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Tag: Christians

  • Ortom knocks presidency, backs Bishop Kukah on claims of persecution of Christians in Nigeria

    Ortom knocks presidency, backs Bishop Kukah on claims of persecution of Christians in Nigeria

    The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has backed the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Bishop Matthew Kukah over his recent comments on insecurity.

    Kukah had during an address to the US Congress Commission on July 15, accused President Muhammadu Buhari of showing preference to people of his religion which according to him, has worsened the rivalry between Christians and Muslims.

    Kukah said the Buhari administration has failed to address insecurity but the presidency had replied the Catholic bishop, accusing him of trying to sow discord and strife among Nigerians.

    The Presidency has since tackled Kukah, describing his comments as “unfortunate and disappointing”, complaining that the cleric “castigated” Nigeria before the US lawmakers.

    However, supporting the cleric via a statement issued on Saturday by his spokesman, Terver Akase, Governor Ortom asked the Federal Government to stop intimidating patriotic Nigerians who are raising genuine concerns over the worsening security and economic situation in the country.

    Ortom said he “stands with Bishop Kukah on the issues he raised,” adding that he would have said similar things if he were to address the same audience.

    “Governor Ortom states that the country is practicing democracy which has no room for repression and dictatorship,” the statement partly read.

    “He notes that the country’s Constitution guarantees the freedom of speech to all citizens, unlike a military regime which suppresses the right of the people to voice their opinions on challenges facing their country.”

    The Benue governor described the cleric as “one Nigerian who is selfless and speaks his mind frankly on national issues calling on the government to ensure justice, the rule of law and equity for all.”

    He also took a swipe at the Presidency’s response to the criticism, wondering why the current administration has chosen to politicize the views of Bishop Kukah when all the issues he highlighted in his address are facts about the country.

    “He says Kukah was right when he stated that nepotism has been elevated above federal character by the present administration. He further agrees with the Bishop that Christians across the country are targets of elimination and thousands have already fallen to the sword of jihadist supremacists,” the statement added.

    See the full statement issued by Governor Samuel Ortom below:

    I STAND WITH BISHOP KUKAH – GOV ORTOM

    Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom describes as unfortunate, the response of the Presidency to the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah’s address to the United States Congress Committee on Foreign Affairs regarding the wave of insecurity in the country.

    The Governor says he stands with Bishop Kukah on the issues he raised and stresses that he would have said similar things if he were to address the same audience.

    He advises the Federal Government to stop intimidating patriotic Nigerians who are raising genuine concerns over the worsening security and economic situation in the country.

    Governor Ortom states that the country is practicing democracy which has no room for repression and dictatorship. He notes that the country’s Constitution guarantees the freedom of speech to all citizens, unlike a military regime which suppresses the right of the people to voice their opinions on challenges facing their country.

    He says Bishop Kukah is one Nigerian who is selfless and speaks his mind frankly on national issues calling on the government to ensure justice, the rule of law and equity for all.

    The Governor wonders why the Presidency has chosen to politicize the views of Bishop Kukah when all the issues he highlighted in his address are facts about the country.

    He says Kukah was right when he stated that nepotism has been elevated above federal character by the present administration. He further agrees with the Bishop that Christians across the country are targets of elimination and thousands have already fallen to the sword of jihadist supremacists.

    Governor Ortom states that Kukah is not to blame for the ranking of Nigeria as the 8th least peaceful country in Africa and the rating of killer herdsmen as the 4th deadliest terror group in the world by the Global Terrorism Index.

    He expects the Presidency to rather be worried that Nigeria is ranked as the most terrorised nation in Africa with an average of over 2,000 deaths per year on account of terrorism.

    He emphasizes that the combative approach the Presidency has adopted in engaging citizens on issues will not solve the problems confronting the country.

    Governor Ortom says Bishop Kukah is not the first Nigerian to address a foreign audience on the security situation in the country. He recalls that in February, 2015 President Buhari was at the time the candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, when he delivered a speech at Chatham House in London, where he stated that “Boko Haram has sadly put Nigeria on the terrorism map, killing more than 13,000 of our nationals.” The President went on to announce to the world on that occasion that apart from the civil war era, Nigeria had never been more insecure in the country’s history.

