Resource Review: Bible.org

When you find a treasure chest in the world, the automatic tendency is to keep it secret and hoard it. In the Kingdom however, the Spirit of God in you urges you to share it with as many people as possible. Ironically, the more you give that treasure away, the more of it you have! That’s the Kingdom of God for you but let me not digress too much!

I have found one such treasure. It’s bible.org, a website filled with gems and treasures that will take a significant amount of time to exhaust. Wow! I do not exaggerate when I say that bible.org is one of the best finds I’ve personally made this year. I came across it when a friend of mine sent me the most engaging article I have read in a long time. To my amazement, I found that articles of that quality and even better literally filled that website!  There are bible studies, audio sermons, discussions and a whole lot more. It’s only a click away guys! I promise you won’t regret it. There’s something there for everyone.

http://www.wpclipart.com/money/. Per the licen...

http://www.wpclipart.com/money/. Per the license: These images are public domain. License . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Watchman Rating

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Nigeria: The Renewal of a Nation

Peter Akinola, former Archbishop of the Anglic...

Peter Akinola, former Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Nigeria, a principal figure in debates about homosexuality (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

At the start of the year, there were widespread riots and protests across Nigeria. This was the result of pent-up frustrations in the hearts of minds of the people, particularly the youth. Remember that the scriptures tell us that without a vision, the people cast off all restraint. Ironic for a nation riddled with ‘visions’ and government agendas that never materialize into anything tangible for its people.

For a nation to be transformed, its people must be the first to experience that transformation. It is the cumulative effect of transformed people impacting their sphere of influence that results in the kind of national transformation that will turn Nigeria into a nation that is acceptable in God’s sight.

They say charity begins at home. I say transformation begins at home. One individual at a time. How does a person get transformed? By the renewal of their minds. A different way of thinking is needed. More than that, a God way of thinking is required.

Whilst it is imperative that we do not remain silent where we see evil being perpetrated, I do not believe it is scriptural to curse and moan at our leaders all day long. Scripture tells us that we have a responsibility to pray for our leaders.

However, in the scriptures, there are a few exceptions, where God raised an individual to directly rebuke a King who was headed in the wrong direction. Such may have been the case during a Democracy Day service at Abuja in Nigeria a few days ago. Reverend Peter Akinola, former Primate of the Anglican Church of Nigeria preached like a prophet with fire in his bones! If someone had just told me about it I would not have believed it myself but I watched it live on tv. In a country that has gotten so used to empty flattering of government officials and the wealthy, this man did himself no favours on that day. There were more than a few raised eye brows during the service. Some were fidgeting on their seats because the truth hurts. He gave a damning evaluation of the way the rich and mighty continue to oppress the poor and voiceless in our nation. He reminded them of God’s call on leaders to be servants first.

Going back to my focus on the family, this is where the victory lies. It does not lie in street protests and riots. Neither does it lie solely in intellectual debates and arguments. Transformation will begin at home, as parents raise up the next generation of children in the fear of the Lord. I don’t mean religion here. I mean children who are taught to walk with the Spirit of God right from the home. That will also mean the parents must themselves walk with the Spirit. It breaks my heart to hear children as young as five, saying that they want to be politicians when they grow up because of what they can benefit from it rather than for what they can do to make a difference. Where do they get these opinions from first and foremost? Their parents!

A transformed child will transform other children around his or her sphere of influence. Transformed children will go on to transform adolescents around them. Transformed adolescents will go on to transform teenagers around them. Transformed teenagers will go on to transform young adults around them. Young adults filled with the Spirit of God and a renewed mindset and perspective of nation building will go on to fill strategic roles in the nation, not necessarily because they are Spirit-filled but because they are overflowing with the Spirit of wisdom and like Joseph, are sought after for the solutions they provide in complex situations.

When a nation’s engine room is filled with Nehemiah’s, Joseph’s and Daniel’s, the inevitable result is a transformed nation. Whilst it is important to pray for those who currently lead us, our long-term focus should be on the grassroots. The production line of leaders should improve in quality and quantity.

You can do something about it! Yes, you. I used to believe the lie that there was nothing I could do to make a difference. For one you could stop complaining about your leaders and pray for them. That is biblical. Beyond that, you could do your bit to impact those around you with the truth. You could also pay extra attention to your kids and guide them towards embracing godly values. You could be raising the next president of your nation.

One of the ways I chose to make a difference was to connect with http://renewnigeria.org/. You could also follow them on twitter: @RenewNigeria or simply send them an emailRenewNigeria@RenewNigeria.org.

