My boy child has finally arrived! Trust me; I will give you the full story. But permit me today, to share a burden on my heart. I can no longer hold it in; the burden of Borno. I know my son would not mind. It was in 2007 in Borno State that I ‘conceived’ my boy child. I will tell you that part of it today. I was in Borno, my wife (then my fiancée) was in Ife. We communicated mainly through calls and especially ‘extra-cool calls’, (every Nigerian knows what that means). So that night, we were talking on phones and we were having fellowship with God. I remember where I was and my Bible was in my front as we romanced the Scriptures together. I have sown so many spiritual seeds into that woman, long before we married. That night, we conceived our boy child. We knew his name. Ah, those who are close to me already know. You see, that singular revelation of our son’s identity and purpose became the very cornerstone of our relationship. That cornerstone is fast becoming a rock. So, now that my son is born, how can I ever forget Borno?
The bond between Borno and I is thick. I want to invite you to a 2-week Strategic Prayer Session for Borno, and it is important that you eavesdrop into the panting of my heart for that land. Until I went there for my National Youth Service Corp, I had no idea what that part of Nigeria looked like. But when I stepped into that land back in 2006, I just fell in love with it. NYSC is such a brilliant opportunity for self and national discovery, if only we give peace a chance. I was in Maiduguri all through my service year and never came home once until graduation. There was really no need to. It was such an exciting time of growth for me and I owe that land at least, my heartfelt supplications in this period of her excruciating travail of rebirth. I even wonder why I waited this long to cry for that land. It took my son to remind me. Among the books I will yet publish is 'Backside of the Desert', and it is about my spiritual sojourn in the famous land of the Kanuris. It was such a long journey, but let me take you through a short cut on my journey into the heart of Borno
I was posted to Borno to serve Nigeria under the NYSC scheme. I could not believe it and even attempted to defer my service, but the sense of purpose in me would not allow me. I knew too well that nothing would just happen to a child of God, abi? Borno is far from everywhere else in Nigeria. If you have been there, you know what I mean. I left from Lokoja yet I stayed over in Jos. Bro Ron, that was the day I slept at your place, remember? I arrived at Borno Express Car Park, and took a bike to the Camp not far from there. We were in the Camp for three weeks, I think. Then, it was the period when the very first Religious crisis in Borno in thirty years took place. Yes, the first in thirty years! Now, violence rock that land daily like a rocking chair. Do you still remember that Borno was called the 'Home of Peace'? That land was well acclaimed for the peace and tranquility enjoyed by citizens and residents alike over the decades. Right there in the Camp, we heard how people were killed and buildings burnt. I began to consider escaping from ‘Sobibor'. The NCCF- Corpers' Fellowship- had daily meetings in the Camp where I attended regularly. There they loved to sing 'It Pays To Serve Jesus...' and each time I heard the part that says 'I'd be a true soldier, I'd die at my post', I would silently reject the dying part and replace it with 'I'd serve at my post'. A few corpers died in that crisis and they probably died just as true corpers, I told God I'd stay in Borno and would even serve at Malamfatushi, if He would not let me die. Just before the Camp ended, that crisis ended. And great was the peace that permeated the land all through my stay.
I served in Maiduguri and not Malamfatushi. Comparing Maiduguri and Malamfatushi is like comparing a very beautiful damsel and a wretched old man. Maiduguri is like an average modern city in Nigeria. Malamfatushi is like actually going on the Sahara. We heard all kinds of news about the place, like; only a vehicle (rangerover) ever get to the place and that is just once in a week, that you walk on desert sands that sink and hold your feet and so on. We all dreaded being posted to Malamfatushi. Yet some Corp members served there. I did not. I served in Maiduguri. This is because I was discovered by the leadership of the Corpers’ Fellowship and was given an appointment as the Official Driver of Halleluyah. Okay, I was the Transport (and Organizing) Secretary and ‘Halleluyah’ is the name given to the Fellowship bus. Very interesting bus, the gear is the other way round, and the engine sounds just like her name; Haaa-leee-luuu-yaaaaaaah!!! Driving the bus gave me the opportunity to traverse the length and breadth of Maiduguri and even some parts outside the town. Ope was my able assistant and I have found few men as dedicated and hardworking as he was. Of course, I stayed in the ‘Family House’ which is what we call the Fellowship Secretariat. My room was Room 7, and I had some of the most interesting people in that house as roommates. The Prayer Secretary and the Evangelism Secretary were my roommates; very vibrant young men. I could touch on every resident of that house and how they touched my life positively, but I just wanted you to know I had a family in Borno; ‘They have taken me into their arms and I’m so glad to be a part of this great family’. Okay, you feel me now.
I had three opportunities to preach in the large gathering of the Corper’s weekly fellowship. The first topic was, ‘A Different Spirit’ taking the story of Joshua and Caleb’s attitude and how they possessed the Promised Land while a whole generation was wasted. The second time was when I preached ‘Patience is a Virtue’, where the Holy Spirit presented patience to us as a vital kingdom virtue (virtue, meaning power). The third message I preached was taped. It was titled ‘Ishmael’. There the source of Islam was traced according to the perspective of the Bible and other historical records. There I said based on records, that Borno was the gateway through which Islam entered into West Africa. The tape will go commercial someday for all to listen to. But I established love as the primary tool in the hand of a Christian, no matter his or her view of a Muslim. Isaac and Ishmael made up and when they came together to bury their father (see Genesis 25:8-9). Until we come to accept that we have the same source, and find a way to co-exist, while reaching out one to another, we will only destroy ourselves for no reason. After that message that Wednesday evening, I had to go to God and find out if He actually wanted me to stay back in Maiduguri after my service year. With that message, I had theory; practical was soon to follow.
