2019: HERE WE GO AGAIN

SERVANTS VS PRINCES

I have often said, the summary of our present conundrum in Nigeria is in Ecclesiastes 10:7 – Servants riding upon horses and princes walking as servants.

You only have to look at the present state of affairs in our politics and you see what I say. On any given day, I will pick a Peter Obi over an Atiku, An Osinbajo over Buhari but life seems not to work that way.

It’s been that way since ages ago. Very rarely do the best of us get to rule us or set the pace for the future. That is the reality of our world. Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel, Pharaoh and Joseph, it’s been the story for ages. Our world is never an ideal place and Nigeria is not an exception.

This reality means that even when we’ve got possibly better candidates within other parties, reality speaks back to you that only the two major parties will win except the kind of work that was done by Emmanuel Macron in France is done by one of these candidates.

We need an unusual event to get the kind of leaders we want. A non-event, like the military taking over, a revolution or something. But reality is that those options don’t give us the best shot because we have tried that route before and today, we see where it led us to.

The only route which we have not tried is HARD WORK. It is hard work to build a nation and it will take time and patience to build the Nigeria, we all dream of. The other nations in the world we often refer to took decades to build what they have, and we can be no different. We must be willing to pay with both sweat and sacrifice.

Also, there are things Nigeria and Nigerians need to learn.

POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE

Nigeria like many other nations faces the problem politics and governance. Politics and governance are separate issues though they are linked but very often the leader who is good at governance is not good at politics and the leader good at politics is not good at governance.

Nigeria needs both kinds of leaders and it’s hard to have to pick. Very rarely do we find men who are adept at both. Nigeria needs leaders who are good at both because of our diversity. Our diversity makes it compulsory that whoever must lead us must pay attention to the politics of governance while at the same time giving more attention to governance because, good governance is what we have lacked over the years.

THE LONG ROAD AHEAD

It’s election season again and we must choose those who will stir this ship called Nigeria for the next four years. If there’s anything I have learnt in the last 8 years, it is that ours is long road. The change we seek will not be swift. It will be painstaking and long. Democracy is not a system of government that lets you fly, it makes you move at walking pace.

The military rule of several years has done so much damage to our systems that whoever governs Nigeria for the next many years must be aware that He/she lays a foundation for many years to come and has a work to build systems that strengthen institutions and builds the character and competence of the individual.

COLLECTIVE PROGRESS VS PERSONAL PROGRESS

The progress we will make as a people (collectively) is no more tied to just a man sitting in Abuja anymore. While He wields the most power, He wields little compared to what He used to. Our collective progress is now in the hands of many, not in the hands of a few. In the hands of you and me, the local government chairman, the state governor, the state house representative, the national house representative, the senator, the senate president, the minister, the justices of the courts, the chief justice of the supreme court, the vice president, the president.

Although your personal progress is entirely in yours and God’s hand because the world is now one and only you can stop your own progress for even God will not.

But we must grow beyond the progress of the individual and begin to think of the progress of the collective. The progress of others is what makes our own progress worthwhile, hence why our progress as a nation is important to me.

We need to pay more attention to those elected into the lesser positions, the past few years have shown that while the president holds a lot of the cards, He does not hold all the cards, such is the nature of democracy. Devolving power to the judiciary and legislature has left the executive somewhat dependent on the other two. The exclusive list and concurrent lists mean that our eyes cannot only be in Abuja, it must be at all levels of government.

LONG TERM VS SHORT TERM GAINS

There are hard decisions that need to be made in the coming years that will leave us in pain for a while but eventually will pan out the best decision we have made. We must focus on building systems and long-term gains not the short-term gains. While there are quick wins, a long-sighted focus will be for the benefit of us all. Not just the few.

This government while having many short comings have taken the long route on a lot of issues and I commend them for that considering current resource constraints as well as other issues. But they have left too much to be desired in many areas. They need to begin to readjust their priorities to areas where there is multiplier effect on benefits. Optimising benefits from their various initiatives should be put in focus.

MY BUHARI SCORECARD

The Buhari government has made some progress but have made work of some of the areas we need for our collective progress.

Have we progressed from the Jonathan Era? I will say confidently Yes with a lot of buts.

If we had continued with the Jonathan Era, I’m not sure where we will be now because the issue with that era was that it lost its focus towards the end because of politics and forgot to focus on governance.

