Category: Opinion

Modern-Day Christianity

A couple of weeks ago, a trending topic on twitter was #LiberalismInFourWords. I responded by saying,

“Unguided Freedom Is Bondage”

This post explains why I said that:

Revolving altars; Synchronized fountains of water falling on tinted glass backdrops; Lightning effects with variant shades, themes and colours; Entertaining music by talented vocals; Charismatic preachers with tablets, immaculate dress sense and tongues…well-oiled eloquoent ones; Church audience in attendance with various versions of the Bible on their phones; Projectors working overtime to display the Bible verses being preached, as well as keypoints in the preacher’s message….

That about sums up the state of Christianity in this current dispensation.

Christianity, as a religion, has never had it this good!

Right from the days of the early church in the Old Roman Empire to the mid-1900s, Christians had endured diverse forms of persecutions:

Some were ostracized; others were maimed, or even crucified.

Many were fed to hungry beasts; some skinned alive.

Many more were burnt to stakes while numerous others were impaled!!!

Indeed, it took something more than raw guts to be a Christian in those days. It took a very deep conviction, as that decision was similar to a death sentence.

As it were, one of the mysteries of Christianity to the Gentile world was that it seemed to even wax stronger and spread wider with increasing adversity in the form of persecution.

Naturally, one would always expect a system that could thrive in the face of affliction to do the same, or even better under favourable conditions.

However, History has shown us that this isn’t always the case.

For example, in the early 1900s, majority of Eastern Europe was under a strict communist rule which saw all religions as the ‘opiate of the people’ and subsequently banned them. Defaulters were jailed, tortured and eventually liquidated. Yet, despite the high risks involved in being a Christian during this time, the Brethren in this region still met regularly in underground Churches and the Gospel was propagated massively. Against all odds!

However, when you fastforward a couple of decades after Communism’s demise, the percentage of Christians in these Eastern European countries have drastically dropped. Even the larger portion of the few Christians left are the nominal ones.

So, I ask: ‘What is going wrong?’

When I look at the state of the Body of Christ today, I cannot help but wonder,

“Is this the Body that Christ ransomed with His precious Blood?

“Is this the Bride that the Lamb is coming back to marry?”

Listen up: Though the devil isn’t wise, the guy remains an cunning schemer!

You’ve gotta give him that.

You see, when satan found that adversity was only aiding the propagation of the gospel, he decided to change his warfare tactics to a more subtle one.

LUXURY!!!

Yup. Luxury.

The devil and his cohorts are still on the offensive. However, the Church has assumed that the apparent absence of adversity implies that the devil is tired and no longer interested in attacking.

Be sober. Be vigilant. Be watchful.

That’s the only way we’d be able to thwart the devil’s incessant attacks.

Life’s never been this good!

Technological advancements and worldwide peace seems to have made modern-day Christianity to be a shadow of what it used to be.

Please note that these luxuries aren’t evil, but when they shift the focus from Christ, they become potent poisons that can weaken our stand in Christ.

Resist the devil and he would flee from you.

Put on the whole armour of God.

The funny thing about the armour is that there’s no cover for the back!

What does this imply?

There’s no room for running away from our battleground in life.

When you turn away from the battle all in the name of luxurious vanity, you leave your back exposed to the fiery darts of the enemy.

It’s either wholehearted commitment to God or total union with the evil world system. You can’t afford to be double-minded about Christ. There’s no middle ground!

Christ is coming back soon.

This isn’t the time to be slack or lax!
This isn’t the time to let the fire on the altars of our hearts to go out!

Whoever puts his hand to the plough but looks back isn’t fit for the king’s prize.

Duty calls!

It’s time to stand up strong as true soldiers of God’s own army!
It’s time to lay aside all fithiness and superfluity of naughtiness!
It’s time to come to terms with yourself and ask,

“After all these things; After enjoying all the aesthetic values and exquisiteness of my church building; After enjoying my preacher’s motivational psychology and philosophical teachings…WOULD I STILL MAKE IT TO HEAVEN?”

Human Relations 101

A couple of years ago, I stumbled across this uniquely simplified article on Human Relations. I believe it is an interesting read that could change a lot about how you relate with others:

¤¤ The LEAST important word: I

¤¤ The MOST important words: We

¤¤ The TWO MOST important words: Thank You

¤¤ The THREE MOST important words: All Is Forgiven

¤¤ The FOUR MOST important words: What Is Your Opinion?