So, not long after that, God led me to one of the most exciting and spiritually practical friend I have ever met in my journey in God. I call him my covenant friend. I was his best man at his wedding. Trust me, he and Lanre have met, and we all clicked like lego. The first book I ever published ‘Eating the Fruit of the Land’ was jointly written by this exceptional brother. His name is Peace. Okay, I met Peace in the Home of Peace. Peace had this deep, deep passion for Borno. He had just conceived the burden of prayer for that land at the time we met. He was a very dynamic young man. We had vigils of prayers; you know those kinds of prayers where you know that you are hitting the devil where it pains him. Peace and I and a number of other wonderful brothers and sisters in that Prayer Movement did a number of strategic apostolic things together, and I do not have his permission to share the details of those things. But, we visited the popular Lake Chad, and went on a canoe to the heart of the water. We were at the museum where we had contact with those ancient artifacts. We walked around the some streets at midnight; we stood under some trees at wee hours. I am not so brave, Peace is. That guy has no fear for the devil. Even Lanre knew he met a lion when he met him. There were institutions we visited and people we met, and believe me; all of those things were hitting the devil at several strategic points. Then we began to launch the movement in the other zones of Borno. Oh my, my, this turned out to be the most fulfilling task I undertook at the ‘Backside of the Desert’. We left Borno, knowing there would be results; we knew the harvest of our seeds of prayer would yield. We knew so well.
So, when violence and terrorism began to erupt out of that land- in a way that was totally unprecedented in our nation; I called Peace to ask him; ‘What has our prayers got to do with this?’ Peace told me to stay tuned. Since prayer is my antennae, I decided to press into God again in prayers for the land of cucumbers and water melon. Something good is about to follow these upheavals that has been the bane of Borno. And just like whatever enters Borno engulfs West Africa; God is about to inject His glory that will Nigeria and West Africa through the land of Borno. Borno shall rise again; she shall yet be the cynosure of all eyes. You see, since this is a burden, I must take you through the word of God and hope you catch it too. It is in Luke 8:40-56. Follow me, please.
Luke 8:40- And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.
‘…Jesus was returned…’. I love that phrase. We are in that season. We will realize how so much we need Jesus in our nation. We will suddenly see how fragile all our religious and political structures are. Oh yes, we will return Jesus to our land and the people will gladly receive him. There is no better time for the gospel to spread like this. The ground of Nigeria is prepared and positioned to receive the good news of Jesus like never before. The harvest is here already, other men have labored; it’s time to reap. That verse said ‘for they were all waiting for him’. Let the reapers arise. The field is green, and the Lord of the Harvest is almost here! Amen.
Luke 8:41- 42 And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus' feet, and besought him that he would come into his house: 42For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him.
But while everyone else was simply waiting for Jesus, there was someone thirsty for Jesus. They were waiting, but someone was inviting Him. If you were Jesus, who would you naturally be drawn to? Nigeria is waiting to receive Jesus again, waiting for another Jesus’ experience; but there are places hungry for a Jesus’ explosion. They were waiting for a return, Jarius needed a revival. Like Jairus who had a twelve year old daughter who was dying; there is urgency for missions in certain parts of our land. Like the Macedonian call, these places are calling for Jesus. Okay.
Luke 8:43-44- 43And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, 44Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
Jarius had an urgent situation, but here was an emergency. Emergencies do not have the patience of protocol. They do not invite, they compel your attention. Have you ever witness doctors leave all patients in the waiting room for an emergency? If they are patients, then they can be patient; they can wait. An emergency just cannot wait! A woman had an issue. We all have issues, don’t we? Some issues are critical. She had a very critical issue- an issue of blood. And I hear ‘blood is thicker than water’. Yorubas have a proverb that says ‘if fire burns your child and your lap, you will first put out the fire on your lap’. You can argue how much you love your child until you have a real experience. Emergencies touch us so well, and they touch God too. The beautiful thing about the God we serve is that He can accommodate the Waiting, the Urgent and the Emergency. Jesus was headed for Jairus house, but He would not ignore a touch. Okay, Borno is our focus, we only have some emergencies on our hands. That is okay. The timing belongs to God.
Luke 8:49-50- 49While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. 50But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
So Jesus attended to the emergency, until the urgent became late. Jarius’ daughter died. Are there things you have waited for, and even invited God over and over to? Is it looking like it is too late now? Why did God tarry? Jesus had advance information, and was invited, yet Lazarus died. But all you need to be at peace is ‘Jesus will come’. If He is coming, nothing can be too late- absolutely nothing! So there came the news of Jarius’ daughter’s death and Jaius was told not to trouble the Master any more. Oh no! Keep troubling the Master. Even the unjust judge could not resist persistence (Luke 18), our God is the Just Judge- His judgement is on time. Oh no, it is not too late for Borno. Borno shall rise again! Forget about all the news you hear, Jesus is coming to Borno. That maid shall rise again, only believe!
Luke 8: 52-53- 52And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. 53And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.
He said the same thing when Lazarus died. It is doctors that pronounce people dead, Jesus won’t. Of course, people die when we believe so. Okay, let’s get back to our story. Jesus saw veryone weeping and mourning, and He said the girl was only sleeping. Interestingly, people who were weeping suddenly began to laugh. KJV said ‘they laughed Jesus to scorn’. That must have been a spell of laughter- after just weeping. I say Borno shall rise again, hope you did not laugh. But I know you mourn for that land. Too much blood and tears have flown on a single soil- too much. But Borno is only sleeping- she is not dead!
Luke 8: 54-55- 54And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. 55And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.
Maid, arise! Maid sounds like Maiduguri. Arise- is the word I want to pay attention to here. When you say that word, you assume that the object has the intrinsic ability to rise up. You would not say ‘Arise’ to a book, for instance; you would raise the book. What you say ‘Arise’ to, must have been dormant and you intended to activate. Borno has been dormant all along. We mistook her dormancy for peace and we even christened her ‘home of peace’. No, it is not peace all the while, it was oppression. I can hear the heart cry of Borno in Psalm 120:5-6 ‘Woe is me, that I dwell in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar! My soul has dwelt too long with one who hates peace. I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.’ And just like Jesus did, there must first be a putting away. God will scatter the peoples who delight in war (see Psalm 68:30). The Prince of Peace will visit that land. A government will arise that will put paid to the evil in the land. There will be sanity in the civil service. Men shall have mutual respect one for another. After the maid arose, he commanded to give her meat. Meet of development. Far there in Borno, people shall run to invest. God will do these and more, in our lifetime.