The nature of politics is scratch my back I scratch yours and we saw that begin to fester with the many stories that are now out in books and different publications.

What the Buhari Era has done is save us from going down that part and keep us in the direction we ought to go. We have not gotten to the promised land, but we are moving ahead. The problem I have with the progress we are making is that it is too slow for a nation with a population growth rate of 2.1%. We must progress faster, we must make decisions faster, we must act faster we must focus on areas where with the least effort we can get the most benefit while not forgetting what the goal is.

WHAT SHOULD BE NEXT?

We cannot be great if we do not focus on productivity. Our little social experiment in Federal system of government needs to end. States need to the coerced into focusing on productivity. Note the word coerced, not forced. We must leave this system of sharing based on population, Land size and resources and focus on productivity. We must create a system where the cow that makes the most milk eats the most grass.

Whether, we like it or not fuel subsidy needs to go. We all benefit from it and should not complain about it, but the truth is that it has held us back for years. It is like the man who has wood in his farm who goes to the market to buy firewood because he is too foolish to realise the wood in his farm and that in the market are the same or you could say it is like a man who spends all his money on fuelling the generator in his house for electricity when he could have spent the money on solar panels and batteries and be free from such spending. The opportunity cost of Fuel Subsidies has borne its brunt on our economy and it is beginning to show in how much we spend on debt.

Our educational system needs serious attention. While I understand that the educational system is largely in the hands of state governments and local governments, the federal government must work to set it right because if you build all the infrastructure you want, it is only as good as the people who use it and maintain it. A five-star hotel in a village is a waste of money.

Healthcare needs to be revamped and while like education it is largely in the hands of the lower levels of government, The Federal government must provide leadership because a lot of Nigeria still needs direction.

There’s a whole lot of things that needs to be done. But I will stop here cos we all know our problems but solving them has been the issue.

CONCLUSION: NIGERIA WILL BE GREAT ONLY IF.......

I will conclude by saying that Nigeria’s fate lies in the hands of its people. And if it’s people will let it be great, it will be all that and more. But if it’s people will make excuses in selling their tomorrows today, I’m afraid there’s not much that can be done.

Nigeria will be great by the hands of every Nigerian working in the streets both home and abroad. If we all will be willing to sacrifice and focus on the virtues of righteousness, justice, excellence and the good of the person next to us. Then we just might have a shot at being the Nigeria of our dreams, the giant of Africa, a nation flourishing built on foundations that cannot be easily swept away by the winds and floods of a stormy weather.

Your Vote is your power, your vote is your voice. Get out there and have your say. And when the results are out be an active citizen of Nigeria and give support to everything that will make us great to whoever it is that wins or loses and make a stand against everything that sets us back. Then We will be Great.

God Bless You, God Bless your Home, God Bless your State and May God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Thank you.

THE CHRISTIAN AND FREEDOM FROM SIN

I have for a long time be troubled by the attitude of the church towards sin. We have in some way treated sin in a way it should not be. Collectively, we treat sin like a plague and forget that the sin of a man is different from the man himself; individually, we have forgotten that sin is our enemy, it not only enslaves us, it also separates us from God, it builds a wall so high and wide that the omnipotent God will not here us, much more, we cannot hear Him.

What exactly is Sin and What are we to do about sin?

Can a man be free from Sin? Can a Christian Walk free of Sin? Can a Christian live in Dominion over Sin? Can a Christian Conquer Sin? Can a Christian Overcome Sin?

I hope you have an answer to these questions at the end of reading this. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to understand what God is saying and show you what He wants to do for you.

Let’s start at Romans 6?

What shall we say [to all this]? Should we continue in sin and practice sin as a habit so that [God’s gift of] ^[a]grace may increase and overflow? ² Certainly not! How can we, the very ones who died to sin, continue to live in it any longer? ³ Or are you ignorant of the fact that all of us who have been ^[b]baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ We have therefore been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory and power of the Father, we too might walk habitually in newness of life [abandoning our old ways].

Sin is part of the old way, the the old life, we served sin and it was our master. It oppresses and held us bondage. We died to it when we came to Christ

Sin is the number one enemy of man. As I thought of this I thought to myself, how about the Devil (Satan); then it hit me, a man can be freed from the devil and then end up a slave to him again because of sin. However, a man made free from sin, is free not just from sin alone but every other consequence that sin brings, and the devil is one of them.

