Something to think about, today!

Che Guevara died at 39.
Bob Marley died at 36.
Martin Luther King Jr. died at 39.
Our LORD and SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST, died at 33 plus.

It would appear that these men had so much to do, and they faced their life’s assignment with all doggedness and commitment, finished in record time, and exited the stage. They didn’t die young, they died empty – having fulfilled their Mission!

I would say the same of Comrade Yinka Odumakin. He lived for an Ideal, pursued it faithfully and fervently, and exited at 54. Like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, he was a rare Nigerian!

It is true that LIFE is not in how long, but how well; it’s not in duration, but in donation! Once you are done, why linger?! What’s the use of living long like Methuselah, and dying unsung, unknown and irrelevant? That’s not living!

I knew a Beloved Academician who died at 48, in 1995. His life: Commitment to CHRIST, the Brethren, His Family and Work, touched me so much, that, when he died, I asked GOD, “WHY?” And, THE FATHER, lovingly directed me to Isaiah 57:1-2, “The RIGHTEOUS perishes, and no man takes it to heart; MERCIFUL men are taken away, while no one considers that the RIGHTEOUS is taken away from evil. He shall enter into PEACE; they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his UPRIGHTNESS.”

Notice the KEY WORDS: RIGHTEOUS, MERCIFUL, PEACE, and UPRIGHTNESS. Does any one of them describe you?

May the LORD take HIS CHURCH, and CHILDREN, away, before inevitable evil comes upon Nigeria, and indeed, the world.

Amen!

That Scripture settled it for me 26 years ago. You see, those who live for GOD, live well, and they don’t worry about death, because they know where they are going, and GOD Himself, is their Undertaker.
Are you living for GOD?
Are you living well?
Do you know where you are going?
Is GOD your Undertaker, or Lucifer and his demons?

According to Luke 16:22, when a RIGHTEOUSNESS man dies, he is CARRIED by angels, but when an unbeliever (wicked, unrighteous, unloving man) dies, he is buried.
Will you be carried, or buried, when you die?
You can choose where you end up tomorrow, today! RECEIVE JESUS AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOUR NOW!
Do it now! Live for HIM, and death will no longer scare you.
SHALOM.

IT’S BAD, VERY BAD!
An old friend visited with us over the weekend. We got talking about life, ministry and all we’ve experienced since our Service Year in 1995/96. It was such a beautiful time reliving those good ol’days.
He’d been a Pastor in one of the very popular churches in the country, and he told me a story that turned my bowels. It was discovered in one of the branches of the Church, that tithes and offerings were being ‘tampered with’ by those entrusted with the counting. When the theft continued, the leadership decided to overhaul the entire counting crew, and replaced them with another set, headed by an elderly gentleman.

It was believed that baba would not capitulate to the ‘thiefing temptation’, but, were they wrong! Not too long after baba took over the leadership of the counters, money continued to develop wings and fly away from the treasury of the Church. Alas, the Church ‘Sleuths’ decided to get to the bottom of the matter. Baba had one of those fanciful Bible carriers/bags, and he would sometimes call his son/grandson, after service – well after counting the offerings and tithes, and say, “Take my ‘Bible’ home for me. I have a meeting.”

It was soon discovered that, a lot of times, baba had been coming to church with an empty Bible carrier, and stuffing it with money from the counting room, and all the while, using his son/grandson to courier the heists away from church premises. Well, baba was apprehended, and relieved of his counting duties.
If we can’t trust the young with money, and we can’t trust elders too, aren’t we in serious trouble as a nation, sorry, country?!

While his story is heartbreaking, it’s not the first time I’ve heard such tales. I’ve actually heard another Pastor narrate similar experiences during a Ministers’ Conference, how they’d even gone ahead to stop counters from wearing socks when going into the counting room. It’s gotten that bad!
There’s a Judas, and other sundry shady characters, in every Church. Don’t be one of them! Don’t be a thief! Be straight!

Money has become the acid test for the veracity and authenticity of many Believer’s Faith. The love of money, not money itself, is the root of all evil. Check it out in 1 Timothy 6:10. Is that Scripture happening to you now? “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
LORD, have mercy on our souls!

WEEKEND STARTERS!
Reports have it that Brother Buhari is back in the country, and he was asked on arrival, “Sir, now that you are back from your medical checkup, or rest, or whatever, what is your next course of action?” Your president was said to have answered, “Quantinuity/Kwontinuity” alias, CONTINUITY!

