Category: Bible

The Return Of The Ark (Part 2)

Moments later, the hosts departed the highly fortified city of Jerusalem amidst a lot of fanfare. Cymbals clanged and trumpets poompaahed. The crowd shouted joyfully as the army men trooped out of the city. They seemed to be as numerous as a troop of locusts invading a ranchland. Commander Joab was in front of the men, trotting slowly on his big, black and powerful horse. The crowd cheered his name. The commander afforded himself a wry smile. He waved back.

King David rode his white horse behind the marching troops. He was in the company of the ‘Mighty 30″- a group of selected valiant men of valour who had been with the king through thick and thin. They had seen it all: The wars, the hardships in the desert and the search parties organized by King Saul, David’s predecessor. And in return, David treated them more than his aides- they were his brothers.

Eventually, the King and his entourage arrived at Gibeah. It was as if the whole nation had turned out to see the ark, as well as the king. There was a lot of music and fanfare. The people and the troops mingled joyfully. They all danced about like playful birds.

David alighted his horse and got into one of the first houses near the city’s gate. It was Abinadab’s house. As soon as the middle-aged man saw the king, he prostrated himself in obiesance to King David.

“You may stand up. May the LORD God bless you and your household”

“Amen. Thank you, your majesty”

David now looked beyond Abinadab. That was when he saw the ark. It was much more beautiful and glorious than anything he had seen before. It was a large golden cuboidal box. On the top of the box, there was the shape of two golden angels facing each other. The wings of the angels touched each other at the top. There were also two long golden poles along the length of the cuboidal box. These were used to lift the ark.

But the most amazing feature of the ark was its luminscent nature. The body of the ark seemed to radiate a special light that did not cause the eyes to ache. David’s heart leaped within him. He turned to Abinadab,

“Is this how it appears everytime?”

“Yes, your majesty, isn’t it wonderful?” There was emotion in Abinadab’s voice.
David looked at the man. He definitely loved God too.

King David cleared his throat, “We’d take it from here”

Almost immediately, Abinadab fell on his knees before the king. David wondered what the matter was. Abinadab clasped his hands together and used them to touch his forehead.

“Your majesty, if you will, please, I have one last request to make of you, regarding the ark, sir”

David motioned him to go on.

“Your majesty, if I have found favour in your sight, please let my sons Uzzah and Ahio take charge of the transportation of the ark from here to Jerusalem”

King David took a moment to think. There was no harm in the older man’s request.

“Very well then. Where are the boys?”

(TO BE CONTINUED)

The Return Of The Ark Part 1 (My First Short Bible Fiction Story)

It was still early in the morning. The sun was just coming out. The skies were clear and the birds hopped, flew and made joyful chirps all around the trees nearby. The building in the compound was different from any other type one would see in Jerusalem. It was very much larger. And it was well guarded by tough-looking men armed with spears or swords. The reason was simple: It was the King’s palace.

Inside one of the largest rooms in the building, David Barjesse could hardly control his excitement. He shifted excitedly on his large ivory throne. In his mind’s eye, he replayed how the fleet-footed messanger, Ahimaaz, had recounted the news just moments ago. The news was simply too good to be true.

David signalled at one of the servants waiting on him in the throne room

“You beckoned, Your majesty, sir”, said the slightly built young servant. He was already kneeling on the soft and furry animal skin directly in front of David.

“Get me the commander of the Army, immediately”

“Yes, your majesty”

With that, the servant hurried out of the room in a manner similar to the movement of a squirrel on a tree branch.

King David looked at the gold-plaited ceiling above his head. He smiled to himself. Of course, it was not the beauty of the ceiling that fancied his amusement. It was another article made of a similar material, yet so much more important…

The ark of God had been found!!!

David had heard so much about the ark all the while he was growing up in the backlands of Bethlehem. Yet he had not so much as set his eyes on it. The ark had been captured in a battle with the Philistines, Israel’s fiercest enemies, over 40 years before. This implied that throughout the reign of his predecessor, King Saul Barkish, the ark was nowhere to be found. And for years, the annual ritual at Shiloh still went on. The people and the priests knew the ark, which represented God’s Presence was absent from the tarbernacle in Shiloh, yet they still went on worshipping an organized structure, rather than the Personality.