Sin is everything that exalts itself above God. It sits with the "I" in the middle saying, I am the master of my fate, architect of my destiny, I will do as I please, this world is mine and I will take it as my own. Whether these words are true are a matter for another day, but what I want you to draw from it is that Sin is the putting of anything else above God.

The primary purpose of redemption was to redeem man from sin. Every other thing that followed was secondary. Jesus knew this and that was why His message was for all men to repent and often said to as many as he met “Go and Sin no more” or in some places “your sins are forgiven” and to as many as will hear “receive forgiveness of sins”.

Sin is a thought that sets itself above God, it is an action that makes God lesser than who he is (He is I AM and is nothing less), it is a habit that makes God the least, it is a character that is not in the image of our creator himself, it is a nature that is contrary to what God made man to be, it is a culture that seeks to keep God far from our thoughts, it is a world worse than the one we have now.

Sin is so cruel a slave master, a man cannot free himself from Sin. The Bible speaks that Jesus came to break sin’s “Iron Sway”, Romans 7 says of Sin “O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of Death (Sin),” because the wages of Sin is Death. Sin is such that it finds its way through generations of men and holds families bound, such that the same vice that held a father bound, holds his grandson and the likes.

Enough of this eulogy about Sin!!!

If Sin is all that I have said it is, what are we to do about it. Can a man ever be free of sin?

The Bible says that” by one-man Sin came into the world and spread to all mankind. Even so by one man will Sin be conquered.”

In Romans 7, right at the end, Paul exclaims “Thanks be to God [for my deliverance] through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind serve the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh [my human nature, my worldliness, my sinful capacity—I serve] the law of sin”.

And goes on to say this.   Therefore, there is now no condemnation (no guilty verdict, no punishment) for those who are in Christ Jesus (who believe in him as personal Lord and Saviour.) For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has set you free from the law of sin and of death”.

From the moment Sin, found its way into the universe. God had a plan, and from the point it entered into our world, that plan came into motion. For sin first entered the universe before it entered earth.

The earliest record of Sin is in Isaiah 14:

“How you are fallen from heaven,

O [a]Lucifer, son of the morning!

How you are cut down to the ground,

You who weakened the nations!

13 For you have said in your heart:

‘I will ascend into heaven,

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;

I will also sit on the mount of the congregation

On the farthest sides of the north;

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,

I will be like the Most High.’

15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,

To the [b]lowest depths of the Pit.

16 “Those who see you will gaze at you,

And consider you, saying:

‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,

Who shook kingdoms,

17 Who made the world as a wilderness

And destroyed its cities,

Who [c]did not open the house of his prisoners?’

Here, it found its way into the universe and God had a plan for sin right from the that time when there was no time. He said:

15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,

To the [b]lowest depths of the Pit.

16 “Those who see you will gaze at you,

And consider you, saying:

‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,

Who shook kingdoms,

17 Who made the world as a wilderness

And destroyed its cities,

Who [c]did not open the house of his prisoners?’

Therefore, Sin’s destruction is not a debate, when might be the debate, but God is not a man that He should lie, and the destruction of sin is as sure as the thing you are most certain about.

The question for everyman, is whether they will be destroyed right along with it or not?

Sin holds its captive slave, hence for it to be destroyed, its captive must be destroyed as well.

God gave man gifts to free Him from the captivity of Sin, the first is His Freewill, the second is Jesus.

Freewill to many is considered a curse of man. For many have said that if man were not free, we will have a better world, a better universe than the one we have now. Those who say this do not understand the nature of God, If God is Love, it can be said that Freewill will probably be His first gift to all living creatures with a soul.

But by freewill alone, man could not be saved from the power of sin, we see it through the ages. Many men fought to be free of the evil that was wroth in their members, but no matter what they did, they seemed not to be able to shake it off. It was like Sin being their master willed them to comply to its bidding, even when they would not want to commit evil.

Sin had become not only an action for them, it had become a habit, an addiction that only could be broken by force. Sin held them bound working its way through their flesh, keeping their souls in the path of destruction, making their spirit as it were dead.

Then Jesus came.

