Faith Without Works is Dead.

The sermon for today is simple: There is a time for prayer and there is a time for work. Even the Holy Bible says, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26). Faith without works is a dead faith because the lack of works reveals an unchanged life or a spiritually dead heart. Faith can only be demonstrated in a transformed life.

The most Important Lesson about Human Nature.

In 1989, I learned from my dog, one of the most important lessons about the human nature. From Lucky, my German Shepherd, I learned that when faced with life's travails, there is a huge difference between the words of a fellow human and that of a dog. When both say, "Hey, I've got your back", beware; because while the dog remains constantly behind you, keeping faith, you'll never know when the human disappears into thin air.

Church Opens Doors to Muslim Worshippers so they can have a Place to Pray.

A Berlin church is hosting Muslims who are unable to fit into their mosque for Friday prayers because of social distancing guidelines. The Dar Assalam mosque in the Neukölln district normally welcomes hundreds of Muslims to its Friday services. But it can currently only accommodate 50 people at a time under Germany's coronavirus restrictions. 

During the holy fasting month of Ramadan, the nearby Martha Lutheran church stepped in to help, hosting Muslim prayers in Arabic and German.

"It is a great sign and it brings joy in Ramadan and joy amid this crisis," said Mohamed Taha Sabry, the mosque's imam, who led his congregation in prayer watched over by a stained-glass window depicting the Virgin Mary.

"This pandemic has made us a community. Crises bring people together."
Places of worship reopened in Germany on May 4 after being shut for weeks under a coronavirus lockdown, but worshippers must maintain a minimum distance from one another of 1.5 meters.
The church, a red-brick neo-renaissance building in Berlin's Kreuzberg district could hardly offer a sharper contrast to the cultural center in Neukoelln where the Muslim congregation is accustomed to gathering.
"It was a strange feeling because of the musical instruments, the pictures," said worshipper Samer Hamdoun. "But when you look, when you forget the small details, this is the House of God in the end..."

The Islamic Council, an umbrella group of 400 mosques, said in April that many face bankruptcy because the closures stretched into the holy fasting month of Ramadan, usually a vital period for donations.
The church's pastor, Monika Matthias, said she had felt moved by the Muslim call to prayer.
"I took part in the prayer," she said. "I gave a speech in German. And during prayer, I could only say yes, yes, yes, because we have the same concerns and we want to learn from you. And it is beautiful to feel that way about each other."
(Reporting by Reuters TV, writing by Katie Stephens and Thomas Escrit; Editing by Gareth Jones).

Enjoy your COVID-19 Lockdown by Adeyemi Adefulu, MFR.

So many people who have called me are busy worrying over this stay at home period and getting stressed up. I guess some are,effortlessly, developing hypertension. This is I dare say is very sad.

Have you heard the biblical directives-“In every situation, give thanks” and “rest still and know that I am the Lord”?

If you have and you are still worrying it means you have not internalised the eternal message therein. Let me assure you that in the end everything passes away. Even COVIC-19 will pass away. For those who worry, this may be the beginning of their passage. But, my dear friend, you must make sure you don’t pass away.

The first thing to do is to stop agonizing over this period. Let me share my little experience with you.

I was 37 when the military struck in 1983. I had been in government for 4 years and 3 months. To this day, I am grateful to God for the opportunity to have served and wish I had done more. I gave the very best of my life in service. It was always what I wanted to do.

But I received an unjust, crude and inhuman recompense from the military government. Col. Oladipo Diya who was Military Governor in Ogun State thought I was so close to Onabanjo that there was no getting Onabanjo without getting Adefulu his political son. The whole purpose of his governance was bile. No wonder he is no more than a footnote of history.

I was subjected to the most scurrilous of interrogations and mental and physical torture. But they soon learnt that it was a waste of time. They had a wrong candidate. Onabanjo has run the most accountable of administrations which to this day remains a reference point. I had been prudent in my affairs before and during government. My affairs were so scrupulously document that I dazed their several panels with documents and accountability.

At a stage a Col Adeleke (I think that’s his name from Ondo town) after the final interrogation of the SIP- State Investigation Panel said to everyone, “now this is off the record- I want to learn from this young man. How were you able to keep records like this? If anyone asked me to account for how I spent my salary over the past 6 months, I can’t do it. Yet you have given us compelling records several years old which preceded this job. Did you expect that this day will come? You were obviously doing well in your profession, why did you accept a job like this?”