But that was in the past, thought David. Now the ark was back in Israel, specifically at the house of a certain Abinadab in Gibeah. It was within reach.
David silently muttered a deep heart-felt praise to the King of kings for counting him worthy to witness the ark’s return…

” Your Majesty?!”

David blinked. Joab, the army commander, was already standing in front of him. David briefly studied the expression of the sturdy, battle-hardened man before him. They had been together right from the harsh days in the cave of Adullam. Joab might have been savagely brute but he was loyal, and that was what count. David went on to speak.

“Today is a glorious day in the history of Israel. I’m sure you’ve heard that the ark is back in Israel!”

Joab’s bearded face remained expressionless.
“Your majesty, I am fully aware of the new developments, sir. Ahimaaz debriefed me. I also double-checked the details with Cushi. The two pieces of informatiom tallied, sir. It appears that the ark is seemingly safe in the house of a certain Abinadab in Gibeah, sir. May I know your plans, your Majesty?”. Joab’s voice remained in a flat, emotionless monotone.

“Arrange for 30, 000 of the finest soldiers and get the men ready to pick the ark of covenant. I would be coming along too”

30, 000 soldiers!
Joab felt he would rather use that amount of men to expand the kingdom of Israel than employ them as entourage for the ark. He maintained his expressionless exterior.

“Alright your majesty. Permission to fall out, sir?”

David nodded and waved his heavily ringed left hand in dismissal.

(TO BE CONTINUED…)

Four Cardinal Points

When I was younger, I used to tease my female classmates. A lot!

For instance, I once asked them how they would feel if on their wedding day, the officiating minister read John 4:18, instead of I John 4:18.

The latter reads:
‘There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love’

And the former reads:
‘For you hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly’

Needless to say, the very prospect of that scenario sent shivers down the spines of those ladies. Bless their hearts!

On a more serious note, the most memorized Bible verse is John 3:16. It talks about God’s love for humanity and how God sent His Son to give everlasting life to as many that believe in Him.
However, not many Christians are familiar with I John 3:16:

‘Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren’

For some reason beyond me, we all have been indoctrinated with an attitude of selfishness.

Our 4 cardinal points seem to be: Me, My, Mine and Myself. For others, it’s worse: I, I, I and I!!!

We all naturally want to amass and amass for ourselves to enjoy alone.
But alas, we are instructed to walk in the steps of Jesus.

Jesus put aside the splendour of His glorious heavenly majesty and came to the earth as a full man. Yet He was without sin. This fact alone should motivate us to be less self-oriented.
But Jesus didn’t even stop there!
He went on to die for our sins and imputed us with His righteousness. And we’d never be able to repay Him for His act of love.

Now, it’s highly unlikely that you are going to die for another person. Christ has already done that!
But are you willing to get ‘spent’ for the benefit of the less priviledged?
Are you willing to offer yourself as a living sacrifice in whatever manner that seems neccessary at any point in time?

Remember, you can’t walk with God and stay alive (to your Self-ish Cardinal points)

Lose your (Self) life, and you’d find your (God) life. The difference is so clear!

The Mark Of The Beast Is ALREADY Here!

666. The number of man. The mark of the beast.

Imprinted on as many that want it.
Without it, buying and selling would be impossible. Talk about cashless economy!

Some have opined that the mark would be in the form of electrosensitive microchipped fixed into the forehead or right hand.
Perhaps they are right.
Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before it all happens.

(For more Biblical details, check Revelation 13)

Without disreputing the claims of those who see a worldwide usage of microchips for safe business in the future, it’s imperative for all to know that:

The Mark Of The Beast Is Already Here!!!

Doubtful? Pay attention to the following nuggets:

¤ The Mark Of The Beast

It has been suggested that the Beast would probably be a powerful political leader in the near future. What I’m sure of is that the Beast symbolizes the evil and corrupt world system. Today, evil and corruption are being ‘worshipped’ in the world. A way we can know this fact is explained in the next two nuggets.

¤ In The Foreheads

The forehead houses the brain, which is the bodily organ through which the mind operates. The mind comprises of the will, the emotions, and the intellect.
Now, if the beast represents evil, and his mark is placed on the mind, what do you think would be the product of the mind?