The scriptures are full of several prophecies about Jesus and his role in restoring man to the fullness of what God made Him to be. Jesus was the last blow to sin. The Bible says that because of Him, “there remains no sacrifice for sins”. He was the Last Sacrifice and the Only Sacrifice. All other Sacrifices were a shadow of what He will do to Sin.

First, By Jesus’s Death we received forgiveness of Sin, the remission of sin.

God who made the universe made the laws such that there is cause and consequence. Sin is a cause, death is the consequence. But in Jesus, the consequence for the sin of man was not the man’s death but His own death on the cross for as many that will receive Him.

Receiving forgiveness was predicated on repentance. Without repentance, there is no forgiveness of sins. If Sin must be destroyed, a man must repent and want to be free of His sins. He must, using his freewill acknowledge sin and be willing to be free of its power.

If forgiveness of sin was all that we needed and could get, Christ would not have risen again. But God wanted us not only to be forgiven but to walk freely. Hence, He provided many tools with which we could walk freely.

Secondly, By Jesus’ resurrection power is given to man for a new life. When we turn to God for freedom, the old man is killed just like Jesus died and with His resurrection, A new man is born just like Jesus rose a new man (the first begotten of the dead). This new man is dead to sin, free from the power of sin, walks according to the spirit, is a servant of righteousness, obedient unto God, zealous of good works. The symbol of this new man is found in water baptism. In being baptized, we show the world that we have buried the old man with his deeds and have put on a new man.

What then, why do we still find many believers falling into sin, living in sin and not free? The answer is twofold. Faith and works.

Faith. A believer must believe that He is made Holy and a servant of righteousness if ever He must be free. He must believe that He is free from sin and dead to sin and has received power over sin through the resurrection of Jesus. Just like the fact that a believer has not been healed today is not proof that God does not heal or has not healed him, or the fact that one does not walk in health always is not proof that God doesn’t give health, even so the fact that you have not yet began to walk in victory over sin yet does not mean that God has not made you holy already. He has made you a new man and like every other thing that God does and we have received, you must appropriate your freedom through faith until it becomes the reality.

Works. Works comes by practice. A soul who is used to acting in a certain manner must overcome the flesh (which was the instrument of sin) before He can begin to walk in the freedom that Christ has given. It is therefore true that a believer might still fall into sin until He learns to overcome his flesh and use the power given to Him at the cross to overcome sin. The Bible says of this “Sin shall therefore have no dominion over thee”. Why? Because of the power of resurrection. Through the power of resurrection, our spirit is made alive through the Spirit of God, who connects to our Spirit and helps us live according to the Spirit and we teach our flesh to live free.

Ezekiel 36: 24-28 says:
For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.28 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.


We see here, the first step was to make us clean, which was done through the blood of Jesus.

The Second was a New Heart. God gives a new heart to every Christian. He takes the old heart of the old man out because it is a heart of stone, hard-hearted, set in its ways and can only do what it used to do which is serve sin. Then He puts in us a heart of flesh, a heart which can choose between right or wrong, using this heart we use our freewill to choose what God always wants us to do or otherwise (this is called sanctification). (Depending on how we do, this heart of flesh can become a heart of stone).

Not only does He do this, He gives us His Spirit. He puts His Spirit within us to make our walk with Him easier. The power of the Holy Spirit and the Counsel of the Holy Spirit is always with us giving us grace and strength to serve righteousness and stay free of sin.

We also have is word as a guide. The Psalmist says, “thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path always”. It helps to guide and to save from sin and show the heavenly way,

You see through the ages God has given these to His people, so they can be free from sin and many of them were able to live lives that were free from sin. How much more you who lives in the time of grace.

So, to you I say, Walk Free, Walk in Victory. Don’t be satisfied until you are free of every sin because God said it. Believe it and you will walk in freedom.

The Old Hymns used to sing a song that said:

Would you be free from the burden of Sin?

There’s Power in the Blood, Power in the Blood

Would you over Evil, The Victory Win

There’s Wonderful Power in the Blood.

There is Power, Power

Wonder working Power in the Blood of the Lamb

There is Power, Power

Wonder working power in the precious blood of the Lamb.

Theirs is power to live free from sin. Accept it today.

Spend time with God in Prayer and He will give you the power to live free.

Say to your soul, Christ has redeemed me from the curse of sin and death. Therefore sin has no dominion over me. Confess it and walk with it and watch it become just as God said it.

