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It's the Yuletide again. The period of celebration of a pre-Christian festival associated with the (northern) winter solstice, later absorbed into the festival of Christmas. The whole world has alluded the festival to the commemoration of the birth of her saviour, Jesus Christ. As glamorous as the event always turn out to be yearly, it is also true that it is a season of deceit, chiefly from teachers to pupils. We all (in this part of the world) grew into the mentality of having Santa come from Rome to our various schools. The media says the same - even churches claim this to be so. I would never forget the day I realized that our long awaited Father Christmas from Rome was a form teacher in my school. I was indeed disappointed. It was more as if the whole world has lied to me. I hated being deceived. The scenario is still standing up till date. Kids are still made to believe that Santa comes from Rome with so many gifts and lots of fun. Although, sooner or later, they come to

The assertion 'I can't wait' is often heard from the lips of many. For instance, college graduates in Nigeria would say - 'I can't wait to go for National Youth Service - even right from while they write their final exams as undergraduates. Few months into the service year, they can't wait still to complete it and get a job, followed closely by marriage. This I noticed has been the trend - the default setting. Very few of us have chosen to defile this anyways. I like to propose my ideal pattern for living which is ENJOY EACH MOMENT TO THE FULL. One of life's greatest tragedies is to arrive at the end of your journey and realize you could have done more, loved more , laughed harder, played more intensely and lived more vivaciously - T.D Jakes KEYS TO LIVING MAXIMALLY 1. Minimize your load Travelling is a lot less stressful with reduced luggage. Most people live with malice, hatred, hurtful feelings and they expect to soar fast and high. I often like to p

Every product created and released into the market by a manufacturer has a purpose to fulfil. As a matter of fact, the purpose is first conceived before the product creation begins. Man is/was created by God for a sole purpose - which is to rule over the heaven and earth created for him. Hence, he is the crown of all creation. Having said the above, it is important for each individual to discover his/her place in the scope of fulfilling this great mandate. What on earth are you here for? Take time out to diligently follow through this six steps. It has worked for me - you won't be an exception. 1. Look Above You Man would not be far from insanity to believe that he is a mere product of chance. The consideration of your body systems and how they all work together for the sole purpose of your earthly existence is enough proof that there is a designer behind the design. When there are questions as regards a product in the market, who do we channel them to? The manufacturer of

Ephesians 6 :1 - 4 1 - recall wives submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. Apostle Paul knew that they were submitted to the Lord for Lordship require total submission. Hence, he admonishes the believing wife to submit to HER own husband in the same similitude. Here, children are admonished to obey their parents in the Lord. These guidelines are for the family *in the Lord* and are not necessarily expected to work outside the believing home. 2 & 3 - Parents deserve to be honoured for they occupy a ministerial as well as stewardship position in the lives of their children. Since they must give account, it is required of the children to honour them 4 - the Father likewise is laden primarily with the responsibility of bringing the children up in the way of the Lord. He prepares the path for the children to walk in.

Ephesians 5 : 22 - 33 22 - Women are never made second to men in general, but the wife is specifically called to accept her husband's leadership and not endeavor to dominate. The husband must lead with mutual respect. The wife leads through influence, the husband through position of authority. That balances the equation. The same way the saints pray and see things happen...we are the bride of Christ. 23 - The husband being head is a position of responsibility. He is responsible over the nurturing and feeding of his family...both spiritual and physical. 24 - To such a husband, the wife can willingly submit herself. For she knows he has her interest at heart. We are sure God cares about our welfare for he has said he will never leave us nor forsake us 25 - Absolute love from the husband and total submission from the wife is equal to a successful marriage relationship. 26 - without the submission of the church to Christ, there won't be the washing of water by the word 27 -

Ephesians 5 : 15 - 21 15 - circumspectly means to walk cautiously, sensitively, as a person would walk through thorny terrain. Walking as who we are - the wise. 16 - redeeming the time is capitalising on every appropriate opportunity. We give no chance to the devil to take advantage of us for we are not ignorant of his devices. He always wants to separate us from God's love and fellowship. It takes the wisdom of God to thrive in these evil days 17 - the will of God is in fulfilling God's purpose for your life. It is in making his light shine through you 18 - the being filled with the Spirit is here contrasted with being drunk with wine in excess. Wine mocks, the Spirit glorifies God and dignifies man 19 - notice where the melody stems from...the heart. Not just from the lips. True worship is not a good voice or pitch. It is that which comes from the heart to the Father. They that worship him must do so in Spirit and in truth. Spiritual songs are impromptu rhythmic lyrics g