Evil!

Look around you. Isn’t that what is rampant in the world today?

Evil everywhere.

While you’re still waiting for microchips and all, the mark on the forehead is already operational!

The worldview of the evil world system is,
‘You use what you have to get what you want’.
And when that worldview is queried, the reply usually received is,
‘That is how ‘it’ is done!’.

So, we have evil bills passed into laws.
We have the evil music industry churning out lewd songs that boss our airwaves.
We have rotten practices in the business and academic spheres.

The list could go on and on.

¤ In The Right Hand

The right hand is usually the stronger and more active hand in most people. We use it to write, eat and WORK!
I believe the mark in the right hand symbolizes the evil handiworks of men.
It’s only normal to expect the evil mind to produce evil actions.
Tune in to the news, you’d find that regardless of your location, the common denominator of all the news items is evil works!

My dear, irrespective of your willingness to believe these truths, the events are already happening. Ignorance, in this case, isn’t bliss.

I don’t have a final say on the sequence of events that would highlight the end of time.
But in the meantime, don’t lose your guard!

“And what I say unto you, I say unto all, ‘Watch’ “

Holiness, Not Loneliness!

For the umpteenth time, I’m going to tell you what you already know:

Nigerians are the most religious people in the whole world!!!

While I’m not averse to spiritual warfare (believe me, there’s more to life than what meets the naked eyes), but most Nigerian Christians are over the top.

I know that sounds like sacrilage, but hear me out.

It’s an open secret that God, by His Spirit, has given Christians an exceedingly unquantifiable amount of power in the Name of Jesus! (Check Eph 1 vs 19 for more details). However, for simplicity’s sake, let’s assume this power can be divided into units. Now, IF every individual, including pastors, is entitled to 10 units each, guess what would happen…
Over 90% of all Nigerian Christians would expend 9.8 units of the power on Spiritual warfare!!!
They’d contend with the evil spirits from their fathers’ side. Then, they concentrate on those from their mothers’ side. When they are done with that, they go on to bind the spirits of the rivers, trees, rocks, sands…….

Imagine being given 10 units of spiritual power and all you can ask for is your enemies’ head! When there are promises to be claimed and lands to be won for the LORD! Hmmn….Nigerians!

It doesn’t even end there. You see, the religious Nigerian’s favorite scripture is Obadiah 1 vs 17. Yet, they quote this verse in a unique manner:

”But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance…and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions”

For some reason, they always seem to omit the phrase ”…and there shall be holiness…”!

God is a Holy God. And He desires His children to be holy like Him (Check Lev 11 vs 45).

It’s never going to be easy to be holy. But the good news is that Holiness comes as a result of cumulative righteousness. And we Christians have received that righteousness as a result of faith in Christ’s redemptive work (Check 1 Cor 5 vs 21).

The Mathematics of God in Obadiah 1 vs 17 is:

God’s Deliverance + Holiness = Possessing Our Possessions!

God is ready to deliver His People. But we want to possess their possessions without going through the pangs of Holiness first. Hence, we allow God to be ‘LONELY’ in His Equation, while at the same time, we want the blessings that follow. C’est dommage!

The Word that is out is: God is not a respecter of persons!!!
He would neither lower His standards nor relax His principles for the sake of anybody.

So, do yourself a favour. Don’t greive the Spirit of God by leaving Him ‘lonely’. Instead, step up and consecrate yourself to be Holy. Only then, would you be surrounded by peace, while simultaenously possessing your possessions!

Possess Process To Progress: Joshua’s Tale

It was now the thirty-second day.

He was lonely, tired, bored and extremely hungry. A screeching eagle had just circled round the clear cloudless sky above. Joshua adjusted his posture so as to be a bit more comfortable on the rock he was lying on. Instantly, he wished he hadn’t. A searing pain jolted through his back…

What was taking his master so long? Joshua’s emotions were now bordering on depression. He cast his mind back to the cold nights and hot afternoons of the past days on the mountain. He knew he had the psychological toughness to survive his current ordeals. Compared to slavery in Egypt, this was paradise! So, to while away time, Joshua closed his eyes again to recount how everything started thirty-two days ago…

“And Moses rose up AND HIS MINISTER JOSHUA, and Moses went up into the mount of God” (Exodus 24 vs 13)
[Exodus 32 vs 17-18 also proves that Joshua too climbed the Mount of God, though, it’s very likely that Moses climbed to a higher level than Joshua].

