THE CHILDREN'S BREAD: OUR DAILY BREAD.

I was listening to Pastor TD Jakes message on Faith crossing the line.

And He spoke about the faith of the Woman from Tyre and Sidon. So great a faith that it crossed the line of covenant and claimed what belonged to God's Children.

My Focus Here is not on Faith but on THE CHILDREN'S BREAD that Jesus spoke about.

As I listened to the message. It dawned on me that there is bread that God has reserved for His Children. And even more, the bread is reserved for them to receive every day.

Every day in the wilderness, God fed Isreal with Manna from heaven and they did eat it everyday untill they reached the promise land.

More amazing about this bread was the fact that they had to pick it everyday, if they picked more than is needed for the day by the next day it was sour except on the day before Sabbath (Friday).

Jesus said that when we pray, we ought to ask God for our daily bread. God has bread on display everyday for His Children and He asks us to come and pick just enough for the day.

As I thought about this, my spirit-man broke out in praise/gratitude to God for the Bread that I had enjoyed from my Father's throne everyday since I became his Child.

THE CHILDREN'S BREAD.

So what exactly is our daily bread. Often times when we pray the Lord's prayer, we say 'Give us this day our daily bread' in reference to the physical food.

But Our Daily Bread is the bread that the Father has poured out for us. The Bread we must eat from, the Bread of life.

The Bread of life is also God's Word Spoken to us. The Word that comes to us through the Bible, through His Servants, Through His Holy Spirit.

In Our Daily Bread, the Children's bread, there is all the nutrition that we need to inherit the promise and go through everyday, in the bread we find healing, deliverance, breakthroughs, provision, health, peace, joy, rest and so much more than we can see or ever know.

Let us go further. When Jesus broke bread at the last supper, He said, the bread is His body broken for us and said as often as we eat this bread and drink the cup, we show his death till He comes. In the Bread of life, we find all that we need not once in a while but everyday. It is a daily bread.

Finally, Paul says that there were those who were sick because they ate at the communion table unworthily. Their sickness was because they did not eat bread they ought to everyday. In their foolishness, they thought, I would eat of the communion and be well, they did not realise that there was a eating of the bread everyday that preceeded the eating at the communion table.

In Conclusion, God prepares a table of Children's Bread that He wants us to feed from everyday, He wants us to come everyday and ask for that bread everyday like kids asking for their breakfast, in the Bread that He gives us, we will find everything that we need to inherit all things He has for us.

Oh, What manner of Love the Father has for us.

Oh His Goodness

Oh His faithfulness

Oh His Bountifulness

That we should eat at His table everyday.

So let us come daily to eat the bread prepared daily for us.

THE CHILDREN'S BREAD. OUR DAILY BREAD.

Testifying of Him

John 5:39 KJV

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

John 15:26 KJV

But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Acts 10:42 KJV

And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.

Acts 20:21 KJV

Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 20:24 KJV

But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

Testifying of Him. That is our mission statement.

We live in a world where God's name is increasingly unheard of in secular spaces. 

The ancient world knew there was a God but did not know Him or how to find Him.

The context in our generation is different, many do not even know there is God, the presence of God all around us has been drowned out by science (evolution, archaeology, climate change etc.) and secularism such that man has become tone deaf to the fact that He is all around us and all we need to do is seek Him and listen.

The media including social media speak of man and his existence in the universe as if there is no creator and we are to do to the universe whatever we want. They are right that the earth is ours because The One who created it gave it to us and said to us 

"Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth".

But to do whatever we want was not the intention of the Creator, We are stewards of His creation and being created ourselves we were made for His pleasure.

So then, what must we do. 

Now more than ever, We must be those who continue to testify of Him. We must shout it out for all to hear that we have a Creator and we are His masterpiece and He loves us so much.

In John 5:39, Jesus chastised the Pharisees for searching the scriptures and thinking that was were they would find eternal life, the Pharisees were wrong because eternal life was in Him and unfortunately they did not know that eternal life was in front of them even though the scriptures did point them to Him.