Ephesians 5:8-14 8 - Apostle Paul was talking about two different dispensation and their realities. The old man is darkness, the new man is light...the default state of a new man is light, hence the walk as children of light 9 - the seed of God is sown in the new creation man at salvation. The fruit includes goodness, righteousness and truth 10 - the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in us makes us know what is acceptable of the Lord. This requires a daily communion. Just the same way you know what dad likes and dislikes through daily interactions with him 11 - I told you earlier that light exposes darkness. This scripture has confirmed that. Have no fellowship/communion with the unfruitful works of darkness rather fellowship with the fruitful works of light 12 & 13 - light does not fear being exposed, only darkness does. The only secret place we have is the place of prayer; and even this is open to fellowship with other saints. Notice that we are not to hate the Gentiles

Professor : You are a Christian, aren’t you, son ? Student : Yes, sir. Professor: So, you believe in GOD ? Student : Absolutely, sir. Professor : Is GOD good ? Student : Sure. Professor: Is GOD all powerful ? Student : Yes. Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then? Hmm? (Student was silent.) Professor: You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, young fella. Is GOD good? Student : Yes. Professor: Is satan good ? Student : No. Professor: Where does satan come from ? Student : From … GOD … Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world? Student : Yes. Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct? Student : Yes. Professor: So who created evil ? (Student did not answer.) Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world

See! All you have are those who fill the office of a prophet but lack the power thereof. See! All they know how to do is pray for things when there are counsels for this time to be delivered. See! They are soon going out of business because believers are coming into the understanding of their inheritance See! The people are crying out for genuine food, you are only presenting irrelevances See! The prophet is not really a happy man but he is joyous. See! The prophet declares only the oracles of God. See! The prophet is not a man of many words. See! The Lord uses the life of the prophet to set the stage....to set the template for others to follow See! Ezekiel was not a happy man. See him sleeping on the left side for 390 days for the sins of Israel and another 40 days for Judah. See him feeding on a ration of food and water as prescribed by the Lord. See! Jeremiah was a weeping prophet. See him standing on behalf of the people of God. Hear the word of the LORD come to him saying

Have you ever heard about how the devil formed a coup de tat against God while he was in heaven? Although this might not generally be a myth but the way the tale had been told has often make me wonder and thus create a desire in me to investigate. The popular belief was that Satan took one-third of God's angels in a quest to dethrone him. Even though their was a desire to be like God, I suppose taking one-third army to fight against God who doesn't only have two-thirds of the angels on standby but also the All powerful God would have ended in automatic defeat. The devil would have been wise enough to know the futility of this plan Luke  14:31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?   14:32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage , and desireth conditions of peace. Satan wouldn't have

“ ...I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy”. Revelation 19:10 More emphasis has been laid on prophecy, prophetic utterances and the prophet in recent times. In fact, the office of a prophet has so much been exalted that everyone desires to be addressed as a 21st century prophet. The scripture above clearly states that the testimony of Christ is the Spirit of prophecy. The honest inquirer would then ask, ‘What is the testimony of Christ?’ because in that answer lies the true meaning of prophecy. The New Testament mentions the gift of prophecy several times, especially in the writings of Apostle Paul, but we are not certain about what the prophet said except for the instance of Agabus as related in the twenty first chapter of the book of the Acts of the Apostles. He took the girdle of Paul and bound his own hands and feet and said, ‘thus saith the Holy Ghost, so shall the Jews

‘Behold, I am coming as a thief, blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments, lest he walks naked and they see his shame’. Revelation 16: 15 The honest inquirer wants to know what it really means to be constantly clothed – especially when the injunction is seen as coming directly from the Lord. Are we to fear this coming happening when we are in the bath? How might a follower of Christ be found naked? Does watching at all times mean staying awake? Does it mean that the blessed follower of Christ would not be asleep in bed when Christ returns? The context of the verse shows that the final wrath of the Lord had been revealed - the preceding verses clearly affirm that. A wider context presents the coming of Christ as that of a thief in the night. This image is presented by the Lord in the gospels as well and Apostles like Peter and Paul referred it to while admonishing the saints to stay constantly alert so as not to be caught unawares. Stealth and surprise are the chief weapons