I will not go into my answer to the panel in this short discourse. Suffice it to say that I was in detention for 18 mths with no offense and no charges- not one accusation. I woke up from day to day with no idea of when my nightmare will end. I just stared at the outside from the distance daily and life went on without me. If I had died nothing would have stopped.

From across the road i looked at the gate of the Governors Lodge which swung open any time I was spotted in my hey days, from across the road every day for 16 months. I no longer mattered. The truth of life is that no man really matters. With or without you, life goes on.

Now back to my story, how about that? As I said, I was well under 40 with a young family. Getting heart attack from my experience or ending in Aro Psychiatric Hospital would have been very easy to accomplish.

But I learnt from very early in life that the challenge to a good life is to always look at the good or positive side of any situation. At a stage I said to myself “with all the tension from the terrible injustice being meted to me, somehow this was still an opportunity that must not be wasted.”

That meant I must use every moment well. From that moment, I ended up going to bed exhausted every night. At a stage I started reading the Bible determined to read it from cover to cover complete with commentaries here and there. I learnt to speak French taught by a prisoner from Togo, studied case files for prisoners on the death row and wrote legal opinions for their lawyers.

I wrote to some Attorney General colleagues of mine seeking reprieve for well reformed prisoners and I got quite a few of them pardoned. Mrs. Airat Balogun the then AG of Lagos State was particularly helpful.

One of my prisoner friends was a man called Baiyewu who was a childhood friend of Ayinla Omowura. When Ayinla became a famous musician Baiyewu was his Manager. They were both from a similar rough background, fought with knives and and bottles. On one occasion they had one of their scuffles. Ayinla has sacked Baiyewu and wanted to collect the motorcycle he had bought for Baiyewu.

He rode in his Mercedes Benz in search of a motorcycle. They met and a fight ensued. Baiyewu hit Ayinla with a bottle in the head and Ayinla died instantly. By the time I became a guest in Abeokuta Prison, Baiyewu had given his life to Christ and became an incredible influence in the prison. Every prisoner felt the influence of Baiyewu. He called them to prayer very early in the morning and late at night.

This condemned prisoner became a good friend of mine. If any man was ever totally and completely changed by the in living of the Holy Spirit, Baiyewu was a truly changed man. He saw Christ before he saw death because he told me, in confidence, a week before his execution, that his end was near.

Three days later Col. Diya came on a visit to the prison and signed that all the “fat” prisoners on death row be killed. Baiyewu was hung with 13 other prisoners in Abeokuta Prison wearing his best prison gear leading the others in singing to the gallows. We wept bitterly. But that’s the story for another day.

Needless to say that in the terrible condition of Abeokuta Prisoner I was very very busy. Today, those who are in the comfort of their homes for the COVIC-19 lockdown are complaining so much! This is futile.

My conclusion and counsel to everyone is that the challenge for you today is “what can I do at this time, how can I profitably utilize the time in my hands.” You may want to re arrange your wardrobes or kitchen, get rid of the many things you have around which you don’t need or do some reading, learn some gardening or baking etc.

You may even want to think about your future or rebuild the broken walls of your life. This can turn out to be a wonderful time you will never forget. It will not come again. The secret is to use it well and profitably. Enjoy your COVID-19 Lockdown.

I Remember a Great Man.

Today, I remember a great man. 

Papa James Olawole would have been 108 years old today if he had not crossed the threshold into the Astra plane as he did in 2005. He was not just my father and a live-in philosopher but also a sage from whom many people "tapped" wisdom and philosophies. There was a time some of my close friends made it such a regular habit to come seek papa’s wise opinions on various personal issues that I “threatened” to start charging them “professional fees”. 

It was papa that introduced me, among other things, to a spiritual school of thought that placed a very high premium on the act of charity. Initially, I disagreed with him a bit because he was also the same person that was in the habit of counseling me vigorously about being careful in doing too much. He would often back this wise counsel up with a Yoruba adage that says, “Oore ni'won.” (There is a need for moderation and caution in rendering assistance to people).

Papa however shook his head slowly as he gave a response that will remain forever in my consciousness: “On the one hand, as fasting cleans the body, so does the act of generosity purifies the soul. The more eager and cheerful you are to give, the better purified is your soul. On the other hand, the need for caution arises when doing certain favor to certain individuals. For instance, it's not wise to obtain a plate of food from someone and hand it over to another person. What if it contains poison?"

LEADERSHIP IS NOT A BUSINESS.