Behold, what manner of Love, the father hath given unto us that we should be called the sons of God. Sons of God, Saints, Holy People not because of anything we have done, but because we have freely received all the grace that was given unto us and we come into the fullness of Christ.

God Bless You.

A cursory Note. 

Can a Christian make mistakes? Yes we can.

We make mistakes because unlike God, we are not omniscient or omnipotent hence we act only within the limits of humanity. 

To put it practically, a Christian can go years without sinning and make a mistake at some point.

It is why we are warned to take heed by Christ himself in Revelation 3 and 4.

On the flip side, He can walk free till He sees his Master's face through faith and a consistent walk with the Holy Spirit.

But I must say that a Christian that sins everyday or week or month has failed to appropriate the power given to him at the cross. 

Though we have an advocate for our sins in Jesus before God, we must not take God for a fool because He has said it ""whosoever is born of God does not commit sin because His seed remains in Him"

NIGERIA: STRONG MEN VS STRONG INSTITUTIONS.

Barack Obama once said “Africa does not need strong men, it needs Strong institutions”.

The wisdom of these words lies not only in the in the fact that stronger institutions will help deliver democratic dividends in a consistent manner but also that all men having power must not be trusted. It is C.S. Lewis who said “I am democratic because I believe in the Fall of man……. Mankind is so fallen that no man should be trusted with unchecked power over his fellows”. Hence, no man at anytime should have executive, legislative and judicial authority else he equates to or becomes a tyrant.

Thus, if Nigeria’s democracy must deliver, it’s institutions must be strengthened.

However, on the flip side of the discuss, it is appreciated by most, if not all Nigerians that Nigeria has a leadership problem. Nigeria has lacked leaders who are able to deliver on the promises of the nation that its abundance of natural resources and human capital could bring to not only Africa but the world at large.

Strong leadership is Nigeria’s greatest Dilemma. Since the advent of democratic government in the nation (and even the continent), it has not saved Nigeria’s poverty rate from increasing, improved quality of life or any other indices we choose to look at. Democratic governance has not been the silver bullet that set the nation on the path to greatness. Is it because the Institutions are weak? Maybe.

But an X-ray into what makes Strong Institutions show that they are those who have a clear vision/mandate, deliver on that mandate and have good governance and accountability structures to check their excesses or cut their inefficiencies. However, Strong Institutions are built by Strong Leaders and Strong Institutions put their leaders in check. Weak leadership in strong institutions is just as bad as a Strong leadership in weak institutions but the advantage of the latter is that the leadership is able to build a formidable institution which begins to deliver on Nigeria’s potentials. We have several examples to look at as case studies in Nigeria, Ribadu at EFCC, Akunyili at NAFDAC are examples of how strong leadership can build formidable institutions but on the flip side we see their successors taking an institution that was once strong on delivering its purpose to becoming an institution that is less than what it was. This is partly because building strong institutions takes time. Strong institutions are what they are because of an institutional culture that is built over time that becomes a way of life. However, Strong Leadership is at the core what Strong Institutions are about.

So, I may rephrase Obama’s statement and say “Africa does not need Strong men but needs Strong leaders who can build strong institutions”

A strong Leader lays the foundation for the success or failure of any organisation, He imbibes the vision of the institution and finds ways to disseminate it in a way that it is conceived in the minds of every member of that institution. Does Nigeria have Strong Leaders? Yes.

Strong Leaders are strong men but not all strong men are Leaders. Nigeria has a crop of both and we have seen them over the years in different spheres of life, not just in government alone. Men and women who have led in business, academia etc. are a testament to this but I must confess that Positions at the top have been filled more by strong men than strong leaders. The question of whether our present political system will help bring these strong leaders into places where they can influence government and deliver on the promise of Nigeria is another matter. A whole topic entirely that I would not delve into for now.

Therefore, it is not a choice between Strong men and institutions, we cannot have one without the other because part of what strong institutions should do is build up Strong men who are Strong leaders who will continue to Strengthen their institutions to deliver on their mandate.

Thus, as we go into election season, it is important for the electorate to realise that we are looking for Strong men and women who are Strong Leaders and will take the pains of building Strong Institutions that will continue to deliver beyond their tenures within them because consistency is key and in a constitutional democracy, all the institutions of government are the pivotal.