¤¤ The FIVE MOST important words: You Did A Good Job

¤¤ The SIX MOST important words: I Want To Understand You Better

Now, I’m not going to expantiate on the aforementioned nuggets. Instead, I want you to ruminate on them and let the points get fully formed in you. Don’t be fooled by their simplicity. Therein lies their potency!

I’m serious.

You know what I feel?

Many of the world’s problems today arise from our propensity to complicate simple matters!!!

Just imagine what would happen if just 1 in every 10 individuals made it a point of duty to relate with everyone in his/her sphere of influence with this kind of simplicity.

Just picture the peaceful society that we all could have had the chance to exist in!

Yet, it’s so funny to see how something so simple could be so hard.

I guess it all bores down to our freewill.

Yea, our freedom of choice…

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’ “

Maybe This Is How HE Works

So, you really want to have a feel of how God works, eh?
My advice: Don’t even bother at all. Seriously.

The closest analogy I have for trying to understand how God works would be you trying to explain the beauty and complexities of the Milky Way to an ant. Yeah, and even that comparison is devoid of any form of justice to the Almighty. His Ways and Thoughts are simply not like ours. Even with the help of the Holy Spirit, we still can’t fully grasp how God works. The Holy Spirit would only tell us the deep things of God as it concerns us.

You see, God maintains balance in the World. From the physical principles that makes life on earth possible, to the spiritual laws, such as giving, tithing and positive thinking, that work for all and sundry!
And I’m just talking of life on earth!!!

However, the age-old questions that continue to caress the minds of many are:
If God knows everything, and all things are in His hands, why is there evil in the world?
Why did He allow sin and death enter the earth?
Why do all these things happen, after all, nothing in life is by chance and everything has been planned out by God?

The answer? I really don’t know.
But here is where the ‘fun’ begins.
Based on how ‘much’ you know about God, if you were in His Position, how would you have handled things?

I believe God is the Almighty that knows the end from the beginning since both are contained in Him. However, because of His great love for Mankind, God gave man a very crucial factor called CHOICE! As a result of this ‘Choice’, Man has more than one possible consequence for every action He takes. There are multiple futures for every action we take. And God knows them all. However, one of these multiple futures is known as the PERFECT WILL of God while the others are the PERMISSIVE WILLS of God. Note that ALL are God’s wills! The Holy Spirit’s job is to help believers to KNOW God’s PERFECT WILL.

Sounds complicated? Let me expantiate:

For simplicity’s sake, let’s assume that a man has two alternatives A and B. God already knows all the consequences (futures) of both alternatives. For example, God told Adam not to eat any fruit from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. When Man disobeyed, God sent him out of the Garden clothed in animal skin from the Lamb that had been slain from the ‘before the foundations of the world’. Sin came into the world as a result of Man’s disobedience. But God had already made provisions for that since He knew Man would CHOOSE to opt out of His PERFECT WILL!

Again, all the evil and crises in the world today are as a result of Man’s choices over the course of time. As before, let’s imagine that sometime in the past, a group of people in a region were presented with two choices C and D; the consequence of C leading to an influx of demonic powers and forces of evil into that region; while choice D would lead to blessings untold. Now, if the former was picked by these people, what would happen in that region over the course of time? Evil and reports of evil. I believe this is the case in many regions of the world today. This generation is reaping the results of choices made by previous generations. And in all these things, God is just! Yeah! Because He has given every man (regardless of religion, culture or upbringing) the innate ability to know what right is. I proved this in a previous write up on this blog titled, ‘FR33 TH^T TH¡NG: In A Defence Of God’.

Now, here’s the stupendous awesomeness of God:
At any given point in time, every individual is simultaenously making more than one choice. And each choice has multiple futures that are in turn full of other choices and their own multiple futures. Yet there are over 7 billion humans on earth making choices with multiple futures EVERY DAY. And God already knows them ALL!

How do you think you’d fare as God in just a second???

P.S: I feel this MIGHT be how God works. However, I’m not a final AUTHORITY on this issue. It’s just an opinion.

”We know in part…But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” (I Corinthians 13 vs 9 and10)

Men’s Talk: Hombre a Hombre (Ladies, We’d Chat Later!)

On a lighter note, my parents sometimes tease me that my mates in other countries are already settled- married with kids and working…while I’m still working on myself!