    The Governor states that if a man who was seeking to govern the country could reel out such scary statistics, why will his aides now launch media attacks on a clergyman who is only advocating peace and is drawing the attention of the global community to the plight of helpless Nigerians.

    Governor Ortom once again tasks the Federal Government to arrest and prosecute members of armed Fulani groups for killing innocent Nigerians, the same way it effected the arrest of the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, and Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Igboho to prove critics wrong that its fight against terrorism and other crimes is unbiased.

    He says the President may not be collecting proceeds from corrupt deals under his administration and may even not be aware that such shady deals exist, but some of his aides are deeply involved in corrupt practices and are denying Nigerians of the services and projects meant to alleviate poverty and hunger in the land.

    Governor Ortom maintains that the President may also not be aware that Nigerians are facing harsh economic conditions and many are being killed by bandits, herdsmen and other terrorists because some of the persons saddled with the responsibility of telling him the truth have refused to do so.

    He urges the Presidency to listen to the voices of reason and resist the temptation to whip into silence those who genuinely love the country and are offering solutions to its challenges.

    Terver Akase

    Chief Press Secretary

    July 24, 2021.

  • Enduring to the end – Femi Aribisala

    Femi Aribisala

    One day, as I was reading Jesus’ Sermon of the Mount yet again, I suddenly heard the Lord say to me, deep within my spirit-man: “Femi, the end justifies the means.”

    What does this have to do with the beatitudes? Can we, should we, justify the end by the means? Is it godly to do so? I decided to search the scriptures for the answer.

    Immediately, the whole thing opened to me like a book. I discovered that, in the kingdom of God, the end always justifies the means.

    Does this mean it is okay to rob a bank, as long as you succeed? Yes; that is precisely what it means. But there is a catch-22. It is impossible to rob a bank successfully. No matter who we are; we are all going to answer to God for our actions and inactions. Therefore, if we were to rob a bank we might escape the detection of men; but we cannot escape the judgment of God.

    David thought he had killed Uriah, married his wife, Bathsheba, and gone scot-free. But nine months later, Prophet Nathan showed up to inform him God saw it all. All evil is done in the sight of God. There is no escape for the wicked.

    Wisdom of serpents

    Jesus says: “The sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.” (Luke 16:8).

    When the sons of this world have an objective, they go to any lengths to achieve it. Tell them to bury five hundred cows and they will do it. Tell them to bring the foreskins of one hundred Philistines and, like David, they are likely to bring two hundred in order to make assurance doubly sure. Tell them to sleep with ten prostitutes possessed by legions of demons and they will obey.

    Paradoxically, God likes this kind of people. They have the raw materials the Holy Spirit can readily work with. They are the ones likely to remove the roof of a building in order to get to Jesus. They are the riffraff, like blind Bartimaeus, who refuse to keep quiet until they get Jesus’ attention.

    Jesus says: “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Matthew 11:12). In the kingdom of God, the last become first, and the first become last. The last go all the way, but the first are usually complacent.

    Have you never wondered why God loved Jacob so much? Jacob was a master practitioner of the kingdom dynamic whereby the end justifies the means. He knew what he wanted, and he went for it by all means. He refused to be denied.

    If you refused to give Jacob something, he would steal it. If you refused to give him money, he would pick your pocket. If you refused to tell him the time, he would steal your wristwatch. Jacob would climb any mountain and cross any ocean to get what he wants.

    God loves this kind of person. He is the kind of sinner Jesus is looking for in his kingdom. Once converted, he will not be lukewarm but will suffer violence and take the kingdom by force. If you can get this kind of sinner to fall in love with God, you can be sure he will be a man after God’s heart.

    What about the sons of light?

    We are a bunch of jokers. We say we want to go to heaven but tell us to sell all we have and give the proceeds to the poor, and we are likely to have a change of mind. Tell us to fast, and we will not. Tell us to pray, and we come up with excuses. Tell us to read the bible, and we would rather read “Mills and Boons.”

    But do we really want to go to heaven? Yes, we do. But we do not want to pay the price. Jesus says: “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not weep.” (Luke 7:32).

    Make no mistake about it; the sons of this world give up a lot for success. They give up joy, peace, and love. They murder sleep. Some even mortgage their souls in order to make it. The end justifies their means. In the end, they realise their dreams and become ministers, commissioners, ambassadors, and managing-directors.