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Turning water into wine

Most of us are familiar with the miracle of turning water into wine during the Wedding at Cana in Galilee by Jesus. The scriptural text is found in John 2:1-10.

Apart from the obvious lesson we learn from this incident about Jesus’ ability to supercede the laws of nature through the power of the Holy Spirit, I have often wondered why God deemed it necessary to fit this story into the bible. It is especially weird because it was Jesus’ first miracle and according to scripture, one that Mary almost coerced Him to perform! So let’s see how we can apply this scripture to our own lives:

1) Be filled with water – ephesians 5:26 tells us that water is symbolic of the Word of God. At the start of Jesus’ ministry, the first thing He demonstrated was that we being vessels of God, first need to be filled to the brim with the Word. The scripture tells us that Jesus requested the jars be filled completely and that is what He expects us to take time out and accomplish.

2) Turn water into wine – in other words, our biblical knowledge must come to life in our hearts. It is not enough to be filled with knowledge. We must allow the Holy Spirit to complete His work of transformation in our hearts. Once again, wine is symbolic of the Holy Spirit in Matthew 9:17. We go from being vessels of God’s Word to being channels through which the Spirit flows to bring life and bear fruit.

3) Share with others – water on its own cannot quench the thirst of dying souls. It has to be spirit-filled water that has become the wine of God. Once an individual truly tastes the wine of God, any other wine will never satisfy. In verse 10 of the key scripture, we observe the master of the banquet marvelling at the taste of this ‘new wine’ that Jesus had just provided. This is how we are to evangelise the world. Our Master, Jesus, is inviting everyone to come and partake of His most amazing wine at the marriage supper of the Lamb at the end of the age.

This world offers it’s own ‘wine’. We have tried filling ourselves with all sorts of things from wealth, power, fame, looks, material possessions, status etc but we keep finding that the taste lasts for a moment and wears off. The thirst never seems to be totally quenched. Come to the Master today and drink of His wine. Let Him transform the water in you. He will use you as a vessel through which to pour the wine of His Spirit to others.

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Did you know…

…about the baby who was born in Nigeria earlier this month, clutching a Quran in its right hand!

This has caused such a stir especially amongst the Muslim community in Lagos state, where I live.

A young woman who became pregnant out of wedlock was abandoned by her lover. Scared of what the outlook would be for her future, she resorted to aborting the child and that’s when all the drama began.

This is like something right out of a movie. Everyone is perplexed by this rather unusual occurrence. Perhaps the most perplexed of all is the baby’s mother. Her words: “I repeatedly tried to abort the baby, but, instead, the baby kept getting stronger by the day, which made me to give up on abortion. Then I started wearing a cross around my waist to protect the baby and myself but the cross kept cutting. When the pregnancy got to its eleventh month, I told my friend, Kenny Ogunlana, about it and she now took me to Morning Star Church (Cherubim & Seraphim) in Ejigbo where I was delivered of the baby.”

Note that she said she was ‘delivered of the baby’ and not that she delivered the baby.

Another very perplexed individual in all this is the very experienced Christian midwife called Victoria, who delivered the baby. She said: “I tell you, it was God who delivered that baby. I’ve seen cases where babies come into the world, holding ropes, but nothing like this! I used to help mothers deliver babies. I’ve delivered a lot, but I’ve never seen anything like this. When the mother of the woman came, I showed her the item I found in the right hand of the baby.” Victoria narrated that one of the mysterious things was that electricity company supplied power just as the baby’s head appeared and interrupted it after she had cleaned up the baby, stressing that it was a symbol that the baby is unique.

Apparently the Quran is also growing as the baby grows in size. Muslim scholars also claim that this is not the first of such incidents to occur in the Islamic world. An Imam said that when he was informed of the Quran, he conducted a research and found out that, in the world, such Quran is to be five. But there are two already in existence, adding, “And where the volume of the first one ended was where the second one started from, they come in volumes. But what I cannot say is how the thing (Quran) got into the hand of the baby.”

The dramatic birth has had serious ramifications for those affected. For one, the entire family of the baby’s mother are now seriously considering abandoning Christianity for Islam. In addition, some religious scholars are taking this as another opportunity to promote the clearly unscriptural act of merging Christianity and Islam in the name of tolerance. These are two radically different faiths. Radically different.