It's sort of a parallel for our world, God has created all that is in the world to testify of Him but Man has made him secondary to His creation, a misplaced emphasis.

In John 15:26, Jesus talks about how the Holy Spirit is given to His disciples to testify of Him. The Holy Spirit's work is to prevent us from having a misplaced emphasis. He reminds us that in the midst of science, secularism, climate issues, church, religion, work and all good things that there is only one important thing. Jesus Christ.

Why?

Because He is The One who holds all things together, without Him, All of creation is headed in one direction to destruction. But in Him, there is Everlasting life and a Sustaining of All things.

We, His people must rise above the noise of COVID, governments, sports, music, climate change, wars, poverty etc that seek to drown out the singular thing that solves every problem and let the world know that Jesus is the Cure for everything that ails this world of ours and an answer to every personal problems we have.

While the Holy Spirit testifies of Christ to the Church our work is to testify of Christ to the world. The world cannot receive the Holy Spirit because He is Holy but they can receive the testimony given to us by the Holy Spirit to them. When we testify, He will do the work of convicting people of sin, righteousness and judgement. Reconciling men to God though is our work, we are priests of the Great High Priest.

We must continue to let the world know about God and His love for us and the great plans He has for all those that love Him and His Creation.

We must shout His Praise and make His name Glorious.

We must tell them of Amazing Grace, of Salvation full and free

We must tell them of the Kingdom that cannot be shaken and has no End.

We must tell them that God is not dead and that He is alive and is working in the lives of all who call to Him Everyday.

We must shout it from the rooftop, put it on every media space (Facebook, Netflix, Installation, Twitter, TV etc), in our streets, in Antarctica, in our homes, in every place man can be found and let it ring through every age/generation till He sets up His reign of peace in all the world.

We must Testify of Him.

Lastly, in testifying lies our victory, we are more than conquerors when we testify.

Revelation 12:11 KJV

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Testify.

IN TIMES LIKE THIS

We live in peculiar times,

A one in 100 years disease currently ravages the world

The current state of affairs is dire and it leaves one wondering, when does it get better, is there an end to this, where is the light in the darkness, where is hope, where do I turn?

Hope and Light can be found in the One.

There is an old hymn that goes like this

In Times Like this

We need an Anchor

In Times Like this 

We need a Saviour

My Anchor holds and grips the solid rock.

This Rock is Jesus, Yes He's the One

This Rock is Jesus, The Only One

Be Very Sure, I'm Very Sure

My Anchor Holds and grips The Solid Rock.

God has shown time and again that He is the Anchor to hold onto at all times.

He continues to work even in the midst of a pandemic.

He carries every fear and burden for all those who will lay it down on Him.

He remembers His Promises even in the midst of a pandemic and fulfils them

Oh Come and taste of the Goodness of God.

There are heights of Joy that God has prepared for you even now, Yes You and Yes now.

You don't have to wait for it. Go to Him Now.

As the wars and battle rages, Be still and Know that He is God

He is the Anchor for all Ages, Keep your eyes on Him and watch Him steady your boat and cause you to soar above the Storm.

So I pray for you that being strengthened with all might by His Grace you will know the Joy that having the Anchor and an Hope brings. And that you will know Him as a Refuge and Fortress from everything life throws at you (even the pandemic).

THE MAKING OF ALL THINGS NEW

”…….Behold I make all things new……” Revelation 21:5

Those are the words of the creator of Heaven and Earth.

The turn of a new year is usually a time for us to take stock of our lives, examine ourselves, evaluate and think of the way we would live our lives. Though the day itself is not different from any other day of life, the wisdom of doing this is found in the words of the psalmist which says “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom”. Therefore, it is not only wise that we celebrate the turn of a new year, we also ought to count our days, years and time and think of how we can apply our hearts to wisdom.