    But the sons of light have been deceived. We have been sedated into slumber. We have been churched into believing Jesus has done it all and we need to do nothing. Yes, it is the good pleasure of the Father to give us the kingdom. Nevertheless, there are giants on the way to the Promised Land. That means we must go through the wilderness and fight spiritual battles upon battles. But we fight, knowing we will win in the end.

    The End

    You watch a film and, after about ninety minutes of twists and turns, the hero finally marries the princess, and then “THE END” appears on the screen. But it is a lie. The story did not end there. In fact, at that point, the marriage just began.

    Only Jesus can declare THE END. It is the end that justifies the means. But remember, Jesus is the beginning and the ending. You rigged the election and became President of the Republic. Who told you that is the end of the story? What shall it profit a man if he becomes the President and loses his own soul?

    It does not end with this world. It ends with Christ. It ends with the Lord in heaven and the means to the end is the choice we make whether to follow God’s narrow road that leads to life.

    Way of suffering

    A Christian wants to go to heaven, so he goes to the motor-park church. He asks which vehicle is going to heaven. They tell him Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6).

    He asks which vehicle is Jesus? They show him a terrible ramshackle old mammy-wagon. It has neither form nor comeliness. There is no beauty in it that he should desire it. (Isaiah 53:2). On the vehicle is written boldly the caption: “Life of Suffering.”

    But beside it is a Rolls Royce. “Where is that one going?” he asks. “That one is going to Abuja.” The man decides he would rather travel in a Rolls Royce than in a battered mammy-wagon. As a result, he ends up in Abuja where he gets a lot of government contracts and makes a lot of money. But heaven, and not Abuja, is the final destination.

    The beatitudes are all unpleasant. There is nothing nice about being poor or mournful. Neither does it feel good to hunger and thirst. The meek are often taken advantage of, and it is not wonderful to be persecuted and reviled.

    Nobody likes it when all kinds of evil things are said falsely against us. But if that is what it takes to confirm our status in the kingdom of God, then the glorious end certainly justifies the suffering means.

    Jesus says: “He who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:22).

  • Mega pastors and mega churches – Femi Aribisala

     

    By Femi Aribisala

    Pastors contradict the counsel of the Lord without batting their eyelids. They plant church parishes like supermarkets in every street corner. They build cathedrals and church monuments like World Trade Centres, each one striving to be the biggest and most splendiferous in the universe.

    They gather thousands, even millions, of “worshippers” in front of television cameras every so often on the mountains of Kilimanjaro. They are the new spiritual superstars; the mega-pastors of the mega-churches.

    While the emphasis of some mega-churches on branch-networking and exponential growth might be a wonderful policy for a fast-food chain, as a framework for a Christian organisation, it has tended to produce half-baked pastors.

    Carnal growth

    In the world today, success in “churchianity” is measured by the size of the congregation and not by changed lives. Accordingly, highfalutin mega-pastors have fine-tuned church-growth strategies. It is all a question of numbers, numbers, and more numbers.

    Numbers determine how much money is fleeced from the flock. Numbers determine the extent of pastoral control and captivity of men. When pastors meet, the unspoken question is “how big is your church?” The answer determines social status. Like Mordecai to Haman, the pastors of mini churches are required to bow down to the mega-pastors.

    One pastor even maintains God gave him the specific mandate to establish mega-churches, as opposed to mini ones. raise up churches: he has only one church. He does not ask men to build churches for Him. Jesus says: “I will build My church.” (Matthew 16:18). Moreover, God despises what men esteem. (Luke 16:15). Therefore, He generally prefers the mini to the mega.

    Jesus identifies God’s flock as little, as opposed to large. He says: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32). Thus, Zechariah asks rhetorically: “Who has despised the day of small things?” (Zechariah 4:10).

    Deceitfulness of riches

    Think of a man with companies at home and abroad. He has houses in every state capital and in choice locations all over the world. He has a fleet of cars and his own jet planes. My sister, is that not the kind of husband you would like? Know this for sure: God is less than impressed.

    The Lord says: “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey.’” (Matthew 21:5). Daughter of Zion, Jesus was not the classical husband-material. He did not drive around in a Mercedes-Jeep, but on a donkey. He did not even build His own house. Instead, He said: “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Matthew 8:20).