This is my burden for Borno. So let us pray. Jesus allowed only Peter, James and John – and the parent of the girl- in (Luke 8:51). Is Jesus inviting you in today? Then join this facebook group BORNO SHALL RISE AGAIN. Daily prayers shall come to you by this medium, and I rely on you to join me. You may opt out of the group at the expiration of the prayer session as the group closes afterwards. But posterity and eternity will remember your labour of love. God bless you.
I am yours truly,
Adeolu Victor
Sunday, 31 July 2011
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
UNFURNISHED WORKS...
THIS IS JUST TO GET IN TOUCH. AND IF YOU THINK I HAVE NOT BEEN MAKING EFFORTS TO WRITE, YOU ARE JUST WRONG!
IN TWO WEEKS, I HAVE MADE THE ATTEMPTS BELOW… MAYBE YOU CAN PICK A FEW THINGS FROM THEM.
THINGS I LEARN FROM FROM FACEBOOK....
I like to come straight first hand; I spend quite a lot of time online, and half of it alone I'm on facebook. And if this is not helping me in any way, then it is actually destroying me. I had to evaluate from time to time until I was convinced I am the better for it. If you love God and you have the slightest sense of purpose, you would get bothered if anything or anyone for that matter seems to occupy most of your time. Nobody becomes great using his time for what is not in line with his purpose. Nobody stumbles on greatness, you had better be sure facebook is worth your purpose before you give it your time, otherwise you are only digging your own grave with each tab on that keyboard.
I want to share a few good things I have learned from facebook. If you are expecting to hear how to make money on facebook, then you may be disappointed. Some of us cannot make money from money. But I can guarantee that you would know how to make meaning from facebook at the end of the reading.
Everyone wants his or her voice to be heard. And that is what facebook has made possible. God bless Mark Zuckerberg. I will recommend an award for him in heaven. He is the next big thing after Gates' Microsoft. He has made it possible to connect people in ways that even Nokia would applaud. You can imagine that revolutions long overdue are being made possible by facebook! I am not going to talk about Egypt today. Neither will I talk about Tunisia. I am going to talk about you. See, facebook can bring about a revolution in your own life. I am not about to market a product that is already so self-selling. I am going to dwell on the product that you are and how your manifestation that is long overdue can be fast-tracked by the medium of facebook. You have got to pay due attention to this because the enemy of your soul is already twisting this very powerful instrument of self-improvement, networking, advertisement, and lots more into a weapon of self-destruction, time-wastage and purpose-depletion.
SCEPTRE SERIES: BREAKING THE STAFF OF THE WICKED
So I’m back, and the devil is in trouble.
I have no respect for the devil. I have said time and again, and I will say it again and again.
Have you heard the saying ‘one bad apple spoils the rest’? One wicked scepter will wreck the lot. The Scriptures say when a piece of land is given to a righteous man, all it will take for that man and his land to get messed up is one scepter of wickedness resting in that land.
I DON’T WANNA BE MANDELA
Today is Mandela’s birthday! He clocks 93 today. How a man could be so blessed with a beautiful life and enough time to live it. He had so much time in his life that he spent 27 years of it in prison (now, that is over 300 months or 9,000 days behind walls). Funny, 27 years are all some people have to live. His story makes the world such an interesting place to visit. He would be one giant tourist attraction if aliens actually tour the earth. Angels would even be fascinated by this story of the man who used his life to fight for freedom, and still had enough life to enjoy that freedom. Martin Luther King Jr. took a people to the mountaintop and left from there, Mandela took a people on a long walk up the mountain reigned with them. It will be unfair to compare these two great men, while MLK Jr was extraordinary, Mandela is so ordinary, yet so, so phenomenal.
You see, last week the doctor told my wife at the antenatal routine check that ‘the time would be any moment from now’. I have been so eager to see my baby. Then just a few hours before I began this write up, my wife told me; ‘everyone seem to be calling me today’. As if, she was going to deliver today. Great would be the coincidence if my child shares a day with Mandela. Just as I began to relish the thought it my heart, I heard my baby whisper to me the title of this piece; ‘I don’t want to be Mandela, I want to be me’. (Now, don’t ask me how it is possible that I heard those words). Ah ha! Why should I want my child to go through all those experiences of the Madibba? I gave it another thought. Why should I even attempt to be God over my child just because I am the father? The only one who is God and Father at the same time is Jehovah. I smiled and replied ‘Yes dear, you should be who God created you to be and never another.’ Recently, another man I respect so much, Wole Soyinka told a group of youths gathered on his birthday ‘Do not try to be me’. And I wonder if my generation could be so outstanding like these men. In a way, they do not even challenge us to do better than they did, but they challenge us to do our own thing! It is as if my generation is too busy trying to be like their models to really be themselves.
As early as possible, I will tell my child about Jesus. Then about Esther, David and Daniel. But I will also tell about Mandela, about Awolowo, about Obama. But what about me? What will I tell my child about me? Or what will people tell my child about me? What is there in me to inspire greatness in my own child? I began to search myself seriously. Why do these great men hardly raise great children? They were too busy being great, maybe. But when Solomon became king, there was really no one else to emulate like his own father, David. I want to raise great children, I just want to inspire, motivate and empower them as much as I can. I want them- not to imitate me or anyone else for that matter, I want them to emulate me and any other character so
worthy.