The time the Leader of the Islamic State, Umar Ibn Khattab (RA) demands from the people of the city of Hims (in Syria) to list out the names of the needy so as to assist them with a share of the State funds; what Umar came across shocked and amazed him. In the midst of the name of the poor and impoverished people was the name of the Governor of Hims, that is, Sa’eed Ibn Amir (RA).

Umar asked why the name of the Governor was included in the list of the needy. They replied: “He shares his salary to the poor and needy such that by the time the cycle completes, he is left with nothing”.

Then Umar asked further: Does he do things that you don’t want? They said: Yes.

1. He doesn’t come to attend to us until mid-morning

2. He doesn’t see us at night

3. In a week, he keeps away for a day without anyone seeing him.

Umar (RA) then asked him why? He (Sa’eed Ibn Amir (RA)) said:

1. The reason why I don’t come out until mid-morning is that my wife has been sick and I don’t have any helper at home, so I usually stay back to complete the basic domestic works, thereafter I will then come out.

2. Why I don’t see anyone at night is because I have set aside the whole day for the people, to respond to their needs. And I have set aside the night to relate with my Lord

3. Why I set aside a day in a week not to see anyone is because that is the day I take off my clothe to wash and wait for it to dry up because I have no other clothe aside this.

Umar (RA) burst into tears.

LESSON: *Leadership should be a sacrifice not a business*

Sowing a Seed of Gratitude.

Some years back, after a Sunday morning Mass in Abuja, a young and a good looking lady walked up to me. She was holding a fat brown envelope. She handed the envelope to me and said I should please pray for her. I asked her about the content of the envelope and what particular intention would I be praying for? She told me that she started working just a month ago and that she came to thank the Lord and to offer the first fruit of her work for God’s blessings. What was in the envelope was her salary for that month. Her first salary. The entire money! Everything!

In all honesty, I was speechless not for lack of words but for being unable to know where to begin. Inside me I was like: do people still entrust everything they have to God in a child-like simplicity like this? I was really moved. In my heart, I said a prayer for her, that type of prayer that is deep down, it was as though it was the Holy Spirit Himself that was praying through me. I was feeling the answers to the prayers even before I finished praying. Then she knelt down, I laid my hands upon her and blessed her and the money. After prayers, I asked her to tell me how much was in the envelope. She said Eighty Thousand Naira. 

Then I asked,   “how much covers your transport to your work daily?”

She said “approximately N1,000 naira to and fro, Father.”

That means for 27 work days, it would be N27,000.

Then I spoke up again, “Sorry o, I am asking you too many questions, how much do you feed daily when you go to work?”

She answered “It depends. If I want to eat so well, I spend 800 naira with drinks, but mainly I spend just N500, and sometimes I carry food from home.”

So, I made the calculation in my head. Let say she spends 500 naira daily, 27 work days would be 13,500 naira. I went ahead to enquire about her accommodation and I discovered that she stayed alone in an apartment she just rented. We made the calculation by dividing the annual rent by 12 months and we discovered that if she was to pay rent monthly, it would be N12,500. Her monthly electricity and water bill with other fees for house maintenance was put at N10,000. On phone calls and data, we approximated it to be N5000 monthly. Her monthly DSTV subscription was around N3,600 for DSTV family bouquet. When you put all the expenses together and subtract it from the N80,000, she would be left with N8,400 to buy food stuffs and other things in the house. These are the expenses that she was sure to spend every month. We had not even talked about other things like make up, doing her hair, clothes, gifts to family and even savings. This was a huge sacrifice, in my judgment. I intentionally asked her those questions so as to ascertain the depth of her sacrifice.

I brought out the envelope, bless it for the second time and gave it to her. I looked at her countenance and I knew she was not too comfortable with my action. Then I took time to explain the Bible to her. That was when I discovered that so many people do not truly understand how God works. When God asks us for first fruit or for tithe or for any sacrifice, it is not so that He will eat it. No! He has no need of our money. When He asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, it was not because he liked seeing the blood of innocent children. When He asked Abel and Cain to make a sacrifice to Him, it was not because he ate fruit or even drank blood of rams. It is simply to test how committed we are, how willing are we to leave everything to Him. Do we, like Cain, select offerings that we no longer desire and give to Him or do we, like Abel, empty everything to Him?