An Imam of Ramatu Ishamiya Mosque in Ijeshatedo, Lagos, Alhaji Ashimuyu Omotosho, who was invited to look at the Quran found in the baby’s right hand, said it was the mark of God, adding: ” The amazing thing was that the family of Kikelomo is Christian. It shows that we are one from God, but came into the world to choose and go our separate ways”.

People are already idolising the baby and undoubtedly, those who are not firmly rooted in Christ are already considering a switch because of this ‘miracle’. It reminds me of the great apostasy (falling away from the faith) that Paul warned about. There will be miraculous signs and deceptive teachings that will be so strong it would take a deeply rooted faith not to be attracted. I already heard mature Christians saying that perhaps what this means is that God is telling us to unify and become one faith with Islam! How can this be?

We worship the Almighty Yahweh whose Son is Jesus. Muslims worship a different god called Allah, who relegates Jesus’ position to that of a mere prophet. No! Chrislam must never become a reality otherwise countless souls will be heading to eternal damnation. The only way to salvation is to accept the finished work of Christ on the cross, the very same cross that the Quaran says was an illusion designed to deceive Christians.

I won’t deny that seeing a newborn baby clutching a golden Quran on live tv with all the witnesses being Christians and looking in awe and reverence caused me to pause for a second. Before there was anytime to sow and deceptive seeds in my mind, the Holy Spirit flooded my mind with the truth of scripture. Darkness cannot comprehend the light that the entrance of His Word brings. Scripture already predicts such abnormal or supernatural occurences. Satan also dresses himself up as an angel of light so one needs to prayerfully discern the spirits.

This is only the beginning of the end times. There’s so much more deception coming and this is why it is imperative that we soak ourselves with the truth of God’s Word whilst that opportunity is freely available because it may not always remain that way. What gives me joy though is that the bible also speaks of a great harvest of souls that will come. It’s almost like a filtering of the Church or a purification of the Bride. Those with itchy ears and questionable commitment to Christ will probably get drawn away by things like ‘miracle babies’ and other supernatural phenomena. Consequently, those who will hear the truth of the gospel, believe in Christ by faith and stay deeply anchored in Him through an intimate acquaintance with His Word will have a much better chance of staying true to Christ till the very end.

When an entire family generation of Christians can readily throw their faith in the bin because of the golden quaran then one must question how deeply rooted they were in the first place. Satan is an extremely clever being. He knows just what makes people tick. We as Nigerian are enthralled with the supernatural and in this situation we have a real show in front of us. The fact that this birth occurred in a church also speaks volumes. Thousands of people surrounded the premises where the baby is being kept. The clerics are already warning against idol worship of this child but I doubt many will heed that caution. It is bound to happen in a country where people are starved of hope and the Church that is meant to be that beacon of hope in Christ is fast asleep. We need to wake up and smell the coffee. The warfare is being stepped up in the spiritual and the Church is still busy being distracted with self and messages that soothe itchy ears. It makes me fume with righteous indignation.

The enemy of truth is not a lie. The real enemy of truth is a half-truth because it is much more easy to swallow these than it is to believe a lie. The fact that Islam gives Jesus a place of prominence in its faith is enough to deceive many. But the Holy Bible tells us that Jesus is much more than a great prophet. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith. He is One of the Holy Trinity, something that Islam scoffs at. He is fully God and fully man. Another truth that Islam rejects. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and no one comes to the Father except through Him. Period. Secular humanistic tolerance is the most intolerant worldview to emerge. Don’t fall for it! I’m an advocate for peace and unity but where I cannot cross the line is in my belief in Jesus. In Him lies the solutions to everything. Lose that and you lose it all, both in this life and the next. Are you prepared to toy with that? The miracle Baby that was born in a manger 2000 years ago is more than enough for me. Christians watch and pray.

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Video Sermon: My House shall be called a House of Prayer by Jim Cymbala

When Jesus threw out the money changers at the Temple, He declared that His Father’s House, hich in today’s terms is the Church, should be a House of prayer and not a den of robbers. Unfortunately, although there are many churches today fulfilling the role of being houses of prayer, there are many others that are also a den for robbers. There are all sorts of disheartening stories and controversies emerging from churches around the globe and that should not be the case. This powerful sermon by Jim Cymbala is a classic reminder of how far we have fallen off the mark in some cases. A much needed sermon if you ask me. Enjoy!

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Ed’s Story: It ain’t over

Have you ever wondered what it would take for you to come to a place in your walk with God where you question everything you’ve ever believed about Him? It’s amazing what suffering can do to the human spirit.