“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the Dragon; and the Dragon and his angels fought,” Revelation 12:7 The question is often asked of the possibility of darkness in the presence of light. The reason for this question is not far-fetched. Whatever is good, pure, holy is attributed to God while evil, filthiness and unrighteousness belong to Satan. The tenth verse of that chapter buttresses the fact that the accuser accuses the brethren before God day and night (this can either be a physical appearance or his voice and we can conclude both to still achieve the same aim). A quick back flips to the book of Job further paints a clearer picture. ‘Now, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them’. This has been a debate for years. Some claim that it was prior to his fall – if that would hold true, then he should not be addressed as the accuser of the brethren. The two scriptural quotations clear

‘Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun...’ ‘And another sign appeared in heaven: behold a great, fiery red dragon...’ Revelation 12: 1, 3 Signs! Signs! Images! Images! I often like to bring people’s notice when discussing the revealed mysteries in this book thus truth – they were visions revealed to a man, so, he could only express whatever he sees with his knowledge of people, places, things, events. The questions now are: Who is this woman? What about the child, and the dragon? Let’s consider the text closely with some submissions from bible scholars. Sit back and relax! A quick contrast of this woman with the woman in the seventeenth chapter clearly points to us that she is saintly and the latter is filthy. She was clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars while the other woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup fu

“But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality”. Revelation 2:14 The greatest havoc that can be wrath against the Christian faith or the community of Christ is not the gates of hades (the power of death and its pangs which are forces of hell), for it will never prevail upon it, but by such men and women as Balaam. He taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel. The children of Israel moved and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho. Now Balak (the king of Moab) the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites and was exceedingly afraid. He sent messengers to Balaam to come at once to curse the people for Balaam enjoyed the delegated authority of God to bless and to curse exclusively - an exclusive privilege that was ackno

“Then the fifth angel sounded: and I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit” Revelation 9:1 The gospels record an account of Jesus expelling evil spirits (demons, unclean spirits) from a man and a conversation ensued. The demons practically begged (pleaded) him not to command them to go out into the abyss (paraphrase). Where is this dreaded place? Where is this location that even demons do not want to go? Is it the same place as the world of the dead (Sheol)? Do dead humans also share this realm with demons? A fallen star from heaven refers to an unidentified being, possibly a demonic being, a fallen angel, specifically sent for this assignment. It is important to note that all angels are messengers. All can be used by God to achieve his purpose. So we need not debate on the character of this particular one. He was given the key to the bottomless pit, literally, ‘the shaft of the abyss’ - a location which serves as a reservoir o

“And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed” Rev. 7:4 The major advocates of this special symbolic selection of individuals are known by everyone of us. Don’t we? If you are on the contrary, they are right there in your neighbourhood. They come in pairs asking questions such as: Is there really a place called hell? Who are the 144,000? Is there life after death? Where is paradise? Does the dead have hope? They may be seen as zealous but the core of their message is selfish and baseless in its entirety. They want to try if per chance they could work their way into the number or paradise. I was once questioned by them if I could sing the song and have the seal on my forehead as that would be part of the criteria. Some views on the text include: # The number is exclusively a selection from the natural Jews. If this would hold true, as it possibly might due to God’s special affection towa

“Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans” Rev. 2:15 “the deeds of the Nicolaitans” Rev. 2:6 The Book of Revelation is filled with symbols and symbolic representations of persons, events, places and acts. We would cause more misunderstandings if we translate some of these symbols literally. The Nicolaitans won’t be an exception. Who are they? Were they literally part of the early church? How do we identify them? What do they do? These are questions begging for answers. The name ‘Nicolaitans’ is symbolic, meaning ‘Conquering the laity’. Apparently, this group – as the name suggests, claimed some kind of superior status that permitted false teachings which might include idolatry and immorality. Do we still have similar groups among us today? I think we do. How often we see men and women positioned as God and unreservedly revered and worshipped. We do not so learn of Christ. The path of the sons is humility! It can be suggested that the writer assumes the r

“I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is” Revelation 2:13 Could this be an end to the long search of where man’s greatest enemy dwells? We all grew into the knowledge of attaching everything called evil to Satan. It is an ideology not limited to a singular religious worldview just as we hear ‘God’ on the lips of every man – either believing or unbelieving. In fact, most times I feel atheists use the word ‘God’ more often than the believers. Probably the entire human race would make their way to Asia and spot out Pergamum so we can put our greatest enemy to death once and for all...#just_thinking We could probably consider some of his attributes for a well structured strategy on our quest for his capture. # He is free ranged – running to and fro the earth like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. A close watch could be embarked upon as we move along the streets and an alarm could be raised whenever he is spotted by anyone # He is finite – having a tim