This lady that brought the first fruit began to understand for the first time. Right from when she put the money in the envelope to bring to God, God had already accepted her offering. The minister must not spend the money. It is just that most of us ministers are unfortunately greedy. And we use God’s name to cover it up. We often see the part of scriptures that favor our stomach. Theologically, when you give to God, He transforms that gift and gives it back to you. The bread and wine people offer before mass are transformed to the body and blood of Christ and given back to the people to eat and drink. The son Isaac that Abraham gave to God, was transformed to be a channel that would bring forth the fulfillment of God’s promise and given back to Abraham. The offerings of bread and fish people brought were prayed upon and given back to them to eat and they were filled, still there was left over. The water they filled at the wedding in Cana is given back to them as wine. The Ugwu Kelvin that my parents offered to God, is given back to them as a priest. The money that the young lady brought to me as her first fruit is blessed and given back to her as pure gift from heaven.

-- By Rev.Fr.Ugwu Kelvin.

On Staying Woke and Resisting Anxiety.



Everyone understands anxiety (well, many people do). And we even sometimes are able to conquer it, we know the signs...and as Christians we are well aware of what the Bible tells us about anxiety and worry. We know God is for us. We have read and read and read page after page in the Bible telling us who we are in Christ. In fact on some days we feel peaceful and free and content. And all of a sudden, the next minute or day, life happens. Anxiety creeps in and you have to start to adjust all over again.

Well, we have to continually guard against anxiety. To do this, we must renew our minds daily. In other words, we have to STAY WOKE. The truth is before we even set our feet on the ground each day, satan is going to try it. He will attempt to mess with our heads. Our minds. Our thoughts. Our feelings. Then enemy seeks to get us down. To destroy us. We are now aware of this. After all, in battle and in war, you must first understand the strategy of your opposition; of your enemy. Now that you do, what shall you do? 

RESIST. Learn to equip yourself with and arm yourself with the word of God. God has given us the authority to resist. Replace anxious thoughts with reassuring thoughts of God's words. We also have to get to the dwelling place with Jesus. Thereafter you will remain at peace despite what the day throws ahead of you. I didn't say that means you would have a completely easy day. It means you are clear headed, you are filled with peace, and most of all armed with wisdom to handle whatever happens. This is all tried and tested folks.

Part of that wisdom, for instance is picking your battles wisely. Don't let a bad five minutes destroy an entire day. Don't let an awful short conversation with an awful person affect your entire conversations for the rest of the day with decent people. Do whatever practical thing you need to do to protect your sanity. 

My motto for the remainder of 2017 is that Goodness and Mercy WILL follow me ALL the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord. In fact, I feel like my theme for the rest of the year is DWELL.  I will dwell and thrive in Christ. Look, the year might be close to being over, but it doesn't stop you from setting new themes and goals and resolutions. It shouldn't stop you from living as full as you can. Four months is a LONG time.  

"Those who dwell in the shelter of the most high will find REST in the shadow of the almighty." -Psalm 91:1. 

So yes, I will mostly be minding my business and dwelling for the rest of the year by God's grace. It reminds me of one of my favorite verses: "for I bear the mark of Christ, let NO ONE trouble me." As you can see, I plan on maintaining my peace while dwelling in God for the rest of this year and for the rest of my life even.  

Therefore as you go back to school, work, living fabulous, or whatever else rocks your boat, remember this: You will be okay. 

I sincerely hope I remember it as well. 

Courtesy of Ifeoluwa Olawole @ www.fivecoveredcolonnades.blogspot.com

Don't be like the Hypocrites.







“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,

for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and

on the street corners to be seen by others.

Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

But when you pray, go into your room,

close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.

Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret,

will reward you.  

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans,

for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

Do not be like them,

for your Father knows what you need before you ask him".

Matthew 6:5-8 (NIV).

The Irritating Hypocrisy in the Christendom.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” - Matthew 7:21 (NIV). 

We’re Seeing Things That Even Sodom and Gomorrah Didn’t See.

"So here’s what it means," he said.  "In the same day when you see culture falling away from the ways of God, you’re going to see departure from the state of being: Man departing from the state of manhood, women departing from the state of womanhood, marriage departing from the state of marriage, family from the state of family -- all these things we are watching." - Rabbi Cahn.

 

Commenting on the decadence of Western civilization and the political turmoil in the Middle East, Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn said "we're in end times" and this is clear because there has never been "a falling away" from faith and morality "to this degree." He added, "we're seeing things that even Sodom and Gomorrah didn't see." 

"We're seeing things that are unprecedented," said Cahn, a New York Times best-selling author, who stressed that the "falling away" does not just mean a turning away from God but a situation where man turns away from his own being and pursues that which is unnatural and contrary to reason and order. 