Meet Ed Dobson, former charismatic pastor at Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At the height of his influential ministry, Ed was named “Pastor of the year” by the Moody Bible Institute. On Sundays, he regularly preached to a congregation of 5,000 people and everything seemed to be going according to plan. Until…

He was diagnosed with a degenerative disease called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). What a mouthful right? Being degenrative, ALS basically shuts down your muscles as time progresses and eventually leads to death once the lungs are compromised. Ed was given 3 to 5 years to live.

That was 11 years ago.

Knowing he was facing a painful death, Ed found himself on a journey that forced him to rethink everything he thought he knew about God. His faith was severely tested, His character has also been reformed in the crucible of suffering that he finds himself in.

One man that comes to mind from the scriptures when I think about suffering is Job. His experience also caused him to rethink all things God. It’s amazing how suffering can really change one’s perspective and approach to faith. There is a lot we can learn from Ed’s story. This is just one part in a series of short films he has produced to share his story with others. I was blessed by it and I hope you’ll also enjoy it.

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My CV: Paul the Apostle

APOSTLE PAUL – Curriculum Vitae

Mobile None Email None Address No fixed address

EDUCATION

No degree certificate

Raised at the feet of Gamaliel

Revelation from the Holy Spirit

 WORK EXPERIENCE

 1. Persecutor of the Christian faith

As a zealous Pharisee, I spearheaded a campaign of persecution and terror against those who followed ‘The Way’. One highlight in this role was the stoning of Stephen, a devout follower of the way. If you doubt my credentials, just read the Book of Acts, chapters 7 and 8.

 2. The road to Damascus

This is where it all changed for me. Life was never the same after a dramatic encounter with Jesus Christ, the One I was persecuting in my zealous ignorance. After this day, everything changed. Name and all!

 3. First missionary journey

Barnabas and I went from Antioch to Cyprus to Anatolia and back to Antioch. One highlight of this trip was my encounter with a magician called Elymas. God’s power flowed through me and blinded him! It was on this missionary trip that John Mark abandoned Barnabas and I. On one occasion, we preached in a synagogue and I showed my fellow Jews the revelation of Christ in the scriptures but they rejected my teachings. My mission from God became clear to me on this trip. I was to focus on preaching the gospel to the Gentiles.

 4. Second missionary journey

I remember this journey with mixed feelings. Barnabas and I had to go our separate ways because our views differed radically on the issue of being abandoned by John Mark in our earlier trip. Barney being a constant encourager still wanted us to take him along but I refused. Silas later joined me on this missions trip. We visited Tarsus, Derbe and Lystra. I also recruited a young man named Timothy, who ended up being a God-send. This trip turned out to be one of the most dramatic in my experience as an apostle. I say this because we encountered a spirit of divination in a slave girl and moved by the Spirit of God, we cast it out. This really angered the business men who were exploiting the girl. We were both thrown in jail that day. What happened next gave me a deeper revelation of who God is and that never left me till the day I passed on to glory. Whilst in jail, we meditated on how God had so far blessed our missions trip with an amazing number of souls being saved. As we rejoiced and praised God, there was an earthquake that shook the prison cell and broke our chains! This incident was so powerful that the jail keeper gave his life to Christ as a result. On our travels, we also met Aquila and Priscilla, who ended up planting one of the most thriving churches of that era at Ephesus.

5. Third missionary journey

I travelled around the regions of Galatia and Phrygia to strengthen and rebuke the believers there. I stayed at Ephesus for three years. God performed wonderful miracles through me. It was an amazing time in ministry for me. I was humbled that God would use me this way. However, I was dismayed by what I heard was happening in Corinth. I had to send some stern letters their way. We finished this trip with a stop at Caesaria, at Philip the Evangelist’s place.

6. Epistles

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, I wrote 14 epistles in the New Testament. Some of these were written whilst I was imprisoned but rather than feel sorry for myself, I knew I had a task to fulfil for my Master. Time was of the essence.

 A SHORT DESCRIPTION OF MYSELF

  I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. 10 For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.” (1 Corinthians 10).

I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (1 Corinthians 12).

For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ. (Philippians 3)

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4).

God saw my CV when all I had on it was proud persecutor of Jesus Christ and His followers. He saw beyond what others saw. He saw me, loved me and gave me a new beginning. I know that if I applied for a job as a Senior Pastor at your church I may not have been given the role. Just remember that God sees the heart where man looks outwardly. Aren’t you glad that God does not call the qualified but He qualifies the called? I certainly am! Your CV is good enough for Him.

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