In defense of No defense?

I figured I’ll write something different from what I normally do. I don’t even know under what category to file this. Maybe it’s an opinion piece. 

Many of us know the storm a novel titled “The Da Vinci Code” written by Dan Brown caused. Not only did that novel claim so many not-generally-known theories (like Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and had a child), it also claimed that those “theories” were actually “facts”. What better way to provide facts than to support them with evidence which that book provided a lot of. I actually read the book (who doesn’t like a good mystery?) and I remember saying then that this book was not meant for those who were unsure of their standing in Christ.

The three sides to a story

 

You may have heard the saying that to every story, there are two sides. I think to many stories, there are actually three sides: what party A saw, what party B saw and what really happened.

Let me give you an example from personal experience which you can probably relate to if you drive in Lagos. Driving in Lagos is normally a crazy experience but getting through a roundabout in Lagos with traffic on all sides is phenomenally crazy! People just change lanes like snakes.

Anyways, I was driving back home one evening and on getting to the roundabout, one guy just strayed from his lane, got in front of me and barely missed my bumper only because I applied my brakes so hard.

People are not their situations

For some reason I woke up around 6:00am that Sunday morning. Church wasn’t till later but I knew I had to go out to look for fuel. The heat of the previous day without electricity was almost unbearable and I couldn’t afford a repeat.

Driving around a bit, I finally found a filling station with about 3 cars on the queue. The catch? Well, they were not selling fuel…yet. A tanker had come to discharge fuel and they wouldn’t start selling fuel until it was done. Did you know discharging takes over an hour? Well, now I know.

Rather than sitting in the car doing nothing, I decided to go strike up conversation with those discharging the fuel. As I walked down to the tanks, I couldn’t help but notice the jerrycan queue which was probably longer than the queue for cars. “Oh well, I will leave here one day“, I thought to myself.

One year later…

A few days ago made it one year since I carried my portmanteau and moved back to Nigeria from the UK. In January of that year, I woke up and asked myself the question: “Adeolu, what are you doing here?” I had asked myself that question severally in the past but it wasn’t until that day that I decided to do something about it.

The plan was never to stay in the UK after my Masters but one and a half years after my degree,

Don’t get comfortable

(photo credit: popsugar.com)

A short true life story to begin: I know a certain guy who traveled out of his native country to go further his education. However, he always had a plan to return “home” after his studies to build his business empire. 1 year after the completion of his studies, he found himself stuck abroad – the fear of “what to do if i return” had crippled him. He began to think to himself, “maybe this place isn’t so bad after all”…he had gotten comfortable.

The silly things couples argue about: White or Cream?

Recently, I watched a funny (but true) video on Facebook about the weird things couples fight about. I sent it to my wife, we laughed and picked the ones that were similar in our relationship.

Fast forward two days and we were driving to work. She brushed her laptop bag on my t-shirt and I was like “Ah ahn, you want to stain my white shirt?” She goes, “It’s not even a white shirt – it is cream”. *Begin silly fight*

From receiving to giving

It’s been a while since I wrote a post that wasn’t techy but I thought I will share this.

In Genesis 37, the Bible introduces Joseph the dreamer. Gen 37:5 reads thus:

“And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more“

I can’t imagine what it would have been like being Joseph- hated by your own brothers to the point of being sold (they even wanted to kill him) but that is not where I’m going with this. As we continue in the story of Joseph, we see that he is a boy/man who has the fear of God in him and God made him prosper everywhere he went. Then in Genesis 40, we see Joseph the Interpreter and it was this act of interpretation that eventually led to his release from prison and uplifting, albeit 2 years later.

Then it struck me: The dreams we receive will become reality when we start giving something to bring about the fulfillment of those dreams, that is, being a solution provider.

 

Finishing well vs. Starting well

(photo credit: gospelherald.com)

I remember reading the Book of Acts and the account of Paul, Barnabas and Mark and wondering how it got so bad between them. In Acts 15:36-40, the Bible reads:

“And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.”