SPEAKING INTO GOD’S EARS
The art of listening is a difficult one. Now ‘listening’ is different from ‘hearing’, I’m sure you know. You hear with your ears, you listen with your heart. Very few people are really listening, yet all of us have something to say. Just speak to the person next to you and see how much attention he pays to you. And you need to pay a lot of attention in order to listen. Ours is a distracted generation. While that person you are speaking to is still trying to, at least, hear you, his phone rings.
AND THIS ONE IS UNTITLED YET…
Writing is not as easy as many think it to be. I once met a Professor of English and I asked her why I have never seen any of her books on any shelf. She told me she has never written one. I was surprised. Ma, you are a professor of English Language and you have not published a book? She told me she specializes in an aspect of the profession that criticizes people’s work. Hmm, I see. She went further to explain that when you have eyes trained to spot other’s mistakes, you become too careful to do your own work. That woman is a professional critic, and so many people are critics by vocation. That is why they are not doing much themselves. Some people even say they are ‘social critics’ and I find that occupation very interesting. I live in a country where too many things are wrong, but what I find more disturbing is too many people prefer to complain than take the simplest step to right the wrongs. Common protest, my people cannot stage. They specialize in criticizing everyone and everything. So, what am I doing myself? That is the point. It is so easy to criticize. The greatest
WRITING FOR ME, IS A MATTER OF INSPIRATION. AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, I TRY NOT TO FAKE IT. ONE THING I LEARN FROM GOD; HE IS NOT TALK-ACTIVE. WELL, IN THE MEANTIME, I KEEP FILLING IN, AND SOON AGAIN, THERE WILL BE A DELUGE. FOR NOW, ONE THING FILLS MY MIND MOST OF ALL; MY FIRST CHILD IS ALMOST HERE! SHHHHH! I THINK HE/SHE (IT’S STILL OUR LITTLE SECRET) IS SLEEPING NOW. I GOT TO GO NOW.
SEE YOU SOON WHEN I WOULD HAVE BECOME A CONFIRMED FATHER. GIGGLES.
IN TWO WEEKS, I HAVE MADE THE ATTEMPTS BELOW… MAYBE YOU CAN PICK A FEW THINGS FROM THEM.
THINGS I LEARN FROM FROM FACEBOOK....
I like to come straight first hand; I spend quite a lot of time online, and half of it alone I'm on facebook. And if this is not helping me in any way, then it is actually destroying me. I had to evaluate from time to time until I was convinced I am the better for it. If you love God and you have the slightest sense of purpose, you would get bothered if anything or anyone for that matter seems to occupy most of your time. Nobody becomes great using his time for what is not in line with his purpose. Nobody stumbles on greatness, you had better be sure facebook is worth your purpose before you give it your time, otherwise you are only digging your own grave with each tab on that keyboard.
I want to share a few good things I have learned from facebook. If you are expecting to hear how to make money on facebook, then you may be disappointed. Some of us cannot make money from money. But I can guarantee that you would know how to make meaning from facebook at the end of the reading.
Everyone wants his or her voice to be heard. And that is what facebook has made possible. God bless Mark Zuckerberg. I will recommend an award for him in heaven. He is the next big thing after Gates' Microsoft. He has made it possible to connect people in ways that even Nokia would applaud. You can imagine that revolutions long overdue are being made possible by facebook! I am not going to talk about Egypt today. Neither will I talk about Tunisia. I am going to talk about you. See, facebook can bring about a revolution in your own life. I am not about to market a product that is already so self-selling. I am going to dwell on the product that you are and how your manifestation that is long overdue can be fast-tracked by the medium of facebook. You have got to pay due attention to this because the enemy of your soul is already twisting this very powerful instrument of self-improvement, networking, advertisement, and lots more into a weapon of self-destruction, time-wastage and purpose-depletion.
SCEPTRE SERIES: BREAKING THE STAFF OF THE WICKED
So I’m back, and the devil is in trouble.
I have no respect for the devil. I have said time and again, and I will say it again and again.
Have you heard the saying ‘one bad apple spoils the rest’? One wicked scepter will wreck the lot. The Scriptures say when a piece of land is given to a righteous man, all it will take for that man and his land to get messed up is one scepter of wickedness resting in that land.
I DON’T WANNA BE MANDELA
Today is Mandela’s birthday! He clocks 93 today. How a man could be so blessed with a beautiful life and enough time to live it. He had so much time in his life that he spent 27 years of it in prison (now, that is over 300 months or 9,000 days behind walls). Funny, 27 years are all some people have to live. His story makes the world such an interesting place to visit. He would be one giant tourist attraction if aliens actually tour the earth. Angels would even be fascinated by this story of the man who used his life to fight for freedom, and still had enough life to enjoy that freedom. Martin Luther King Jr. took a people to the mountaintop and left from there, Mandela took a people on a long walk up the mountain reigned with them. It will be unfair to compare these two great men, while MLK Jr was extraordinary, Mandela is so ordinary, yet so, so phenomenal.
You see, last week the doctor told my wife at the antenatal routine check that ‘the time would be any moment from now’. I have been so eager to see my baby. Then just a few hours before I began this write up, my wife told me; ‘everyone seem to be calling me today’. As if, she was going to deliver today. Great would be the coincidence if my child shares a day with Mandela. Just as I began to relish the thought it my heart, I heard my baby whisper to me the title of this piece; ‘I don’t want to be Mandela, I want to be me’. (Now, don’t ask me how it is possible that I heard those words). Ah ha! Why should I want my child to go through all those experiences of the Madibba? I gave it another thought. Why should I even attempt to be God over my child just because I am the father? The only one who is God and Father at the same time is Jehovah. I smiled and replied ‘Yes dear, you should be who God created you to be and never another.’ Recently, another man I respect so much, Wole Soyinka told a group of youths gathered on his birthday ‘Do not try to be me’. And I wonder if my generation could be so outstanding like these men. In a way, they do not even challenge us to do better than they did, but they challenge us to do our own thing! It is as if my generation is too busy trying to be like their models to really be themselves.