    Think of a woman of great and dazzling beauty. Our very own Agbani Darego easily comes to mind. She blazed the trail as Nigeria’s first Miss World; for a season, the acclaimed most beautiful woman in the world.

    But if we were to seek God’s opinion, He would consider her beauty to be ugly. That is why Jesus had to be an ugly man; that His beauty might be exclusively divine. Isaiah says Jesus was ugly: “He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.” (Isaiah 53:2).

    However, because Jesus was ugly according to the values of this world, He was handsome according to the values of the kingdom of God. The beauty of the Lord is the beauty of holiness. (2 Chronicles 20:21). His beauty is the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit that is of great price in the eyes of the Lord. (1 Peter 3:4).

    Kingdom dynamics

    Indeed, according to Jesus’ kingdom dynamics, the popularity of a church is eloquent testimony of failure and not of success. Jesus told his disciples: “The world would love you if you belonged to it; but you don’t- for I chose you to come out of the world, and so it hates you.” (John 15:19).

    However, the world loves today’s mega-pastors. Nothing rubbished a Nigerian pastor’s ministry more eloquently than Newsweek’s declaration that he is one of the world’s most respected men. Jesus says: “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26).

    “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!’” (Zechariah 4:6-7).

    One of the great mountains before Zerubbabel was Solomon’s temple. Those charged with rebuilding it were intimidated that the new temple would not have the splendour and majesty of the old.

    But God is not concerned with size and other externalities. Through Haggai, he notes that, in spite of its physical shortcomings, “the glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former.” (Haggai 2:9). Before Zerubbabel, the great mountain of Solomon’s temple would become a plain.

    When the disciples extolled the splendour of the Jerusalem temple to Jesus, He replied: “All these buildings will be knocked down, with not one stone left on top of another!” (Matthew 24:2). The same fate awaits the magnificent cathedrals of today.

    God’s verdict

    In the kingdom of God, it is the stone the builders reject that becomes the headstone. (Psalm 118:22). According to Jesus, the first will become last and the last first. (Mark 10:31). So, today’s “first-class” pastors and their majestic churches will eventually be humbled.

    Isaiah says: “every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill brought low.” (Isaiah 40:4). This indicates that, in the day of the Lord, we are likely to discover that the big church is small in the sight of the Lord and the small church is big.

    Mega-churches readily sacrifice the doctrine of Christ on the altar of the imperatives for a large following. But we are not called to empire-building but to righteousness. Indeed, Jesus says to popular mega-churches across the ages: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” (Revelation 3:1).

    David got into trouble with God when he became preoccupied with size. When pride moved him to conduct a census in Israel in order to glory in the size of his kingdom, God responded by decimating it with pestilence which killed seventy-thousand men. (2 Samuel 24:1-15). Jesus himself was not the product of a big “church,” but of little Bethlehem Ephrathah. (Micah 5:2).

    The messages that promote numerical growth often impede spiritual growth. Everywhere, pastors are engaged in church-planting, for the primary purpose of increasing their dominion and finances. The outcome is the mushrooming of churches that are impressive to men, but contemptible to God.

    Isaiah warns: “Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, therefore you will plant pleasant plants and set out foreign seedlings; in the day you will make your plant to grow, and in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; but the harvest will be a heap of ruins in the day of grief and desperate sorrow.” (Isaiah 17:10-11).

  • The Strange ways of God – Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    When we come to Christ, we must forsake not only our ways but also our thoughts. Isaiah says: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:7). We must also jettison the traditions of men. Jesus berated the Pharisees for teaching: “Man-made laws instead of those from God.” (Matthew 15:9).

    God says: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

    Therefore, child of God, forget your logic, your conspiracy theories, and your principles: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

    You ask a Christian a question and he answers by saying: “I think…” Nobody cares what you think. The question is: What does God think.”

    You seek someone’s counsel, and he tells you: “In my opinion…blah, blah, blah.” Nobody is asking for your opinion. Your opinion is irrelevant. We are only interested in the opinion of God. What do the scriptures say?

    We never need man’s advice. We only need God’s advice. The counsel of man is irrelevant. It is designed to land us in the ditch.

    Stranger than fiction

    The ways of God are strange. Indeed, in so many instances, God’s ways are foolish. But the scriptures tell us that: “The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:25).