His answer has caused confusion all around the country; continuity of what exactly?! Is it the continuity of terrorism, Boko Haram, killer herdsmen, redundance and visionlessness in office, mediocrity, nepotism, or what gangan?! Please, if you live in Abuja, or you have the president’s hotline, help us clarify – Quantinuity of what O?

Have you heard that Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has accused the Federal government, and CBN, of printing billions of Naira notes, and sharing it among themselves?

‘You see nah, this kain thing, like palliatives, dem no dey share am reach my side; na vaccination and NIN registration dem go dey disturb me with. Yeye people! Abeg, if you too get good colour printer, wey sharp well well, call me; we fit print our own too nah! Wetin?!’

Enjoy Ya weekend, O jare!

AND, WHAT ABOUT YOU?!

In response to ‘It’s Bad, Very Bad’, a dear brother sent this to me: “Judas stole money in the purse. JESUS’ Ministry was very buoyant…………He stole the purse, and sold the Owner of the Purse to cover up his tracks. Let us stop preaching money, lest we falter, and CHRIST drives us out, like he drove out money exchangers from the temple! Money sermons attract carnality.”

Another reader commented, “Our VALUES SYSTEM is fast dying out, and it affects every fibre of the country.”
So true!

It was David Cameron, the former British Prime Minister, who called Nigeria “fantastically corrupt, and possibly one of the two most corrupt countries in the world”. You and I know that, that statement, is the absolute truth, even though, we got there with a lot of ‘help’ from Britain, America, and the rest of the advanced nations, where our looters stash their stolen funds. The question now is, “Are you fantastically corrupt?”

The truth is, the vast majority of Nigerians are crooked, fantastically corrupt, and would easily sell their souls, brethren, values and principles (if ever they had any) for money.

Let’s begin with the CHURCH.
It’s fantastically corrupt to say, “There are 20 people here that would give #1m (or whatever amount) each. Come out now, and GOD will surprise/bless you fantastically within the next 24 to 48 hours!” That’s a cheap, and crooked way of raising money. GOD has already blessed His People!
I know that I’m walking on thin ice here, but ‘Idi Otito lao kusi!’ I’m so glad that my Pastor, and Mentor, do not engage in such shenanigans, and things still get done in their churches!
Teach the people the WORD OF GOD, and see if they won’t GIVE to move the WORK forward. That is GOD’S Way, and not these manipulations, coercion, grandiose promises, and threats, that some employ!
I regret falling prey to such lies (that’s what they are – LIES), many years gone by.

Let’s consider the CIVIL SERVICE.
Where do our Civil Servants get the money to buy brand new personal cars, build mansions, train their children abroad, etc? Certainly not on their official salaries! Are those allowances, fringe benefits and tips, legit? It’s been said, and I agree, that, “It is our Civil Servants who teach our politicians, and successive leaders, corruption!”
If you worked, or work, for the Federal, State or Local Government, how did you make your money? Are you fantastically corrupt, even though you are a pastor, imam, apostle, evangelist, elder, etc?

What about the PRIVATE SECTOR?
Look at our privately owned schools; virtually all of them are money and status driven! And, many of these schools are owned by ‘Christians’, and other religious organizations. Would JESUS do it like that?!
Other private establishments haven’t faired too well either. Bosses owe salaries for months, yet change cars regularly, go for vacations abroad with their families, buy/build houses, and generally care less about the well-being of their employees. That’s the origin of ‘Fantastically Corrupt!’
What about unjust weights, dishonest scales and balances in our markets? That’s being fantastically corrupt!

While working for a Christian Organization, between 2001 and 2003, my responsibility was raising members and money for the Establishment, and I had quite some well-to-do friends in banks, foreign firms, oil companies, etc, who were giving me money, monthly, for the organization; and many of them weren’t interested in the receipts/documentation I was bringing to them, because they trusted me explicitly.
If I had been fantastically corrupt, or so minded, I could have been stashing collected funds in my own account, become a ‘big boy’, travel the world, and yet be a gifted ‘Man of GOD’, more like man of satan, actually!
I’m by no means a saint, but I don’t steal, and no one should!
Stop stealing our money!
Stop stealing your company’s money!
Stop stealing Church money!
Stop stealing!