“Apostasia, in Greek, doesn’t just mean a falling away from faith," said Cahn on the Sept. 29 edition of The Blaze, hosted by Glenn Beck.  "It literally means a departure from the state of being."

"So here’s what it means," he said.  "In the same day when you see culture falling away from the ways of God, you’re going to see departure from the state of being: Man departing from the state of manhood, women departing from the state of womanhood, marriage departing from the state of marriage, family from the state of family -- all these things we are watching." 

"You want to know the reason why we're hearing all these things, why the news, the blending of gender, and all of these things?" said Cahn.  "It goes right to the word that was hidden 2,000 years ago." 

Host Glenn Beck then interjected, “People have been looking for – because you believe we’re heading towards the literal apocalypse? – what do you say to people who say, ‘John, there’s been a falling away a million times’?"

Cahn first said, "we're in end times, yes," and then continued, "We’ve never seen a falling away to this degree. We’re seeing things that even Sodom and Gomorrah didn’t see. We’re seeing things that are unprecedented." 

"On top of that, the key sign that was given that you’ll know, is that when you see Israel come back into the world – that’s it, never happened before – and for 2,000 years the church said, ‘not going to happen!’" remarked Cahn. But God said it would happen. Jesus said, I’m not coming until it does happen." 

"So, 1948, back in the world," said the Messianic rabbi. "Then it says Jerusalem – 1967?  It says the world will focus on Israel, there will be a controversy. We’re watching it.”

Courtesy: Michael W. Chapman and cnsnews.com



God's Magnanimous Kindness.

On this glorious Sunday, I want to thank you God publicly for your many blessings upon my life…because you often bless me publicly. Most times, I am baffled by the wonders you’re performing in my life, the same way I was baffled way back then when my high school principal gave me an “award” for doing some bull-sh***—it was the man's way of teaching me a "lesson". Anyway, I'm thanking for your patience, mercy and magnanimous kindness. If you were to consider my sins, I would have been in serious trouble. Fortunately, you don’t want the death of sinners but only for us to repent. And I thank you Lord for recognizing that some of us are “Work-In-Progress”…even though some people think mine is taking too long to “complete”. The great thing is that your ways are different from that of Man. You’re never tired of my asking for forgiveness, knowing fully well that I don’t take your mercy for granted. In my total submission and gratitude to you therefore, I give you Lord all the praises, glories and adorations In Jesus name. Amen!

Nigerians and the Plague of Predictions.

“16. Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
17. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.’
18. She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her!’ At that moment, the spirit left her.” - Acts 16:16-18 (New International Version).

The above passage in the Bible often comes to mind at the beginning of every year. It’s that time of the year in Nigeria when every General Overseer, Bishop or other sundry spiritualist announces his “vision” of what the new year portends for individual Nigerians and the nation in general. And with what one has heard so far, many of the so-called predictions were arrant nonsense, some of them were the results of mere personal analysis of national events and others were simply lifted from internet reports. Yet, gullible Nigerians are (as usual) lapping them up.
I therefore imagine a situation where the spirit ordered out of the woman in the Bible passage crept into the body of a Nigerian bystander. That person only had to go into the Nigerian Christendom, wear the garb of a pastor and…boom…he or she would become famous and stinking rich. Why so? Ours is a society where people are always desperate for just anyone to foretell their future under the guise of “seeing visions”.

The benefits of Doing Good.

 “Lets’ not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time, we will reap a harvest of blessings if we don’t give up.” – Galatians 6:9.

The Story behind Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus.

In April of 1737 at 52, Handel suffered from a stroke which incapacitated him, making it impossible for him to perform or conduct. He also complained of blurred vision. He was not a wise businessman and this led to the loss of his fortune. By 1741, he was swimming in debt and it seemed he would land in debtor’s prison. It was in this period that he was commissioned to write The Messiah which included The Hallelujah Chorus.

While writing the music, Handel never left his house for three weeks. A friend who visited him as he composed, found him sobbing with intense emotion. Later, as Handel groped for words to describe the strange phenomenon he had experienced, he quoted St. Paul, saying, "Whether I was in the body or out of my body when I wrote the music, I did not know."

There are two lessons in this story. Firstly, the true measure of a person lies in his or her ability to maintain a sense of resilience and determination even when faced with personal tribulations or tragedies. Secondly, God has a way of using certain individuals, irrespective of their situations, to achieve extraordinary feats under mysterious circumstances.