What is applying your heart to wisdom? It is finding wisdom; the Psalmist is recommending here that one of the ways to find wisdom is to number your days the way God teaches us. God’s example to Israel is one of the ways we know how to number our days, their days where numbered to remember God always and all that He has done for them, while also looking forward to what is to come. One of the things we are guaranteed will happen in the future is the MAKING OF ALL THINGS NEW.

In our world today, it is very often the case that we look at all that is going on around us point a finger at God, judging Him, second guessing Him, critiquing Him and sometimes cursing Him. Another effect of looking at all that happens around us horizontally without an upward look is that oftentimes we are disillusioned. We do not see the world for what it truly is.

The world is growing old, the universe is getting old. Everyday, there is a pointer to this fact, the evil that pervades our society, climate change and many more all point to one thing. That our world as we know it has an ending. It cannot go on like this forever, the only way it continues like this is if our creator was wicked or we had no creator at all. Our Creator is good and probably the best of them (Psalm 106:1, 1 Chronicles 16:34).

As you read these words, I do hope that you find comfort in my following words and that hope breathe in you and makes you alive (I John 3:3). Also, I pray that you find hope in the one who can bring hope in the old because he makes the old new and makes us new while the old lasts.

The Bible says in Revelation 21:1-8.

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

² And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

³ And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

⁴ And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

⁵ And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

⁶ And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

⁷ He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

⁸ But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

It’s always been God’s purpose to dwell with His creation. The book of Genesis shows this (Genesis 3:8) and it is repeated here in verse 3. Verse 4 proclaims something that is impossible to the human mind but somehow, we all still long for or strive for despite the present state of affairs, a world with no pain, no tears, no sorrow and no death. This will be, because the Creator has promised it and He is not a man that He should lie. More so, He affirms this by saying it should be written down because those words are true and faithful.

A word that is both true and faithful is a sure word. It is not a bounced cheque. To analyse a bit, a man could be said to be a faithful liar, this means that you could rest on the fact that whatever he says will be a lie, on the other hand the words of a man could be said to be  true but not faithful; this is to say that though he speaks the truth he does not have the capacity to follow through with it. Therefore, a true and faithful word is one which cannot be faulted because the one who speaks them will surely follow through on every word that He speaks.

So be rest assured that you will live in a world without everything that makes this world terrible. Moreover, the promise to make all things new has started already. God has been making humans new creatures through Christ. In Christ every man or woman, boy or girl is made a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). So, the question to you is, have you been made new? Everything in the new Heaven and Earth must be new.

Furthermore, He goes on to state that there is a need to overcome, those who have been made new must overcome. What are we to overcome? the answers are found all through the Bible.

We must overcome:

•          The World
•          Evil with Good
•      The Wicked One

The Overcomer lives everyday knowing that this world is not his and does not fall in love with it, the overcomer knows evil is what makes this world what it is now and knows that he must not be a partaker of it if he must enjoy the world to come, the overcomer knows there is a wicked one and he/she must not be deceived by him but resist him at all cost, till His redeemer puts all things under his/her feet.

And the Bible gives us the tools with which we must overcome. An Armor that has lasted for closer than 2000 years (Ephesians 6:10-18).

So, as we step further into the new year, keep your eyes on the NEW. Don’t be carried away by this old world. Be all that you want to see in the NEW WORLD. Be fruitful, have dominion and let the One who makes all things new be with you every step of the way.

Happy New year.

For any questions please send a message to larryryan2k3@yahoo.co.uk or leave your comments on twitter or facebook @olanrewajuomoya.

WHO IS OUR GOD?

WHO IS OUR GOD?

The question before us today is one that we won’t be able to answer even if we had all the day to search. More daunting is the fact that even when we have found out something there is more to God than we could find out. The Bible says of Him:

OUR GOD: THE ENIGMA

Romans 11:33

O the depth of the riches of both the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out!

Even the psalmist repeats this

Psalm 145:3

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

Ecclesiates 8:17

Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea farther; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.

So if He is unsearchable, Is it pointless for us to ask this question? Is it pointless for us to search for God?