As early as possible, I will tell my child about Jesus. Then about Esther, David and Daniel. But I will also tell about Mandela, about Awolowo, about Obama. But what about me? What will I tell my child about me? Or what will people tell my child about me? What is there in me to inspire greatness in my own child? I began to search myself seriously. Why do these great men hardly raise great children? They were too busy being great, maybe. But when Solomon became king, there was really no one else to emulate like his own father, David. I want to raise great children, I just want to inspire, motivate and empower them as much as I can. I want them- not to imitate me or anyone else for that matter, I want them to emulate me and any other character so
worthy.
SPEAKING INTO GOD’S EARS
The art of listening is a difficult one. Now ‘listening’ is different from ‘hearing’, I’m sure you know. You hear with your ears, you listen with your heart. Very few people are really listening, yet all of us have something to say. Just speak to the person next to you and see how much attention he pays to you. And you need to pay a lot of attention in order to listen. Ours is a distracted generation. While that person you are speaking to is still trying to, at least, hear you, his phone rings.
AND THIS ONE IS UNTITLED YET…
Writing is not as easy as many think it to be. I once met a Professor of English and I asked her why I have never seen any of her books on any shelf. She told me she has never written one. I was surprised. Ma, you are a professor of English Language and you have not published a book? She told me she specializes in an aspect of the profession that criticizes people’s work. Hmm, I see. She went further to explain that when you have eyes trained to spot other’s mistakes, you become too careful to do your own work. That woman is a professional critic, and so many people are critics by vocation. That is why they are not doing much themselves. Some people even say they are ‘social critics’ and I find that occupation very interesting. I live in a country where too many things are wrong, but what I find more disturbing is too many people prefer to complain than take the simplest step to right the wrongs. Common protest, my people cannot stage. They specialize in criticizing everyone and everything. So, what am I doing myself? That is the point. It is so easy to criticize. The greatest
WRITING FOR ME, IS A MATTER OF INSPIRATION. AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, I TRY NOT TO FAKE IT. ONE THING I LEARN FROM GOD; HE IS NOT TALK-ACTIVE. WELL, IN THE MEANTIME, I KEEP FILLING IN, AND SOON AGAIN, THERE WILL BE A DELUGE. FOR NOW, ONE THING FILLS MY MIND MOST OF ALL; MY FIRST CHILD IS ALMOST HERE! SHHHHH! I THINK HE/SHE (IT’S STILL OUR LITTLE SECRET) IS SLEEPING NOW. I GOT TO GO NOW.
SEE YOU SOON WHEN I WOULD HAVE BECOME A CONFIRMED FATHER. GIGGLES.
Saturday, 16 July 2011
TAKE THE STAGE, THEN TAKE YOUR TIME
Life is a stage, I sometimes like to say. But I now think life is a theatre. Some people are actors, some are spectators. Actors take the stage, of course. Spectators watch, jeer, cheer and in all, appreciate the actors based on their roles. No matter what you think of an actor, and how better you feel you would do, you have to get to the stage first. Stages are raised or at best special platforms for specified people. You do not go there of your own accord; you have got to be invited, or at best worthy to be there. So, no doubt you are in a big theatre; are you on the stage or in the pew? Oh the stage is usually not big for everyone at the same time; but we can all take the stage at different times. This piece is to encourage you to wait for your time, and when you take the floor, do take your time.
A few times, I have been opportune to speak to a group of people. Usually I have been informed ahead and given an opportunity to prepare ahead. Apart from being aware of the topic I would speak on, I am also told the time allotted to me. Life is like that. You came to this world for a purpose. As a child of God, you have a script to act in the ever-unfolding drama of God’s agenda for creation. You are one day supposed to take your turn on the very stage where several key men in God’s kingdom have been. Once upon a time, Abraham was on stage. Then Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samson, Jephtah, David, Nehemiah, Daniel, Esther … the list goes on; Jesus, Peter, John, James, Paul… and in contemporary times, you know them who were on stage at their own time. So, you as a son of the kingdom have been predestinated to the stage. Paul said in Romans 8 (verse 19) that creation eagerly awaits our manifestation. In other words, creation eagerly wants us on stage. But we must wait to be invited; we must wait for our time. Paul further said in verse 30 that ‘whom He predestinated; these He also called, these He also justified, these He also glorified’. To be glorified is to be on stage, and if God has predestined you for glory, no one- nothing- can work against you. (Romans 8:31, paraphrased). So just wait for your time.
Abraham was living a quiet life, advanced in age when he was called up to the stage. Joseph lived seventeen years dreaming of the stage, and another thirteen years as a slave, before he was called up. David wandered through the wilderness keeping sheep. He was anointed for the stage several years before he got a call up. The timetable is in God’s hands; but He gave each of us the script. While you wait, why not prepare? Work on yourself and master the role. This is the challenge for every son of God that awaits his manifestation. God would rather keep you offstage than have you messed up onstage. ‘Study to show yourself approved...’ Paul told Timothy. You cannot ‘doctor’ the script; you can master the script. Jeremiah was called up and he complained of being too young; God challenged him to take courage. Moses said he stammered, God gave him an Aaron. When your time comes, no excuse from you will change the script; you will have to rise up to the challenge.
At some other times, I get an impromptu call to address people or situations. If it is a gathering, I always want to know how much time I am to use on stage. First, let me say that sometimes, life could place you in an ‘impromptu’ situation where you get called up on stage. Do not think you are ill-prepared. You see, the people who called you up, believed in you. So long you did not push yourself on them, relax and take the floor. Only, as I often do, be polite enough to know how long you have to be on stage. Now, why am I emphasizing the issue of time? Wait for your time, and then take your time- while on stage. Jesus waited many, many years to be on earth. Prophets after prophets have come and prophesied his coming; that did not push Him to come ahead of His time. And when He did come, He waited thirty years and manifested three years, and left. It is amazing; that Jesus was only going to spend three years of active performance on stage- with all those prophesies and Jewish expectations? No wonder many Jews believe their Saviour is yet to come. Three years? But it was enough to make an eternal impact! See, it is not how long you stay on stage; it is what impact you make on stage. Many years after David left the stage, reference was still being made to his exploits. It is such an uncommon gift for actors on the stage of life to know when to leave the stage. Yet we should not rush out of the stage. Oh no, do not rush out; you have waited all your life (or eternity, even) for it. Use your time completely, come on. You do not get off the stage to remember what you should have done or said. Take your time on stage; the floor is yours for the time being.