Saved by Christ Alone

Oftentimes I have been faced with a conundrum of good people who will go to hell because they refused to accept Christ. People from other religions, including atheist come with the question saying I’m a good person, how will you say I will go to hell despite my “goodness”.

I have often struggled to answer this question. It’s a one of those questions you have an answer to but can’t explain. The answer is a deep one and a mystery.

The truth is that it needs to be said from the onset that “good” people will go to hell. A paradox that’s hard to accept because we think that the point of life to be a good person? I’ll take you through the scriptures to know the truth.

We are saved by grace alone. We are saved by Christ alone. And it has nothing to do with religion.

Jesus said while He was here on earth. I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man cometh to the Father but by me. (Ponder that for a while).

Then in another place He says Not everyone who says unto me Lord, Lord shall enter the Kingdom of God for many will say unto me, we did many great things in your name, in your name we cast out devils, we prophesied in your names and He will say to them I never knew you, you that work iniquity.

In another place He says, except a man be born-again (born of water and the spirit), born of God, He cannot see the kingdom of God.

Salvation is a gift. God’s gift to man. In fact, after all the back and forth, Paul concluded “By grace are ye saved through faith and not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, lest any man should boast”

Let’s go back to men and women who lived before Christ. Are they all condemned? The Bible calls Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, Melchisedec, Abel, Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, David, Zachariah and a whole lot of other men righteous even before the blood of Jesus was shed. But all these men looked forward to a time when they can be part of the kingdom of God because they knew there was something missing, that missing link is Christ.

From all of these it is obvious. That Salvation is not created by man, we don’t buy it nor earn it and the salvation of every man is tied to the grace of God alone. Hence, He alone knows those who will be saved, on the other hand remember that He is a just God who will reward the wicked and righteous.

Paul says in another place whom he did foreknow, He predestined to be like His Son and called them, justified them and glorified.

Hence, it can be said

Some “Christians” will go to hell

Some Muslims will go to hell

Some Buddhist will go to hell

Men of many Religion will go to hell including atheist, and it will be because they failed to accept Christ’s Salvation. He is the only way into God’s Kingdom because of who He is.

But the Summary of the whole matter is that:

Many will inherit salvation (Christians, muslims, budhist, hindus, atheists) but only through Christ alone. They will inherit Salvation through the grace of Christ.

Because we must realise that labels are for men, but when God looks at man, He does not look on man with such labels, He looks at the heart of man and His decision to save a man is guided by who He is and the heart of the man. A man is saved by the Love of God.

Hence, we persuade all men to turn to God through Christ, Because the call is not to be Christians, but the call is to be like His Son, Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour of the World, Born of God and inherit Eternal Life and if that makes you a Christian, all well and good but if you become a Christian and do not become like His Son. Judgement awaits.

Because in Christ are all things, all things are made by him and for Him.

THE BURDEN OF NIGERIA

Nigeria has forgotten His Maker; it has forgotten His Creator, the One who set it by the Atlantic and gave it plenty like a land flowing with Milk and Honey.

Its people have walked in their own laws and have forgotten the Law of God. They have made for themselves, gods, they have chosen kings according to their own heart and rulers and princes. Its Judges have made a bed with corruption and taken a bribe and Who shall hear it?

Its princes walk the streets while Its servants ride on horses and inhabit the palaces and Who can tell it for the labour of the fool tendeth to penury. The rulers have plundered the Land and sold their commonwealth unto Foreign Lands, even the best of its people have they sold for nought and have been silenced.

They have made their oppressors princes, the dishonest men as their rulers, they have forgotten the poor and the needy, the oppressed, they have sown corruption and continue to reap thorns and thistles. The people have lost their sight, they do not know right from left, wrong from right, truth from deception, their folly hath blinded their eyes and poverty and mediocrity sleep in their chambers.

Awake from your Slumber, Awake Out of Your Sleep. Is not the Judge of All the Earth watching? Let Judgement run down as the waters and Righteousness as a mighty stream.

Let its people remember the Laws of God, the sayings of their Heroes Past, their Fathers, their Mothers and Ancestors hidden its folklore spoken like myths and legends.