'who also made us sufficient as Ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life' Oftentimes , I make this declaration, 'I am a minister in the kingdom of God' - but I do feel most listeners do not as yet neither perceive nor grasp the depths of this declaration. So, I decided to shed more light on it in this piece. It is good indeed for a man to understand his assignment while he is yet young. Speaking with a brother last night about life and existence, I sat aghast hearing him utter these words, 'I don't know why I am here'. Of course, this was not uttered almost immediately. Just as I was used to saying some years back too - I am here to glorify God. I immediately put it to him that we all in the kingdom live for that purpose - but we have specific assignments to fulfil as we gravitate towards the general/ultimate. The good news is, he knows that he does not know. Are you living or merel

'Everyone is first human - religion came to separate us' - Segun M. Alonge Jr In speaking about religion and religious worldviews, I do not intend to exalt one at the expense of the other. I strongly believe that religion is man's orchestrated most potent means of satisfying his heart search for a creator - with the intention of finding meaning to his existence. Going back in time, history portrays one of man's greatest edifice - The tower of Babel (1). The whole earth had one language and one speech. There was unity in focus and they decided to erect a monument to maintain this oneness eternally - Man was then in a fallen state! Come, let us(unity in trinity) go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech (2). Elohim stepped into the scene and confused the language of all the earth. Prior to this time, man had began to call on the name of the Lord (3) as an act of worshipping the now invisible creator and to create

i waited all day for the reply of my text yet still sending and having no rest just the thoughts about how the day might have worn you and I out and just how i can blow of the tire, i don't know how tossing back and forth on my bed as memoirs of us flow to my head; i remembered the times we fought so hard and times we laughed so hard those days we stood in the gap for ourselves and days we wished we had the world to ourselves time might have taken its toll and distance played its role doesn't make my heart stop its glow and its beat follow the flow and yes again, its another day i'm writing till that day when life will blow you back my way and then my hips i'd sway Because of the joy it'd brought to-day.

“My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon must have a thousand and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred” SOS 8:12 The book of Genesis chapter seventeen verse one reads: 'And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me and be thou perfect'. Beloved, does not your heart warm with Christ’s love shed abroad in it, with the assurance that you are always before Him – just as Abram was before the Lord? The church is before Christ in the sense that He so loves her that he never has her out of his presence. The vineyard is so dear to the husband man that he never leaves it. He may sometimes hide himself among the vines but he is always close at hand, watching how they progress and delighting in their fruitfulness. Christ would not be happy unless he had you constantly before Him. My vineyard, which is mine, is before me may also mean that Jesus is always caring for it as wel

“My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon must have a thousand and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred” SOS 8:12 I, with the company of so great a number of God’s beloved, believe that in this song of songs, which is Solomon’s, also hear Christ speaking to His church – his bride and the church in a like manner, responding to His words of love in tones which His love has suggested to her. This quickly points my attention to what prayer really is. It is a communion, a conversation between two entities eternally joined in love unfeigned. You should never for a second forget that it is always a “I – You” relationship. The very knowledge of the concept of love, points to us a relationship. If God loves and He is love, there must be an object or receptor of such attribute. My vineyard (Church) which is mine (personal in nature) is before me (Christ). So, I have no difficulty in understanding that the vineyard mentioned in the text is Christ’s church because it

“Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hand”.  Isa 49:16 Upon the consideration of our text, you would probably notice a sharp call to behold! Another translation portrays it as 'see'. There would not be a need to look into or behold if there is no object in the picture. Our assurance of salvation and life eternal rests absolutely in the finished work of Christ. As long as we keep a steadfast look on him, we would be changed from glory to glory. Sometimes, we get into the same sad condition that Zion was then in, and we fancy that God has forgotten us. I want to show you that if you are a believer in the Lord, Jesus Christ, he gives to you an answer similar to that which he gave to sorrowful Zion. I have graven thee upon the palms of my hand.  On this short sentence, i seek to encourage you. THE FEAR EXPRESSED: Fear is a contagious and infectious thing (Isa 49:14). When it has taken hold on one person, it has been often known to spread to many others till a terri