Are you on stage? Use your time. Are you yet to be on stage? In the meantime, master the script. See you when you get there.
A few times, I have been opportune to speak to a group of people. Usually I have been informed ahead and given an opportunity to prepare ahead. Apart from being aware of the topic I would speak on, I am also told the time allotted to me. Life is like that. You came to this world for a purpose. As a child of God, you have a script to act in the ever-unfolding drama of God’s agenda for creation. You are one day supposed to take your turn on the very stage where several key men in God’s kingdom have been. Once upon a time, Abraham was on stage. Then Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samson, Jephtah, David, Nehemiah, Daniel, Esther … the list goes on; Jesus, Peter, John, James, Paul… and in contemporary times, you know them who were on stage at their own time. So, you as a son of the kingdom have been predestinated to the stage. Paul said in Romans 8 (verse 19) that creation eagerly awaits our manifestation. In other words, creation eagerly wants us on stage. But we must wait to be invited; we must wait for our time. Paul further said in verse 30 that ‘whom He predestinated; these He also called, these He also justified, these He also glorified’. To be glorified is to be on stage, and if God has predestined you for glory, no one- nothing- can work against you. (Romans 8:31, paraphrased). So just wait for your time.
Abraham was living a quiet life, advanced in age when he was called up to the stage. Joseph lived seventeen years dreaming of the stage, and another thirteen years as a slave, before he was called up. David wandered through the wilderness keeping sheep. He was anointed for the stage several years before he got a call up. The timetable is in God’s hands; but He gave each of us the script. While you wait, why not prepare? Work on yourself and master the role. This is the challenge for every son of God that awaits his manifestation. God would rather keep you offstage than have you messed up onstage. ‘Study to show yourself approved...’ Paul told Timothy. You cannot ‘doctor’ the script; you can master the script. Jeremiah was called up and he complained of being too young; God challenged him to take courage. Moses said he stammered, God gave him an Aaron. When your time comes, no excuse from you will change the script; you will have to rise up to the challenge.
At some other times, I get an impromptu call to address people or situations. If it is a gathering, I always want to know how much time I am to use on stage. First, let me say that sometimes, life could place you in an ‘impromptu’ situation where you get called up on stage. Do not think you are ill-prepared. You see, the people who called you up, believed in you. So long you did not push yourself on them, relax and take the floor. Only, as I often do, be polite enough to know how long you have to be on stage. Now, why am I emphasizing the issue of time? Wait for your time, and then take your time- while on stage. Jesus waited many, many years to be on earth. Prophets after prophets have come and prophesied his coming; that did not push Him to come ahead of His time. And when He did come, He waited thirty years and manifested three years, and left. It is amazing; that Jesus was only going to spend three years of active performance on stage- with all those prophesies and Jewish expectations? No wonder many Jews believe their Saviour is yet to come. Three years? But it was enough to make an eternal impact! See, it is not how long you stay on stage; it is what impact you make on stage. Many years after David left the stage, reference was still being made to his exploits. It is such an uncommon gift for actors on the stage of life to know when to leave the stage. Yet we should not rush out of the stage. Oh no, do not rush out; you have waited all your life (or eternity, even) for it. Use your time completely, come on. You do not get off the stage to remember what you should have done or said. Take your time on stage; the floor is yours for the time being.
Are you on stage? Use your time. Are you yet to be on stage? In the meantime, master the script. See you when you get there.
Thursday, 14 July 2011
KEEPING THE BLESSING- PART 2
I feel some urgency in my spirit on the subject matter of keeping the blessing. We serve a God that is so desirous of blessing His people. But He is not wasteful, you know. Scriptures say our LORD has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant (Psalm 35:27). In other words, God delights in blessing His people. But we must develop the capacity to keep the blessings of God. In Malachi we see that God is ever eager to bless us, and we can never have room enough for it. (Malachi 3:10b). It reminds me of the widow that God blessed through Elijah. The oil went as far as the numbers of the jars. Except God Himself is your cup as David said in Psalm 15: 5-6, no matter the size of your container, it will run over when God blesses you. And when it does run over, it is because there are other lives to bless through your own life. David had to make God the ‘Maintainer’ of His lot; even then lines still fell for him. God had to tell Abraham ‘I am your exceedingly great reward’ (Genesis 15: 1). It is more than enough if He is your ‘Rewarder’, what about He being your ‘Reward’- and an exceeding one at that? I like the word ‘exceed’. It is from the word ‘excellence’. If God is your exceeding reward, blessings overlap in your life. Exceed implies that it keeps surpassing expectations. You cannot set a line for excellence. God is so eager to bless. Let’s talk about keeping the blessing.
What can you keep, really? Do you keep promises? God said He has more regard for His words than His name. Do you keep personal resolutions? If you cannot keep your own promise to your own self, how do you keep your word to another? Do you keep secrets? How much can one confide in you? Do you keep appointments? Is time ever against you? Do you keep to time? Do you meet deadlines? Are you constantly behind schedules? Now, can you keep your cool? Are your toes where every Dick, Tom and Harry can step on? Do you keep to instructions? Let’s see how much we keep these things, for it takes so much discipline to keep God’s blessing.