Based on age and experience, I’m not the best person to counsel others on relationships. But being a guy, I could share some wonderful insights on the topic with my fellow guys. Hombre a hombre!

Before you put a ring on it ;-), consider Adam:

After Adam was created, he didn’t start scouting for Eve. No! No!! No!!! Instead, he got his purpose for living, which was:

* to dress and keep the Garden of Eden.
* to name all the animals.

Today, the case has been totally reversed. Guys without any sense of purpose or direction want to settle down and get married. It’s funny because usually, these guys have not attained emotional, financial and spiritual maturity. They can’t fend for themselves, yet they want to add the responsibilities of another. Mind you, maturity is totally independent of age. Or sideburns and a 6-pack abs!

Embrace your God-given purpose. Unless you find that thing worth dying for, you aren’t fit to live at all. Not to talk of settling down. Find your purpose and set up yourself to fulfil it, then you’d get your own Eve- flesh of your flesh and bone of your bone.

Note that Adam never asked God for a wife. Not once! God Himself knew it was time to get someone who would complement and complete Adam.

As a guy, our lives are relatively straightforward:
Find purpose in God.
And all other things would follow…

P.S: Ladies, we’d have our talk soon. I promise. 😉

GL(ory/amour)

I came across a great post here:
www.joaynn510.wordpress.com/2013/10/23/dont-let-your-reality-become-the-death-of-the-gospel-preachers-of-la/

I just felt I should share my comment on that post right here.

This is it:

” I didn’t watch ‘Preachers of LA’. I’m also not condemning anybody, but Dietrick Haddon’s issue brought some truths to my mind. These are:

1. The gifts and calling of God are irrevokable. So, when you want to see how well a man is faring spiritually, we don’t look at the gifts. We look at the FRUITS. Jesus said that we’d all know them by their fruits.

2. God is the author and creator of Glory. The devil and the evil world system can NOT create GLORY. But they can copy it. And the counterfeit can never match the original. So, they call it GLAMOUR. The two are similar but are not quite the same. Unfortunately, the Church cannot tell the difference between the two!

Shall we continue in sin because Grace abounds? No! Because our love for God would restrain us from hurting Him. May God help our generation.

Great post ”

FR33 TH^T TH¡NG: In A Defence Of God

No. I’m not writing an argumentative essay.
I felt I should step down (albeit temporarily) from my position to prove the same point my initial position would satisfactorily prove.
Gibberish, you say. Well, not exactly.

You see, as a Child of The Light, I am to walk on the pedestral of FAITH. Yes, that beautiful act of knowing that the physical absence of something doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.

But now, I’m going to try to use FACTS to prove God to you!
Fasten your seat belts.

Starting from the title of this post, it’s very likely you read it as ‘FREE THAT THING…’. Apparently, I most definitely DID NOT write that!
Look at the title again.
Can you see it now?

Your mind obviously made up for my ‘errors’ because it KNEW what the right words were meant to be.
Even if they were absent from what I wrote.

This proves ONE thing:
Everyone, from the deadly atheist assassin to the most pious monk, has the idea of what ‘right’ is.

In a narrower sense based on the aforementioned, everyone also has a moral sense of right and wrong. Moreso, everyone has embedded in the seat of his or her subconscious, what the ideal ‘Perfect Person’ should be like. And how well an individual is doing is measured against the character of this ‘Perfect Person’. It’s the same for every individual, regardless of upbringing, nationality or religious affliations.

The question now is this:
Are you this ‘Perfect Person’ with the perfect character?
Definitely not! Neither am I. At least from the factual point of view.

So, why then do we almost automatically know what is right (whether morally or in the broader sense)?
Why do we subconsciously pattern or measure our character and behaviour by the standards set by our minds’ perception of this ‘Perfect Person’?
Come on, let’s reason together! Because this ‘phenomenon’ happens to everyone, be it atheist or religious. It’s not some random isolated occurence.

Could it not be that there’s actually the ideal ‘Perfect Person’ who’s better and greater than whatever we could ever achieve on our own?
Could it not be that God is actually this ‘Perfect Person’, the standard by which we measure our day to day activities?

Let me know your thoughts. 😉

‘Ember To Remember

My good friend Lola runs a great blog here:
www.belifteddotme.wordpress.com

She recently completed a series of great posts bearing ‘Ember To Remember. I’ve asked to ‘borrow’ this title and she graciously replied in the affirmative. So, there shouldn’t be any copyright issues, eh? Alright, I’m just kidding!