    Does this mean God is foolish? How can He be? On the contrary, the bible affirms that we serve the only wise God. (1 Timothy 1:17). But for God to be able to relate to man, he must become foolish. For God to fellowship with man, he must come down to our level.

    You cannot dangle a baby on your knees and discuss Quantum Physics with him. No! You might start making idiotic cooing sounds and might even start making stupid faces.

    God is El Shaddai: The Almighty and the all-Sufficient. But surely, the all-sufficiency of God must include the ability to come down to man’s level to relate to us, communicate with us and interact with us. If he is unable to do this, then He is not God, for surely God is able to do all things.

    And so there must be foolishness to God and that foolishness must be to man’s advantage and justification. Certainly, the wisdom of God must be far beyond man. Therefore, there must be a foolishness of God to accommodate man’s foolishness, so that the all-wise God can also be the God of foolish man.

    For as David said: “O God, you know so well how stupid I am, and you know all my sins.” (Psalm 69:5).

    The incarnation

    The God who created the earth decided to visit His creations on earth. In His foolishness, He then decided to come as a man. He did not fly down from heaven like an angel. Instead, He came in through the womb of a woman.

    Can you imagine how foolish that was?

    And so, God was born of a woman as a baby. God sucked a woman’s breast. God crawled on the ground and learnt to walk and to talk. In His foolishness, God grew in wisdom and in stature. God then died a shameful death on the cross as a man. But in His divinity, He rose from the dead with power and glory.

    Isaiah asks: “Who has believed this report?” Without the help of God, we would not have believed it either.

    In conversation with God the Father: “Jesus answered and said, ‘I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight’” (Matthew 11:25-26).

    I did not believe the story of Jonah spending 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of a fish until one day God demonstrated it to me. He took me by revelation under the sea and kept me in an air bubble. I looked up and fishes were swimming all around me.

    Peculiar goodness

    The God of the bible is not nice as men define niceness. He could not have been because His kingdom is not of this world.

    What kind of father tells his son to marry a prostitute? What kind of person tells Ezekiel to announce to the world that his wife would die the next day in order to prove a point, and he tells him that he is not allowed to cry? What kind of person tells the Levites to carry a sword and kill members of their own family and relations?

    What kind of person instructs Isaiah to go around without his trousers for three years? What kind of person instructs Saul to attack Amalek and kill all the men, women, children, babies, sheep, camel, and donkeys? What kind of person kills off the Israelites one by one over forty years in the wilderness? What kind of father sends his children into captivity in order to teach them a lesson?

    God is that kind of person.

    David sinned by numbering Israel. For this, God killed 70,000 Israelites without including David. Was that fair? The Ark of God was falling down, Uzzah tried to prevent it and God killed him. Was that nice?

    If God were a man, He would not be a nice man at all. God’s concept of goodness is different from that of man.

    Rock of Offense

    When through Jesus, God became a man, the bible describes Him as a rock of offence.

    As a twelve-year-old, Jesus stayed all day and night in the temple for three days without telling his parents where he was. He called Peter “Satan.” He made a whip, beat the people in the temple, and smashed their wares. He did not just lecture them or tell them that what they were doing was wrong.

    He called a woman who came to request healing for her child a dog. He encouraged Judas to go and betray him. He refused to help John the Baptist when Herod arrested him. When told that his good friend Lazarus was sick, he said he was glad. He refused to budge until the man died.

    He always kept company with disreputable people. He took sides with a woman caught in adultery. He asked a woman who had been sick for 38 years if he would like to be healed. In a crowded scene of the sick, He only healed that one man and left all the others unhealed.

    He pronounced woe on the Pharisees and abused them, calling them white-washed tombstones. He called people fools. He told the Jews that the devil was their father. He denied his own mother and brothers.

    Nevertheless, this same Jesus is now our righteousness: “For (God) made (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

  • Jealous God – Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    God is a person with a personality. He is the most important person in the universe. It is imperative to know His likes and dislikes. The only authority on God is God Himself. How does God say about Himself?

     

    “You shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” (Exodus 34:14)

     

    God is not only jealous, His name is Jealous. He says: “And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to My name, I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings.” (Malachi 2:1-2).

     

    Green-eyed monster

     

    William Shakespeare calls jealousy the green-eyed monster in Othello. Jealousy has overtones of selfishness, suspicion, and distrust. It involves resentment at others because of some advantage we perceive they have.

