Quick Thoughts on God, Us, Church, Prayer and Tithes!

 God: Only a fool says there’s no God, His Sovereignty can’t be contested!  For everything comes from God alone, everything lives by his power and everything is for his glory (Romans 11:36). In His Sovereignty HE says, I’ll have mercy on whom I’ll have mercy on….(Romans 9:15) who can question Him? Believe it or not, He exists, He is God and He is Sovereign! Full stop!

Us: I ask myself? If God is just sovereign and can do as He pleases, why can’t we do as we please too? After all, he would have mercy on who he chooses not necessarily the most righteous… What does God then expect from us? ATTITUDE! A right attitude! One driven by: Reverence for his sovereignty, Love for Him and mankind and Faith in Him. For without faith it is impossible to please Him!

Prayer:  God loves the attitude of prayer! It’s not so much about the content but about the attitude….one that shows u reverence God and that You believe in Him ….for His word says: While we are yet speaking He has heard us  (Isaiah 65:24)i.e. before you start to pray He has heard already yet He wants you to Pray! Why? The Attitude of prayer…!

Church:  We mustn’t forsake the gathering of believers as some do…. (Hebrews10:25) The truth is Church gatherings help us to grow and so we all need it. Which Church should we go? Catholic, Protestant, Adventist, Pentecostal or what? See what Jesus said in John 4: 21-24. “ The time is coming, when we’ll no longer be concerned about whether we worship here or in Jerusalem for it is not where we worship that counts but how we worship…’” Come on!  Quit complaining! Just find a Church and worship God truly!

Tithe:  The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives_ Deut 14: 23b. Tithing should bring Joy and happiness to us, we must be happy to tithe. It’s for our own good in fact the people in the days of old ate their tithes… (Deut 14:23) in reverence. ..All God wants is  for us to acknowledge Him as the giver. And it’s awesome that He blesses us all the more for tithing.

                        Selah!

Big Brother Nigeria!

I read the most absurd headline of the year with awe and anger: “FG to send Soldiers to fight Islamists in Mali” I still tried to console myself by complaining about journalist and the way they couch headlines. But alas, this wasn’t about a journalist trying to couch a catchy headline. This was a fact! I held The Punch Newspaper of July 30 20012 very firmly not sure whether I was going to tear it or just toss out of the window. In vexatious curiosity however, I read on….

“Nigeria is committed to resolving the crisis in Mali especially as President Jonathan is a co-mediator in the crisis…” per Reuben Abati (Spokesperson to the President) Chai! Chineke! Kai! Egbami! I suddenly became multilingual. Mr. Abati’s explanation agitated me all the more! Goodness me! Isn’t it only a confused man that would leave his burning house to put out the fire in his neighbor’s! Or was I the confused one. Perhaps I do not have sufficient understanding of the workings of the international community. After all, I merely have just a diploma in International Affairs….so I’m perhaps just ignorant!

The Picture of my lecturer in the year 2003 struggling to convince us that Nigeria remained the Big Brother of Africa flashed through my mind. I remember us (my classmates) questioning the ‘Bigbrotherness’ of Nigeria and comparing Nigeria with countries like Ghana and SouthArica. This is 2012 and even the blind can see that these nations have fared better than Nigeria in every way!

In trying to rid myself of  ignorance, I embarked on a research on Nigeria’s foreign policy and  behold, I found that Africa  is not the center point of Nigeria’s foreign policy(a moot point though) What then is the most reasonable basis for our President’s brotherly intervention?  Can someone please tell me I’m ignorant and I just don’t understand? Can someone please make me understand!!!! Isn’t this a clear case of misplaced priority? Isn’t it all the more apparent that our President/ government is confused?

For goodness sake attacks by the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, intensifies by the day and yet!!!!! How on earth can we have a pending security issue which our troops have not been able to curtail and the government still seeks to send troops to another country to quell a similar insurgence!   

Whew! Can this government vex me more than this! I’m yet to get over the way and manner they purported to change the name of my Alma Mata (The great University of Lagos), the Oteh imbroglio and even the entire oil subsidy brouhaha and now this!!!!!!

I can only wish that like Moses was shunned in the bible when he attempted to settle a rift between two Israelites, Mali would also tell Nigeria to mind her business!!!! And Yes! I’m Christian and I should only pray and not curse my country or the government because ‘every government is ordained by God’ says the Holy book… Elmmm! True! Lord, I’m sorry … but please intervene quickly before the president vexes me again…quickly Lord please…

Meanwhile, on a lighter note, though I never watched the Big Brother Africa game show (I think it’s crap), It’s the news that South Afrrica’s representative won! Now tell me; who is the Big Brother still? Smile* I join the world to say Congrats Keagan! Three Hundred Thousand US Dollars no be small thing! Chuckle*

Omoaderoba.