Our answer can be found in the scriptures:

Deuteronomy 4:29

But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

Proverbs 8:17

I love them that love me and those that seek me early shall find me.

Jeremiah 5:1

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

In another place, after man was created, we are told in Genesis that God will visit Adam and Eve in the cool of the day.

From all indications, we see a God who wants to be known to all men. if God wants to be known, how can we know Him who is unsearchable and past finding out? How can we know the one that cannot be completely known?

I Corinthians 2:9-11;

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor hear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. ¹⁰ But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God ¹¹ For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God.

John 4:24

God is a Spirit and they that worship Him (know Him) must worship Him (know Him) in Spirit and in Truth.

John 17:17

Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy Word is Truth.

Two ways. Through His word and Through His Spirit. You cannot have one without the other.

All Word and no Spirit we dry up, All Spirit and no Word we blow up. Word and Spirit,we grow up.

....Donald Gee.

I must state that God’s word is very important to knowing Him, no one can claim to Know God who is not a student of His Word, even moreso no one who is without the Spirit of God can claim to know Him.

God’s word is important because He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Because of this we can trust that the same God we see in the Bible is the same person now. Moreso, His Word is truth and to worship Him or Know Him we must know the Truth which is His Word.

However, just like someone who has read the autobiography of a person cannot claim to know that person, the same applies to every person who is a student of God’s word without the Spirit of God. To know a person is much more than just knowing things about that person. To know a person is to experience that person, not something you can find in a book. Therefore, to know God requires having the Spirit of God, Knowing the Spirit of God who Himself is God. The Spirit’s witness in our Spirit is to make us know and experience God.

Man is a Spirit; he has a soul and lives in a body. For us to experience (know) God, God connects to us through His Spirit. This is the Miracle of the new birth. In the new birth, out spirit that was dead is made alive through the work of Christ and we can experience (know) God like we never did before.

So I go back to my question at the beginning.

Who is our God?, Do you Know God?, Who is God to You?

I’ll go through what is revealed in the God’s word, but my Prayer is that the Holy Spirit will do His work of making you experience Him. Holy Spirit I ask that in the Truths about to be shared, people will see Our Father and Our God.

OUR GOD:THE EMINENCE

Genesis 1:1 – He is Creator of all things. He created everything you see today. Name it.

Exodus – He is a Deliverer of the Oppressed.

However, Lets turn aside to Exodus for a bit, In Exodus 3:14 God introduces himself as I AM.

He was saying to Moses I AM THAT I AM, you cannot box me in and declare that this is what I am. He was essentially declaring to Israel that He is who He is and who He is, is not something we can add to or take from. Who He is who He chooses to reveal at every point because we cannot with our minds know every aspect of Him. He is I AM THAT I AM.

Leviticus – He is a Holy God and there is no Evil in Him.

Numbers – God of numbers and seasons.

Deuteronomy – God of Order. The Law Giver.

Joshua – Our Possessor

Judges – The waiting Rescuer

Ruth – The Redeemer

Samuel – The Kingmaker

Kings – King of Kings

Chronicles – The Chronicler, The Record Keeper.

Ezra & Nehemiah – The Rebuilder of Walls for our safety

Esther – The Silent Worker

Job – The Restorer of All Things

Psalm – The refuge, The fortress, The Defence, The Shield, The Lord God

Proverbs – He is the Voice Wisdom in the Corner of the Street

Ecclesiastes – The Meaning of All things

SOS – The Bridegroom

Isaiah – The God of Reason

Jeremiah – The Pleading

Lamentations – The listener to our Cries

Ezekiel – The God of the New Covenant

Daniel – The Revealer of Secrets Past, Present and Future.

Hosea – The Faithful Husband of Prostitutes.

Joel – The Promise

Amos – The Voice and Defence of the Oppressed

Obadiah – The Enemy of our Enemies

Jonah – The Merciful One.

Micah – The Forgiving One

Nahum – The Judge of the Wicked

Habakkuk – Harbinger of Divine Justice

Zephaniah – The Restorer of Grace and Blessing

Haggai – The Waiting Bridegroom

Zechariah – The Rebuilder of Jerusalem

Malachi – The God that can be robbed my man

Let’s turn aside to Exodus again.