Barnabas was one of those that stood by Paul after his conversion and yet they went separate ways. That was the last time we heard of Barnabas (except when Paul mentioned his name in one of his letters to the Churches); but this is not where I’m going. From the above Scripture, we see that Mark did not ‘start well’. It seems he left them when the going was rough.

Now, let’s look at someone who started well. His name was Demas and Paul in his letter to Philemon in Phil 1:23-24 says:

“There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus; Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellowlabourers.”

Fast forward a few years down the line when Paul was writing to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:10-11. This seems to be one of his last letters before he was martyred:

“For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica… Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.”

This same Mark who was the cause of the split between Paul and Barnabas has suddenly become profitable for the ministry; and the Demas who was called a fellowlabourer loved the world and departed? Wow! I didn’t see that coming.

I guess in the end, what matters most is how we finish although starting well is definitely a plus.

Food for thought:

It’s easy to live in bondage of fear about where we will end up when that Trumpet goes off but I think a better way to live is to live in love. May God help us in our walk towards perfection of love.

Life nugget:

Matthew 10:22 “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”

 

Wedding budget spreadsheet

(Photo credit: itsabrideslife.com)

This post is in response to some comments that we’ve gotten over time from our friends who will like to have an idea of how much a wedding costs.

Tolu and I being quite techy started off creating a spreadsheet for our wedding budget. Putting down cost helps so that you are not deceiving yourself being overly happy (low cost) or giving yourself a headache (high cost) over arbitrary costs. We used Google Docs so that we can collaborate and edit at the same time.

Here is a blank (no price) Wedding Expenses Spreadsheet to help you get started and give you a general idea of the things a couple will usually have to buy. We recognise that there are different types of wedding planning e.g. couple bearing ALL the cost; couple bearing some cost and family of couple also being involved; so you can tweak it as required.

Life nugget:

Luke 14:28 “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?”

They lied to us

(picture credit: hdfons.com)

“They” does not refer to anyone in particular; it refers to the notions we grew up with. They probably didn’t know any better either.

1. They told us we should be scared of witches and wizards and demons and don’t even try the devil himself; but that’s not right. The devil should be the one scared of me because the Bible tells me to resist the devil and he will FLEE from me. Imagine what the lower ranks will do. James 4:7
2. They told us that prosperity was evil; that poverty was synonymous with being pious. Hold up! “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus“. Philippians 4:19; 2 Corinthians 9:8
3. They told us the mother was the “spiri-coco” of the house and the father just needed to provide and know God “just enough”. But nowhere does it tell me in the Bible that the New Testament Church was filled with only women.
4. They told us that if it God’s will to heal us, then He will and if not, then He won’t. Chill: How can the One Who sent His ONLY Son to die for us not be willing to heal us? Lemme take it a step further: He has already healed us. Matthew 8:17; 1 Peter 2:24
5. They told us we should pray so that faith will come. Only if they meant that we should pray for a deeper understanding of His Word because Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Romans 10:17
6. They told us that God is responsible for all the evil in the world. *jaws drop* How can the Father of Lights in Whom there’s no darkness be a force of evil? Best believe, the devil is the god of this world. I didn’t say it; Paul did. 2 Corinthians 4:4
7. They told us to end every prayer with “Let thy will be done” C’mon, there was only one time Jesus prayed like that. He also said God will give us WHATSOEVER we ask in His [Jesus’] Name. John 16:23-24
8. They told us God was like a headmaster waiting to “hack” us down for every sin we commit. They forgot to mention that the whole point of Jesus coming was redemption and forgiveness. That being said, shall we sin because we are not under the Law but under Grace? God forbid! 1John 1:9
9. They told us to keep “shouting at” God and burp our head from side to side, hoping that one of our prayers will strike past the ozone layer and make it through to Heaven. They didn’t add “…and oh, you need some faith with that too“. Hebrews 11:6
10. They said they evolved from monkeys; that their world happened as a result of big bang; and that there’s no God. Please, that’s not even why we are here. Genesis 1

Perhaps! I’m also lying to you. Why don’t you find out for yourself?