Let everyman remember his neighbour, Let the proud and arrogant princes be brought down, Let the oppressor remember the oppressed, Let Righteousness, Peace and Justice Rule its Land. Let corruption receive Judgement, Let its Leaders and Its people see their folly. Let them repeal their laws and Enact the Laws of God. Let the cry of the poor and needy be heard in the Throne Room.

Let its Princes rise to the Throne and its servants serve with Fear and Trembling.

Who hath fooled you O Nigeria

Shall not the Judge of All the Earth do Right?

Righteousness Exalts a Nation and Sin is Continually a Reproach to any Nation.

It is Time. Let us go from hence.

ABOUT TITHING

Mal 3:7-12

⁷ Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

⁸ Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

⁹ Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

¹⁰ Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

¹¹ And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

¹² And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.

There’s been a lot of “Hullabaloo” about tithing in today’s Church. I’ve tried as much as possible to stay out of it until now, I’ll share with you what the Holy Spirit shared with me.

Some say, it’s not necessary, some say it’s of the law and not of grace, some say it’s a necessity. I say none but I’ll tell you what the scripture says and hope that the Holy Spirit convinces you in the right direction.

I’ll start with Malachi. The book of Malachi was written to the Jews, mainly to the tribe of Levi but when you read through it was by extension to the all Jews. The Tribe of Levi was Special because they were the family of Priests and took care of the Temple of God and that was their only Portion in Israel. When Malachi was writing, God was sorely displeased with the Priests, The Levites and Jews as a whole (including Israel and Judah). Hence, He put to them questions, questions they answered with questions but in His mercy He answers them back with explanations not the way our African parents will answer a child that tries such nonsense.

Israel were in a covenant with God and a Covenant is two ways, it’s a contract that says if you do this I’ll do this. But Israel had totally forgotten their own part of the bargain, so did the Levites and the Priests but they expected God to keep his part of the bargain. But God was about to burst their bubble.

God made it clear to The Priests (the Levites) first that they had robbed Him, then said, Even this whole nation. So the priests were not the only guilty party but the whole nation of Israel as well.

So take this scripture and apply it to today’s church. You will see that God is talking to both Pastors and the entire church of God as well. He is saying we have robbed Him. The church has robbed Him by failing to pay tithes and offering, the pastors have also robbed Him by using the tithes and offering for purposes they were not supposed to and in many other ways i can't write here.

And from above it is obvious there is a blessing attached to tithing and a curse attached to robbing God.

Just to add a little more Flesh to what I have said.

We Christians are in a Covenant Relationship with God, but our covenant is a much more perfect covenant than Israel had. Now, If Israel which had an Old covenant which was a foreshadow of ours gave tithes and offering How much more our Covenant.

Paul sums it up, the best way possible, He says “Let everyone of you lay by Him in store as God hath Prospered Him” and in another place “Everyman according as He purposeth in His heart so let Him give, not grudgingly or of necessity; For God loveth a cheerful giver”.

So You see that if as a Christian you haven’t gotten to the point where your tithe and offering is not up for debate, then you still have some growing to do (we all have some grwing to do anyway), because you are to give not of necessity but cheerfully. 

I’ll use the analogy of a man who is in love, the woman does not ask for a gift but the man still wants to give, that’s what our tithe and offering ought to be. I’ll add this again, when Jesus was asked whether the Jews should pay tribute to Caeser, He said "Give to Caeser what is Caeser’s" (note that the same tribute Isreal paid to Rome was used to oppress the Jews) the same applies to tithing and offering. Give to the Church what is the Church’s and leave the pastor of that church to answer to God on wheteher He has robbed God or not.

Finallly, Sometimes as Christains we often forget the nature of our Covenant, The New testament. Yes God chose us and has given us all things in Christ but the same God who chose Isreal said to them “Prove me now”. We often forget that we have a part to play in this covenant and conditions we need to fulfil.

God wants us to Prove Him, He does not deal with us according to "quel sera sera", rather He takes our actions into account when we walk with Him. Yes our Salvation and justification does not take into account our actions because "while we were yet sinners Christ died for us" but there are riches and inheritance in Christ that depend on our actions, our dedication, our commitment, our service and sacrifice.

He is impresed when of our own freewill we take what He has given us and give it back to Him, He inhabits our praises, He is pleased when our attitude to Him always is What shall I render to thee oh Lord for your Love and for your wondrous works.

God Bless You.