In the previous series, we talked about Adam who did not keep the garden. In Jude, as pointed out also in the previous series, a mention was made of angels that did not keep their ‘estates’. Men and angels alike have failed severally in this business of keeping the blessing of God. As much as we try, we must also accept that we will need God Himself to help us keep His blessing in our lives. So Aaron was taught to pray thus for the children of Israel; ‘May the LORD bless you and keep you’. I remember Olumide just now. In 1999, when I came to know the LORD as my savior and Lord, I shared my experience passionately with Olumide one day and he told me ‘Deolu, this is only an initial excitement that will wane with time, you will still come back’. That night, I cried to God in prayers because I know several people have ‘gone back’. And I knew only God could keep me from going back. I signed God on as the ‘Keeper of my soul’ that day. David wrote that our God is a Keeper. (see Psalm 121:5). You can make Him your Keeper. In that same Scripture, David told us by inspiration that He who keeps us will not slumber nor sleep- just like we have a restless enemy constantly seeking whom to devour. (see I Peter 5:8). The devil comes to steal, to kill and to destroy, isn’t it? (John 10:10). But our God is the Good Shepherd; the Good Sheep-Keeper. The God we serve does not take chances; He keeps whatsoever is committed into His hands. He is able to keep you from falling because ‘underneath are the Everlasting Hands’.
If this God can keep your life and preserve your very soul, what else should you restrain from putting into His hands? He blesses you and keeps you blessed. His guaranty is for eternity.
What can you keep, really? Do you keep promises? God said He has more regard for His words than His name. Do you keep personal resolutions? If you cannot keep your own promise to your own self, how do you keep your word to another? Do you keep secrets? How much can one confide in you? Do you keep appointments? Is time ever against you? Do you keep to time? Do you meet deadlines? Are you constantly behind schedules? Now, can you keep your cool? Are your toes where every Dick, Tom and Harry can step on? Do you keep to instructions? Let’s see how much we keep these things, for it takes so much discipline to keep God’s blessing.
In the previous series, we talked about Adam who did not keep the garden. In Jude, as pointed out also in the previous series, a mention was made of angels that did not keep their ‘estates’. Men and angels alike have failed severally in this business of keeping the blessing of God. As much as we try, we must also accept that we will need God Himself to help us keep His blessing in our lives. So Aaron was taught to pray thus for the children of Israel; ‘May the LORD bless you and keep you’. I remember Olumide just now. In 1999, when I came to know the LORD as my savior and Lord, I shared my experience passionately with Olumide one day and he told me ‘Deolu, this is only an initial excitement that will wane with time, you will still come back’. That night, I cried to God in prayers because I know several people have ‘gone back’. And I knew only God could keep me from going back. I signed God on as the ‘Keeper of my soul’ that day. David wrote that our God is a Keeper. (see Psalm 121:5). You can make Him your Keeper. In that same Scripture, David told us by inspiration that He who keeps us will not slumber nor sleep- just like we have a restless enemy constantly seeking whom to devour. (see I Peter 5:8). The devil comes to steal, to kill and to destroy, isn’t it? (John 10:10). But our God is the Good Shepherd; the Good Sheep-Keeper. The God we serve does not take chances; He keeps whatsoever is committed into His hands. He is able to keep you from falling because ‘underneath are the Everlasting Hands’.
If this God can keep your life and preserve your very soul, what else should you restrain from putting into His hands? He blesses you and keeps you blessed. His guaranty is for eternity.
Friday, 8 July 2011
KEEPING THE BLESSING - Part 1
I have been off for a while. I will simply apologize and not bother to give excuses. Most times, starting is not as hard as continuing. No wonder, Scriptures say ‘Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof’ and in another account, Jesus said ‘… (It is) he that endures to the end (that) shall be saved’. Momentum is more difficult for man than inertia. Finishing is a tougher destination than beginning. It is true that the journey of a thousand miles begin with the first step, but it will take the second, third, fourth and many more consistent steps to complete the race. Oh yes, it is drops of water that make a mighty ocean- not just the first drop. Most times, the effort needed to sustain a project far outweighs what was needed to start up. Of late, I try not to talk of my country, but Nigeria has uncountable projects that are abandoned, much more than there are ‘under-construction’. It far easier to start than to continue, talk less of finishing.
Life is a journey and there are more forces willing to stop you than there are to push you. If God blesses you with one friend that believes in you enough to push you, kneel down where you are and give thanks. That is a friend to keep. I will not be talking ‘friends’ tonight. I will be talking ‘keep’. It’s such a fine word to say; ‘keep’.
In a recent personal study of the Scriptures, I discovered it is one thing to be blessed; it is quite another thing to keep one’s blessing. In the book of Numbers 6:23-26, Moses was being instructed by God on how the high priest should bless an Israelite. The first line says ‘The LORD bless you and keep you…’ ‘Bless’ is a more attractive word. We all crave it, we sometimes claim it. I tried to find a man that was more blessed in the whole of Scriptures than Adam, I did not see. Adam, being the first man, was so, so blessed. He had virtually the whole world at his feet. He was the sole inheritor and the grand patron of all of God’s creation. Creation itself was at her virgin state; nothing had been corrupted yet. Everything was fresh and new. He had the most beautiful woman ever. Adam named all the animals; you can imagine that whatever names he called them came to be. All of them were at his beck and call. He even had God come to visit him on a regular basis. What more could a man ask for? We talk about the blessing of Abraham; I admire the blessing of Adam. Adam’s was pre-Fall. If you are the only blessed man in a cursed land, how blessed are you, really? Adam was blessed in a blessed land. That is what differentiates heaven from earth. Adam had heaven on earth- that is an apt description of how blessed he was. Now, God put him in a garden with a seemingly simple task. Let’s read the account in the Book; ‘Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden to tend and keep it’. (Genesis 2:15). Here was the man for whom the whole earth was created; here was the man whom God had so blessed. Do you not think keeping the garden should be such a simple task compared to keeping the whole earth? Well, you know the story; Adam messed up in the very next chapter of the Book. A serpent accessed Adam’s very privacy. Adam could not keep the garden. Can you keep the blessing?
