit of less is an essentialism theory that was coined by Greg McKeon. Simply framed, success is our biggest barrier to becoming very successful. Greg’s rationale is summed up into four phases:
Phase 1: When we really have clarity of purpose, it leads to success.
Phase 2: When we have success, it leads to more options and opportunities.
Phase 3: When we have increased options and opportunities, it leads to diffused efforts.
Phase 4: Diffused efforts undermine the very clarity that led to our success in the first place.



For a couple of months, I resisted this thinking. I reasoned that these different opportunities were things I was supposed to take advantage of so I could be very successful. Overtime, however, something happened. I realized that my fundraising within my current company was slowing, transparency was decreasing, and morale wasn’t where I would’ve liked it to be. In that moment, it was clear that I didn’t have clarity of purpose.

I shifted gears after I carefully evaluated my priorities, my commitments, and my values. As I went through the personal reflection exercise, I started to let my values dictate my commitments and I began to make the difficult decision of letting things go. I learned that I had to say no more often if I was ever going to be able to say yes to the things that I wanted to do.

Less than three years later, my company is healthier and thriving. We’re on track to growing by 1,000% in the last two years. More importantly, I feel great. Are you willing to evaluate your life and make the sacrifices you need to be very successful? Are you willing to pursue less to do more?

But thou, O man of God....fight the good fight of faith.
1 Timothy 6:11-12

When you're up against the wall, don't start begging God to break through it for you. That's not the way He works. He'll give you the plan. He'll give you the power. And He'll guarantee the victory. But your hand, not His own, is the instrument He's going to use to get the job done. You're going to have to stretch forth your hand by speaking and acting on the Word, even when circumstances are against you.

God gave me a striking revelation of that over 20 years ago through a vision He gave me in Beaumont, Texas. I was preparing to minister in a service there, spending some time in prayer, when suddenly I saw myself standing in the pulpit of the church. Looking up, I saw a dragon—a horrible, ugly thing—poke his head through the front door of the church.

As he came into the church, his body expanded like a balloon, filling the whole room. He was snorting fire and smoke. When, in the vision, he turned it on me, he almost burned my clothes!

As I fell back onto the floor, I saw Jesus standing nearby with a sword in His hand. Why doesn't He do something about this? I thought.Can't He see I'm hurting?

But He didn't move. He just stood by with a frown on His face. I could tell He was really put out with me. The Bible says God was not pleased with those who were overthrown in the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:5). And He wasn't pleased with me either as I lay there on my back in defeat.

Then Jesus held out the sword to me and pointed at the dragon. The look on His face said, Get up!

I reached up to catch hold of the sword, and an instant before I touched it, Jesus turned it loose.

The sword stayed in midair of its own accord. I grabbed it and began to pull myself up. Not only did it hold firm, but it began to lift me!

I stood and touched the dragon's chin with my sword and it split him from one end to the other. It laid him open right before my eyes. In amazement, I looked down at the sword. Why haven't I used this before? I thought.

Don't wait for God to slay the dragon in your life. You have the sword of the Spirit, the all-powerful Word of the living God, at your fingertips. Pick it up and use it today!

READ: Genesis 26:1-6
I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.

Isaac’s greatness was not because of Abraham’s riches. It was because he followed the things that made his father great.

There are countless stories of rich children who, unable to maintain their parents’ wealth, start stealing. Making the most of your inheritance is the art of imbibing the principles and wisdom of the person from whom you are inheriting wealth. This is the key to making the most of your inheritance.

Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the same names which his father had given them. But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he named it Sitnah. He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rehoboth, for he said, " At last the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land." Then he went up from there to Beersheba. The Lord appeared to him the same night and said, " I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, For the sake of My servant Abraham." So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.

Genesis 26:18-25, NASB

It's your turn to take care of them.

If we’re lucky, we’ll become adults during a time when our parents are alive as well.

Then, if we are so fortunate, we will have the opportunity to know them as people instead of simply as our guardians.

As beneficial as that will be for helping the generations understand each other, the feeling may not last when you find yourself being a parent to your own parent.

When your parents reach a time when they can no longer care for themselves, they will depend on you to manage everything from their finances to their daily schedules.



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It may not always be easy at first, but if you keep a few important factors in mind, it can be easier than it seems to be a caretaker to your parent.
1. They are still your parent.

Even as you find yourself in the role of caretaker, it is crucial for you to remember that the people you are now responsible for are still your parents and worthy of respect.

The respect for your parents shouldn’t lessen with their age. There is a wealth of knowledge that we can gain from our parents and having them closer to you is the perfect opportunity to engage them and continue to learn from them.



Unfortunately, society doesn’t always view the elderly with the same value and respect they deserve.

Often times when the elderly enter into assisted living, their autonomy can be mostly lost due to needed to rely on others so heavily for basic actions and needs.

It has been found that even many healthcare providers hold negative stereotypes of the elderly. Often providers assume their elderly patients are helpless and feeble. That biased mentality diminishes the respect they should be showing those in their care.

Though they may not be as capable or able bodied as they once were, it does not mean they are any less worthy of your respect.
2. They are finding this as difficult as you are.

As trying as this time might be for you, it is just as difficult (if not more so) for your parents.

Just imagine being in their shoes: they have left their homes and are now having to depend on their child. They may be suffering from limited mobility, memory, or cognitive functions and might have issues with depression and anxiety for those reasons.

There’s a reason some elderly folks suffer relocation trauma when switching residencies, but better understanding of your parent’s hardships can help ease some of their troubles.

Be as patient with them in this transition as they have been with you during all the trying times in your life.
3. They never want to feel like a burden.

As blunt as this truth is, your parents probably didn’t expect to reach an age that would require them to need extra care. The truth surrounding our older generation is that people are living much longer than ever before thanks to advances in medical science.

With this increased lifespan, they are also experiencing self-perceived burden, or a diminished sense of self because of the guilt they feel from thinking they have become burdens.



In order to combat this, it is important to maintain a sense of meaning in the lives of the elderly. Keep them involved in church, community, family, and friends to help eliminates the perception of worthlessness.

Making sure you show them the same respects you did before they entered your home will also help. Continue to consult them and your life and theirs. Make sure they feel that their opinion is still important to you.

Your parents are still important to you so make sure they still feel that importance.

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The years towards the end of your parents lives are supposed to be their golden ones and they are an ideal time to truly know your parents.

They took care of you at the beginning of your life so it is only fitting that you take good care of them towards the end of theirs.