Life had been hard for Joshua. Yes, he became Israel’s leader. But that was after process had taken place. A lot of it! In fact, many of us today can’t live with what Joshua had to live with:

Psychological and physical turmoil of loneliness while Moses was enjoying God’s Presence on the same mountain. Not for a day or two. But forty whole days! It could have been longer had it not been that Israel rose up ‘to play’.

However, the zeal for God was there, and soon, Joshua also started basking in God’s Presence, having a relationship with Him (Exodus 33 vs 11).

When the time came to spy the Promised Land, Caleb and Joshua were the only spies that brought a positive report. But guess who got most of God’s public accolades? Caleb!
Normally, this should have bred bitterness in Joshua’s heart. But converse was the case. Instead, he served God with even more vigour, winning countless battles for the Lord, under Moses’ leadership.

Finally, it was time to pass the baton of leadership. And God picked Joshua to lead His People. Joshua eventually got due recognition for his patient travails for God. He went on to conqueur and divide the Promised Land.

Tough times don’t last.
Tough people do.
There’s every chance that the bigger your life purpose, the more preparation God allows you to go throuph. That ‘wilderness’ experience would only bring out God’s best in you. The beauty of gold is seen after it has passed through the processing fire of affliction.

Possess your process now and watch how smoothly you’d progress into the next step of fulfiling purpose!

Who Needs Idols? We Are Gods!

You know what I consider the most powerful statements in the Bible?

‘So God created man in His own image…’

Do you know the gravity or import of that statement?
It means that you are a product of God’s imagination.
You were created in God’s image.
As a result, you have the ability to exhibit God’s own characteristics too. Another portion of the Bible is more succinct: ‘You are gods…’

All these doesn’t mean that one day, Man would become Omniscient, Omnipresent or Omnipotent. No! Instead, it means we also have the power of creation in us.
We have that ability to call those things that are not, as though they were.
The proof is all around us. The TVs, mobile phones and computers and other inventions you now see, once existed before.
Yeah, as an image in someone’s mind!

Knowledge of this truth is what true power is all about. I’d never forget these quotes:

‘The only way you can predict the future is to create it’
‘The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible’

Nothing is closer to the truth!

How many of us have consigned our destinies to the cold hands of fate? It doesn’t have to be that way. After all, you are a god! You don’t need to have an ‘idol’ as a role model or compete in the ‘American Idol’ before you make things happen.

By faith, God spoke the heavens and the earth into existence.
What is wrong with you that you can’t do the same?
By faith, you too can create your world of possibilities by the words of your mouth.

You are a god.
Act like one!!!

Feet Crushed And Eyes Plucked Out!

We notice them all around us. It’s simply impossible to miss them. Yet we are oblivous to certain lessons that Nature is trying to get into our skulls.

The Lame can see their destination, but they are unable to get there because of the weekness in their legs and feet. On the other hand, the Blind can’t seee their destination, despite the strength in their feet and legs. The bottomline is that both parties are unable to get to their destinations!

Let’s redefine THE LAME and THE BLIND, shall we?

To me, the ‘lame’ are people who have a purposeful vision about the direction their lives are headed. They

¤ have no zeal to carry them to where they want to be.
¤ are characterized by character flaws.
¤ have the ‘head knowledge’ of the right things to do but are weak in the spirits of their minds, so they still end up doing the wrong things.
¤ know The Word but still have serious issues in their closet lives.
¤ have the ‘will’ but cannot ‘do’.

As a result, they can’t maximize potential, fulfil purpose and please God.

The ‘blind’ do not have any clearcut vision or sense of direction for their lives. They

¤ have zeal and fiery passion which is always unguided.
¤ are characterized by 99% perspiration and less than 1% inspiration.
¤ have the mental ‘toughness’ to do the right things, but the don’t know the right things, so they up doing the wrong things.
¤ misinterpret God’s Words and cling to the traditions and customs of men, more than life itself.
¤ do not have the ‘will’ but can ‘do’.