The Truth at Thirty

“The truth is, it doesn’t feel the same anymore.” The words hit me like a time bomb on a bright Tuesday morning! I was helpless, lost, puzzled, awed, dumbfounded, perplexed, name it…The grip to my phone tightened; I pressed my butt firmly to my seat and sat straightened as if to prevent fainting. Warm tears trickled out of my bulging eyes and fell to my skirt and I just couldn’t stop the flow…
I could hear other lawyers stroll into the courtroom and I could see them all clad in black suits and scrambling for the cause-list to fill in their names. I knew I was in the court room but I was no longer sure of the reason I was there. The footsteps became quicker and lawyers hurriedly robed and settled into their seats. It was 9am and the judges would be in in a few minutes. Yet there I was motionless, not oblivious but helpless, just helpless… The tears dried up on my lightly made up face…He was the reason for the makeup, I expected to see him in court…Suddenly, I got up like a robot and went behind the Courtroom to sit with non-lawyers. I certainly was not going to enter appearance. The court room was filled to the brim and there were no other seats so I stood and stared into the air until I heard my name. A learned friend had been calling my name repeatedly across the court room! He walked towards me, elegantly robed and said: ‘Wunmi, ki lo se e’*, the tears erupted and I hugged him to cry all the more…wetting his gown…
We were going to get married, we just got an apartment and we were almost done furnishing. Like most couples at this stage, we disagreed more albeit to agree again. I had seen him on Sunday in ‘our’ apartment. We had parted on a good note, he dropped me off and we were both happy or so I thought …
On Monday, no calls from him, neither did he pick my repeated calls. I continued to call him on Tuesday morning and alas! He sent me an SMS… to say the truth!!! ‘So what’s the way forward hon?’ I asked in a note I dropped by his side mirror when I saw his car in the court premises that same Tuesday. Of course, I had tried to call him but he didn’t pick up. I sent him a mail asking the same question and behold! He replied: ‘Ayaam still in the attitude of prayer’. I was tad relieved! Yes! Relieved! Because I was sure that if it was about prayer, God would confirm what we had heard all the while.
Hadn’t God given me a word or even words? Didn’t his pastor confirm us as good for each other? Didn’t my mom’s pastor also do same? Didn’t our parents approve of us? Of Course! The Spiritual aspect was to my mind, more than settled so I was sure He would only get a confirmation. I would wait until his prayer session ended…it was a long wait, he refused to communicate during this period as he neither called nor picked my calls… minutes turned to hours, hours to days, days to weeks and then a month. My Handsome Christian Brother was still praying!
One Saturday evening, he picked up the phone when I called and I said to him: ‘Honey, How far with your prayers?’ and in a most hostile tone he said: ‘I said I would get back to you when I’m done praying’ Tears ticked down my eyes like a partially closed tap and the line cut…
Minutes later, I braced up and called him back, I told him I was on my way to his house that night and that I was going to move in with him until God answered his prayers and we agreed on the way forward. Though he claimed he was not home, I assured him I would wait at his gate till he arrived (was only threatening*smile*)
In another few minutes, I got an email from him and in it were these words:  ‘… I do not desire you as much…there’s no more time to experiment…’ And though I knew this was coming, I cringed in pain as I read the words. The End had come and painfully so…
The truth of the matter was that I knew! I always had the gut feeling… I knew…. I knew he didn’t desire me as much, I knew he didn’t love me as much I knew  this was coming…Yet still, his truth pierced me like a dagger to my soul, wounding my body and causing me to spend nights in the hospital. But yea though I ride through deep waters, I will not drown for the Lord would be with me (Isaiah 43:2) and truly He was.
Ade neither called nor come to see me in the hospital but God didn’t leave me, instead, He told me the greater truth: I am the Lord your redeemer, who punishes you for your own good and leads you along the path that you should follow… Weeping may last all night but joy comes in the morning (Isaiah 48:17, Psalm 30:5 LB).

I’m thirty and the clock is ticking. Ade’s truth hurts but the greater truth of God’s word heals. Joy cometh and of this I’m sure.
Let all the thirty plus single ladies shout the truth out loud with me in faith: ‘My Joy cometh!’
So shall it be! AMEN!
*meaning What's wrong with you?(Yoruba language)