And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt you say unto the Children of Isreal, The Lord God of your Fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob hath sent me to you. This is my name and my memorial unto all generations.

Exodus 3:14,15;

This scripture points out an important truth. The truth is that God is more interested in being known as a God of People. He wants to be known to us, not as a mystery, but He wants us to experience who He is. Jesus revealed this truth when He walked on earth. When He would speak of God, He often Spoke of Him as Our Father.

We see this in the scriptures below:

” Our Father who art in Heaven Hallowed be thy name”

Mathew 6:9

“Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in Heaven is Perfect.”

Matthew 5:48

When Jesus was here on earth, He often referred to God as Father, saying in several places thy Father, Your Father, my Father. He repeated this so much for emphasis. He wanted us to learn that God was not just God but He was “Our Father”.

In Matthew, 42 times, 4 times in Mark, 22 times in Luke, 120 times in John.

What Kind of Father is our God.?

Is He the Father who is a terror to His Kids and abuses them?

Is He a Father who isn’t a terror but is absent in the lives of His Children?

Is He a Father who Loves, is present in their lives and takes care of them?

Is He the indulgent father, who says Yes to all His Children’s every whim?

What Kind of Father is God?

He is a Good Father. He is a Caring Father. He is a Powerful Father; He is a Great Father.

God is our Father and He calls himself our God and calls us Sons and Daughters.

John declared boldly saying “Behold what manner of Love the Father has given unto us that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1)

Paul Declares in Galatians 4:5 that we have received the adoption of sons.

Ephesians 1:5 says We have been predestined to be Children of God by Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of His Will to the praise and glory of his grace wherein we have been accepted in the beloved.

So, we can say that from the beginning God’s intention was to make us sons of God and just like God has dominion over the universe, God intended that we should have dominion over the earth we see this in Genesis 1:26.

Has the fall of man changed this intention of God? No.

The Bible declares that those who are sons of God will receive the inheritance of Sons still. I Peter 1: 3,4 says we have been begotten to an incorruptible inheritance.

So, if God is our Father what should we expect of Him?

I’ll make an analogy of a Son who thought His Father was poor, He did not realise that His father was not only King of the Kingdom but was also the owner and creator of the Kingdom. That son will often come to His father and will ask for a loaf of bread, He will ask for a cup of water. He did not realise that His Father would give Him the entire Kingdom if He asked for it. That is the case with a lot of us Christians.

Another analogy is of a son who knew the King but failed to see that the King was also His Father, He would go to the King’s palace and stay for some hours and leave, He did not realise that He could actually live in that palace if he wanted to. A lot of Christians are like him. We fail to Have a balanced view of who God is.

We must learn that Our Father is not earthly, we must also learn that Our Heavenly Father is also our Friend and Comforter.

Jesus reminds us of this when He said “Whatsoever you ask the Father in my name He will give it to you”

He also says “If you, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give good gifts to them that ask Him”

However, we must be reminded that Our Father is not an indulgent Father, He only gives to us what is good for us. If He withholds anything from us, it is because it is not good for us, if He gives us anything we have not asked for, it is because He knows our needs more than we do.

He is a Good, Good Father and He Loves us all so much. And I implore you to trust that goodness.

God is Powerful, He is Great, He is Unchangeable, He is Holy, He is Exalted, He is Sovereign, but He is even much more a Good Father.

I invite you to ask God to become your Father today. It will be the best decision you ever made.

Like a Good Father, He Protects

Like a Good Father, He Cares

Like a Good Father, He Listens,

Like a Good Father, He carries us

Like a Good Father, He Provides

Like a Good Father, He loves

Like a Good Father, He makes Sacrifices for us

Unlike Fathers, He is a Friend and Brother

He is Elshaddai. The Father you’ve never had.

Unlike a Good Father, He is a Good, Good Father.

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"