As a result, they too can’t maximize potential, fulfil purpose and please God.

Sad, eh? I know. And I’m not even done yet!

The Bible is full of types and shadows. Like, David could be said to be a type of The Christ. So, when he embarked on the conquest of the Jebusites in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5), he was told that his mission wouldn’t be possible. Until the land had been cleared of THE LAME and THE BLIND. Interestingly, it was said David’s soul loathed the ‘lame’ and the ‘blind’ (vs 8) !!!

Now, if David was a type of The Christ, and he didn’t like the ‘lame’ and the ‘blind’, how much more Jesus Christ Himself? Why wouldn’t Christ loath those who can’t maximize potential, fulfil purpose and please God?

But I’m still not done. Because I’ve got some good news for you.

Yes. There’s a ray of hope.

It’s God’s will for man to DO all that pleases Him.

You see, when Christ restored order to the Temple in JERUSALEM the second time (Matthew 21 vs 12, Oh my gosh! Jerusalem, again? This is more than coincidence!), guess those who came to meet Him for healing?

THE LAME AND THE BLIND!!!

Yeah! Not the mute, or the deaf, or the maimed. No! Just the ‘lame’ and the ‘blind’ came to meet Christ for healing. And He healed them. Why?

So as to qualify them for service in the House of God He had just cleansed! Now they could maximize their potential!
Now they could fulfil purpose!
Now they could please God by ‘willing’ and ‘doing’ His good pleasure!

What category do you find yourself today? The visionless and purposeless ones. Or the passionless and apathetic ones. Good news is that He’s still in the business of restoring vision and zeal to ALL who desire to please Him. God wants you, yes you, to walk and work with Him.

Hop in!

Don’t Lose That Peace

In the fulness of time, I’d share my testimony. In the meantime, I can emphatically tell you that JEHOVAH is The Awesome God. You know what? It’s easy to give advice to one that is going through hard times. Talk is quite cheap! But when (not ‘if’) you are to face your own ordeals alone, you are left with whatever you believe in.

Good News (Pay attention now!)

Isaiah 59 vs 19b says,
‘WHEN the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him’

Encouraging, right? But watch how I’d use a single comma to ‘re-interprete’ that verse:

‘WHEN the enemy shall come in, like a flood the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him’

Isn’t that wonderful? The Spirit of the Lord coming like a Flood against our enemy! Look, the enemy would come. There’s nothing you can do about that. Didn’t he come to Jesus too? But whosoever you fix your attention is the one that would have the pole position in your mind. Your problems might be big. But put that in perspective behind the Almighty Father, and you’d see how infinitessimally small your problems actually are. He can, and would solve them!

Don’t lose your peace, friend. The battle isn’t yours. No! The battle is The Lord’s!

Dubbers United

During my early years in high school, I remember having to adapt to a whole lot of things. And at a fast rate too. Previously, in elementary school, we had just one classroom teacher that taught a wide variety of subjects. However, by the time I got to high school, things were more specialized. Everything was mechanically efficient to my young mind. There was a teacher for each subject. And each subject teacher gave his or her own assignments that had to be submitted the next day! THAT was way out of our comfort zones then. Some of us forced ourselves to cope with the increasing number of take home assignments. Others were not able to do that. So, they came very early to school on the day of submission of assignments to plagiarize the work of the diligent ones. Word for word, without any remorse. Back then, we dubbed these students ‘Dubbers United’. Plagiarism was so much ingrained into this bumch, that these guys couldn’t do without it. No matter how simple or straightforward the assignment was.

One fateful day, I needed to complete a classnote, as I was a slow writer during classes. As I settled with the note, one of the chief ‘Dubbers’ spotted me. In a twinkle of an eye, without asking any questions, he started copying out from my note! To say I was bemused, would be an understatement. So, after a little while, I asked him if he knew what he was ‘dubbing’. He replied no. Mercifully, I explained to him that he was rewriting the notes of an earlier class. The shocked look on his face was priceless!

Anyways, what triggered this story was The Message’s translation of Romans 12 vs 2. You need to read this:

‘Don’t become so adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without thinking. Instead, fix your attention to God. You’ll be changed from inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you’

Quit ‘Dubbers United’ now. Team up with the winning team. FC MindOfChrist!!!