‘His…plan has always been to adopt us into his…family.’
Ephesians 1:5 TLB
1. In the Bible God commands us to love one another. Interestingly, He doesn’t command us to like one another. And that’s a good thing because you can love someone and not like certain things about them. Paul writes, ‘We are his workmanship’ (Ephesians 2:10 KJV).
2. The word ‘workmanship’ comes from the Greek word poiéma from which we get the word poetry. And poetry is a diversified and creative thing; it comes in many forms. That’s why the Bible says God works through different people in different ways (see 1 Corinthians 12:6).
3. He uses all kinds of people, including the ones we may not like or want to work with. ‘A spiritual gift is given to each of us’ (1Cor 12:7), and it’s up to us to discover and develop it. ‘Christ gave those gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving’ (Eph 4:12).
4. The word ‘prepare’ is also interesting. It comes from a medical term in the original Greek. Doctors used it to describe the process of setting a broken bone. Stop & look around you today. Have you ever seen so many broken hearts, broken homes, broken dreams, and broken lives?
5. And if we who claim to be followers of Christ do our job right, they'll find help & healing. God uses us to minister to one another, love one another, honour one another & carry one another’s burdens. When you think abt it, the church is God’s treatment centre for everything..
6...that ails us. And if you keep that in mind, it will help you to love and get along with people you don’t necessarily like.
Sometimes when I think of what we did as teenage Christians, I will cringe and sometimes burst out in laughter. Back in the day, we had a crew that specializes in deliverance. We all had our specialty in terms of which "demons" we had the competence to exorcise.
"OB" had the competence to combat the demon of sexual immorality. He cld spot the "seed of the whore" from a mile. "CN" was the HOD of the deliverance unit. "HA" was his deputy. My brother @AdeoluOgunnubi was the apprentice, while I was just the "teacher" to break down the "word"
Whenever there was a case, (which usually is another teenager or widow), CN will be contacted. He will then hold an initial interview with the subject to diagnose the problem and the demon we will be dealing with. This will help him select those who will perform the deliverance.
‘Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.’
Genesis 28:16 NIV
1. Jacob lived life on the fast track doing business deals & making lots of money, unlike David who was on the slow track tending a flock of sheep in his pasture. But notice what each of them said abt God. ‘When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this
2...place & I was not aware of it.”’ On the other hand, David said: ‘I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I'll not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
‘He got into one of the boats…belonging to Simon.’
Luke 5:3 NIV
1. One day Jesus ‘saw at the water’s edge 2 boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats…belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat. When He had finished
2...speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night & haven’t caught anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number
One of the biggest misconceptions is this idea that the 1999 constitution was written by the military. Not True! No single military man was in the constitution drafting committee of 1975/1997 and the CA in 1977. Infact, the 1999 constitution was a replica of the 1979 constitution
The 1999 Constitution was drafted by a Constitution Debate Co-ordinating Committee headed by Justice Niki Tobi, with Dr. Suleiman Kurmo as deputy. They went round the country collecting memoranda through town hall meetings in Benin, Enugu, Jos, Phc, Kaduna, Kano, Ibadan, Lagos...
...Sokoto. They excluded military formations. After all the debates, the Chairman Tobi said, “In the light of the memoranda and the oral presentation on the 1995 Draft Constitution, it's clear that Nigerians basically opt for the 1979 Constitution with relevant amendments. They..
‘Make full use of the gift that God gave you.’
2 Timothy 1:6 CEV
1. Unless you maintain your enthusiasm, life can wear you down. A job that once challenged you can become monotonous, a relationship that once excited you can grow stale, and a daily walk with God that once inspired you can feel like just going through the motions.
2. The word enthusiasm comes from the Greek word which means ‘possessed by or inspired by God’. But how do you stay inspired? Just as the Israelites gathered fresh manna every morning, you need a daily infusion of God’s Word & God’s Spirit. Paul challenged the Christians in Rome: