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.

Has the Cloud moved?

Let me give you a context for this post: God Himself came down (through Moses) to deliver the Israelites from the Egyptians. He led them through the wilderness to a land He had promised to Abraham.

Now let’s read Numbers 9:21-22 (NKJV):

“So it was, when the cloud remained only from evening until morning: when the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they would journey; whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud was taken up, they would journey. Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey.”

Have you ever lived the life of a nomad? Maybe because of work, you have to stay somewhere close to your office during the week and then go back “home” during the weekend. You are shuttling between these places so much that you don’t even have a “home Church” – on Sundays, you are in one Church and during the midweek service, you are in another Church. It’s not a great experience because you just feel unsettled.

Now imagine these children of Israel going through the wilderness to the Promised Land. The cloud will go before them and stop; they will set up camp. At any time, 2 days, one month, one year, the cloud will move and they will also have to move. How do you think they must have felt?

I was asking God, “Ahn ahn, why will You let them settle down only for 2 days? Wouldn’t it have been stressful (physically and emotionally) for them?” But then it dawned on me: these people had a destination – the Promised Land; why would you settle before getting to your destination?

Many of us have settled on our way to our destination (God’s plan for our lives). It may be getting too comfortable with that job when God intends for you to be an employer of labor. It may be reading journals when God’s plan for you is to touch lives through your writing.

So take a stock of your life today and check whether you have settled before reaching your Promised Land.

The Father is always standing there…

On the 7th of April, we welcomed our Baby Zara to the (real not womb) world. Indeed it was a day of remembering God’s awesomeness – how a human being can come out of another human being is just mind blowing. That birth story is for another day.

Anyways, at some point, we started noticing that she wouldn’t fall asleep except someone was carrying her. In the words of the Yoruba people, “owo ti fe mo lara”. That was not acceptable and it needed to be fixed.

Look Who is backing me

I was scrolling through my BBM feed this morning and I saw this picture:

Something about it ministered to me. You see a baby cub walking in front but behind it, somewhere out of focus but still there, you see the bigger lion. So even if a prey is not afraid of the baby lion, it definitely should flee from the full-grown lion.

Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah and like my father in the Lord will say, “The son of a dog is a dog; the son of a goat is a goat; therefore, the son of a lion is a lion!” I am a lion! Even if I’m a baby lion, I am backed by the full authority of the King Lion.

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.“

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,

Bible study with various versions

I recently started using the NKJV version as my main Bible study version; formerly I was a KJV-ian. In the past months that I have been using NKJV, I have seen different meanings come to life in same verses I have read in KJV. A few of them:

Philippians 2:9 (KJV): “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name” Other versions read “the name” which gives a stronger meaning to the verse. “a name” makes it seem like there may be other names that are on equal standing with the one God gave Jesus.

1Tim 3:6 (KJV): “Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.” Reading other versions, I got to find out this verse actually meant “the same condemnation as the devil did“.

ITim 6:10 (KJV): “For the love of money is the root of all evil…” Other versions read “a root” signifying that there are other evils which do not have their root in the love of money. Here again we see the difference between ‘a’ and ‘the’.

In summary, even though you use a particular version of the Bible for your study, check other versions from time to time; you just might unlock a different level of understanding for what you are reading.

How can you say God is not partial?

(Photo credit: wdedueval.com)

That was the question I had in my head after I read Paul’s statement in Galatians 2:6 (NKJV):

“But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me.”

I also remember Peter had made a similar statement in Acts 10:34:

“Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.”

How can you say God is not partial and yet He was very ‘partial’ to Abraham or even David? These verses are some of those verses of the Bible that you read, don’t understand and just move on, mentally agreeing that the Bible is right and you just have not seen the light. But not today; I wanted answers – and so I asked.

Motives matters

(Photo credit: wycliffe.org.uk)

Sometimes I get on my knees to pray and after a while I ask myself: “Why am I even praying?” Other times I’m halfway through my Bible Study and then I wonder “Am I doing this to fulfill all righteousness?” And then those days when I fast, I wonder if I’m just going on a diet.

By now, you should get where I’m going with this. The reason we do the things we do matters. That is one of the differences between being religious and being spiritual. A couple of Scriptures to back this up:

1Cor 13:3 “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.“

Rom 2:16 “In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.“

Heb 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.“

Don’t get me wrong, obedience is good. However, beyond plain obedience is knowing the reason behind what you are doing so that you don’t miss out on the real benefits. For example:

• You can stand on the fact that you are a tithe payer to rebuke the devourer from your possessions (Mal 3:8-10).
• Honour your parents and it shall be well with you (Eph 6:2-3)
• When you are giving to the poor, remember that you are lending to God: He will repay (Prov 19:17)
• Pray in the Spirit. It’s not (only) when you are tired of praying that you switch to tongues; it’s a means of personal edification (1Cor 14:4)

I guess the journey becomes more interesting when you know why you are going.

What are you bringing to the table?

(Photo credit – pizzaranchserves.com)

I remember reading 1Timothy 1:12 and wondering what Paul meant there. It says (emphasis mine):

“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;“

When Paul said Jesus counted him faithful to be put into ministry, it sounded like he was saying he was qualified to be called into ministry. Haven’t we always heard that “God doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the called”?

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.