On this topic, Lola was mentioning a lot of things to be thankful for, especially during the last four months of the year. I’m also going to arrive at that same direction, though I’d be taking a slightly different route.

In my post, ‘Praising the devil’, I mentioned that Africans are the most religious people in the world. I also mentioned that Nigerians are the most religious Africans and Yorubas the most religious Nigerians. You see, in most societies, the last trimester of a year are the most enjoyable ones. You start making preparations for Christmas and the turn of the year, isn’t it? Not so with the Yorubas. They call the months in the last trimester of the year the ‘BA-BA-BA’ months. Shocking, eh? Well, according to their mentality, they expect this period to be one earmarked with a lot of misforturnes in the form of accidents and deaths. And because they expect these things, they do happen! Mostly due to man’s activities.

God is not the architect of a seasonal oubreak of evil. No! What actually happens can be explained as follows:

Towards the year’s end, it’s normal for people to want to share the festive periods with families and loved ones. As a result, there’s a lot of travelling during these periods. The transportation industry, especially road transport, sees this as big business. The players in this industry then calculate that they can make even more money if they can make more trips in a day. So, they travel at supersonic speeds. In addition to that however, as a result of corrupt leadership, very few good roads even exist. And consequently, a combinations of factors lead to accident and deaths.

But, I want to submit to you that it doesn’t have to be this way. God isn’t wicked. He’s a loving and caring Personality. He wouldn’t let His sun to shine on His people throughout the year only to prepare a season for accidents at the end of the year. Many have remembered this season as a result of the pain that a loss of a loved one has brought to them. This isn’t God’s perfect will for His own. His business with us is life. Abundant one at that! But should that be an excuse for reckless living? God forbid.

It’s God’s joy when we remember this season as one that brings to us love, fruitfulness, happiness and the good things of life. See to it, then, that you live life circumspectly with a due sense of responsibility. Truly, only then would it be an ‘Ember to Remember.

XOXO

During my initial forays into the social networking world, I used to see the word ‘XOXO’ at the end of many emotionally blissful status updates. Females are mostly ‘guilty’ of this. Being my usual inquisitive self, I googled ‘XOXO’! I saw that in online messaging, it meant ‘Hugs and Kisses’. Still vague to me, I ‘researched’ a bit more. Then I found it. Each ‘X’ stands for a person’s four limbs while each ‘O’ stands for a person’s head. Thus, ‘XOXO’ stands for two people embracing. Albeit an horizontal one!

If I was asked to summarize life in one word, I’d say: Relationship. With God. With man. With your family. With your neighbour. With your bosses at work. With strangers. Relationship! Relationship!! Relationship!!!

All of life’s problems are relationship problems. And all relationship problems bore down to love. Today, we speak of spiritual dryness in our worship centres. Why? Because we don’t love God and have a relationship with Him.
We speak of strife in our families and neighbourhoods. Why? Because people are not relating in love.
There are political tensions in every nation of the world. Why? Because the people and the leaders don’t have a working loving relationship with God and their fellow citizens.

So, how do you think you are faring ‘relationship-wise’? Good? Bad? Moderately okay? Whichever you pick, a healthy relationship with God and man is possible. Let’s make an effort to make our world a better place because it begins with you and I.

XOXO

We All Belong To One Race

When man was created, he was NOMINATED to be the choice of ALL creation. Alas, with our own hands, we have chosen to DENOMINATE ourselves into various divisions. Today, the talking point is about the Catholics, Anglicans, Protestants and the like. Tomorrow, it is the Negroes vs the Caucasians. The day after, we are talking about the caste system!

To be succinct, God created man to have dominion over the whole earth. Not over each other. All men were created as equals. Nobody is superior to anybody. And nobody was created to be less priviledged than anybody. However, for so many, the battleground is in the mind. So, some take their God-given dominion and place it under their equals. While some have an inflated self-image and enforce their dominion over others.

Instead, life should be seen as a race where everybody can be a winner. Everybody is eligible to run in it, irrespective of religious or social backgrounds. Life is a marathon race. Free for all, but dependent on endurance rather than speed. It is not how fast, but how well that would count in the end.

What’s the next step for you now? Lay aside every unnecessary weight that would slow you down in running the life race with endurance. You really don’t need the extra load of sin, bad habits, riotous living or traditional prejudices and unhelpful customs.

Race with purpose!
Race with intent!!
Race in God!!!