We easily take the real blessings of life for granted. Let us start with your body. Do you know that as divine as Jesus was, he needed a human frame to operate here on earth? Scriptures say ‘… when He cometh into the world, he saith … a body hast Thou prepared me’ and two verses later it reads; ‘Then said I, Lo, I come … to do Thy will, O God’ (Hebrews 10:5, 7). Even Jesus had to appreciate his body to be able to fulfill God’s will on earth. Are you keeping your body? Do you try to feed well as much as you can- and not eat junks? Do you exercise your body regularly? What bad habits are killing you slowly? Think about it, are you keeping your body?
Do you have a job or a skill of any kind? Keeping the job is not necessarily staying employed. What value are you adding to the organization and to yourself? Do you have an asset of any kind? Are you keeping it?
‘Keep’ is such a slippery thing in the hands of men- and even angels. Follow me to meet Jude. He had just one opportunity to publish his write-up in the Scriptures, and he focused on the subject ‘keep’. In verse 6 he talked about some ‘angels who did not keep their proper domain… ‘. If it is possible for angels not to keep their domain, how will men thrive? So the high priests were taught to seek God for His keeping as much as they do for His blessing. We will hang it on God later on, but let me emphasize again that we all have a duty to keep what we are given. That is why Jude said in the same piece in verse 21; ‘keep yourselves…’ before he said God was able to keep you (Jude: 24).
Virginity is worth keeping. No matter how anointed Mary was, if she was not a virgin, she would not birth Jesus. No matter how beautiful Esther was, she would not be a queen to such a powerful king, if she was not a virgin. God still has a special place for virgins. Even an unplanned pregnancy is worth keeping. Pastor Adeboye, the man with one of the fastest growing church of our time was a result of an unplanned pregnancy. Did Mary plan to be pregnant with Jesus? Do not abort the baby, keep it in spite of the shame.
This is just to say ‘I’m back’ on the blog. And I will get back to this topic soon. Then we shall dwell more on the God that keeps.
Stay blessed.
Life is a journey and there are more forces willing to stop you than there are to push you. If God blesses you with one friend that believes in you enough to push you, kneel down where you are and give thanks. That is a friend to keep. I will not be talking ‘friends’ tonight. I will be talking ‘keep’. It’s such a fine word to say; ‘keep’.
In a recent personal study of the Scriptures, I discovered it is one thing to be blessed; it is quite another thing to keep one’s blessing. In the book of Numbers 6:23-26, Moses was being instructed by God on how the high priest should bless an Israelite. The first line says ‘The LORD bless you and keep you…’ ‘Bless’ is a more attractive word. We all crave it, we sometimes claim it. I tried to find a man that was more blessed in the whole of Scriptures than Adam, I did not see. Adam, being the first man, was so, so blessed. He had virtually the whole world at his feet. He was the sole inheritor and the grand patron of all of God’s creation. Creation itself was at her virgin state; nothing had been corrupted yet. Everything was fresh and new. He had the most beautiful woman ever. Adam named all the animals; you can imagine that whatever names he called them came to be. All of them were at his beck and call. He even had God come to visit him on a regular basis. What more could a man ask for? We talk about the blessing of Abraham; I admire the blessing of Adam. Adam’s was pre-Fall. If you are the only blessed man in a cursed land, how blessed are you, really? Adam was blessed in a blessed land. That is what differentiates heaven from earth. Adam had heaven on earth- that is an apt description of how blessed he was. Now, God put him in a garden with a seemingly simple task. Let’s read the account in the Book; ‘Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden to tend and keep it’. (Genesis 2:15). Here was the man for whom the whole earth was created; here was the man whom God had so blessed. Do you not think keeping the garden should be such a simple task compared to keeping the whole earth? Well, you know the story; Adam messed up in the very next chapter of the Book. A serpent accessed Adam’s very privacy. Adam could not keep the garden. Can you keep the blessing?
We easily take the real blessings of life for granted. Let us start with your body. Do you know that as divine as Jesus was, he needed a human frame to operate here on earth? Scriptures say ‘… when He cometh into the world, he saith … a body hast Thou prepared me’ and two verses later it reads; ‘Then said I, Lo, I come … to do Thy will, O God’ (Hebrews 10:5, 7). Even Jesus had to appreciate his body to be able to fulfill God’s will on earth. Are you keeping your body? Do you try to feed well as much as you can- and not eat junks? Do you exercise your body regularly? What bad habits are killing you slowly? Think about it, are you keeping your body?
Do you have a job or a skill of any kind? Keeping the job is not necessarily staying employed. What value are you adding to the organization and to yourself? Do you have an asset of any kind? Are you keeping it?
‘Keep’ is such a slippery thing in the hands of men- and even angels. Follow me to meet Jude. He had just one opportunity to publish his write-up in the Scriptures, and he focused on the subject ‘keep’. In verse 6 he talked about some ‘angels who did not keep their proper domain… ‘. If it is possible for angels not to keep their domain, how will men thrive? So the high priests were taught to seek God for His keeping as much as they do for His blessing. We will hang it on God later on, but let me emphasize again that we all have a duty to keep what we are given. That is why Jude said in the same piece in verse 21; ‘keep yourselves…’ before he said God was able to keep you (Jude: 24).
Virginity is worth keeping. No matter how anointed Mary was, if she was not a virgin, she would not birth Jesus. No matter how beautiful Esther was, she would not be a queen to such a powerful king, if she was not a virgin. God still has a special place for virgins. Even an unplanned pregnancy is worth keeping. Pastor Adeboye, the man with one of the fastest growing church of our time was a result of an unplanned pregnancy. Did Mary plan to be pregnant with Jesus? Do not abort the baby, keep it in spite of the shame.
This is just to say ‘I’m back’ on the blog. And I will get back to this topic soon. Then we shall dwell more on the God that keeps.
Stay blessed.
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