     

    Jealousy is possessive, demanding, and overbearing. It stifles freedom and individuality. It degrades and demeans. It destroys friendships and marriages.

     

    In English, the words jealous and envy are often used interchangeably. Nevertheless, they are slightly different. We are jealous about something or someone we consider belongs to us. We are envious about what belongs to someone else.

     

    Jealousy often leads to sin. Joseph’s brothers were envious of his father’s affection for him, so they sold him into slavery. The Pharisees and the elders of the people of Israel were jealous of Jesus’ ministry, so they conspired to kill Him.

     

    The bible says: “Love is not jealous.” (1 Corinthians 13:4). How then can God who is love, and kind, describe Himself as jealous?

     

    Godly jealousy

     

    There is sinful jealousy and godly jealousy. Godly jealousy is the jealousy of God.

    God is jealous for his glory. That means He is passionate about His glory. He says: “I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images.” (Isaiah 42:8).

     

    God is jealous when we give His glory to ourselves or to others. The psalmist says: “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth.” (Psalm 115:1).

     

    We often fight for the glory of God. We claim to be responsible for things we could not have done but for God. Again, the psalmist counsels:

     

    “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,” let Israel now say — If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive, when their wrath was kindled against us.” (Psalm 124:1-3).

     

    God is jealous when something that rightfully belongs to Him is attributed to someone else:

     

    “You shall not make for yourself a carved image — any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me.” (Exodus 20:4-5).

     

    Jesus amplifies this: “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Money belongs to Caesar. Worship, reverence, and fear belong to God.

     

    Desire of nations

     

    God is described in scripture as the desire of all nations. (Haggai 2:7). God is jealous when we desire something or someone more than Him. Moses says: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).

     

    But instead of loving God with all out heart, we love money, riches, men, women, gold, houses, cars, power, fame, positions etc.

    This makes God jealous.

     

    Jesus says: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:26-27).

    If you love your wife or husband more than the Lord, He can kill your wife or husband.

    God says: “Jacob I love.” Jacob says: “Rachel I love.” I say Jacob is in trouble. God’s jealousy does not accept unrequited love.

    God shuts up Rachel’s womb. She cries to Jacob: “Give me a child or I die.” God gave her children and she died in childbirth.

    Jacob does not learn his lesson. He transfers his affections to Joseph, Rachel’s son. God sends Joseph into captivity. Jacob then transfers his affection to Benjamin. Benjamin is called to Egypt.

    God says to Ezekiel: “Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down. Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow.” (Ezekiel 24:16-17).

    So, Ezekiel spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening, his beloved wife died.

     

    Excellency of God

     

    If you love beautiful cars, beautiful houses, and beautiful places, you cannot see the glory of God. Their beauty is going to obscure the glory of God from you. Until you realize that that which is highly exalted among men is abomination before the Lord, you will not see the glory of God.

     

    To see the glory of God, every mountain and hill must be made low. Paul says we must cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.

     

    Observe this, only high things exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. Low things do not. Mountains and hills exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, that is why they must be made low before the glory of the Lord can be revealed.

     

    God says: “I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces” (Amos 6:8)

     

    For this reason, he is determined to destroy everything that we hold dear and to bring them to nothing. He will destroy cars, he will destroy houses, he will destroy everything that men exalt out of jealousy.

    “For the day of the LORD of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up– and it shall be brought low- upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan; upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up; upon every high tower, and upon every fortified wall; upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all the beautiful sloops. The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. (Isaiah 2:12-17).

    Once you compare Jesus with anyone or anything, you have missed the boat. Once you compare the spiritual with the physical, it shows you have no appreciation for the spiritual. There is no comparison between the physical and the spiritual.

  • Abounding in the abundant life (2) – Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala.

    God is the rewarder of men. Every charitable deed gets a reward. The question is what kind of reward? Is it the earthly kind or is it the heavenly kind?

    The great reward is the heavenly reward. Jesus says: “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven.” (Luke 6:23).

    But the earthly reward is blasé. Jesus never tells any man to leap for joy because of

    it. It is déjà vu. Eye has seen it, ear has heard it, it has come into the minds of men.

    But the heavenly reward is extraordinary. It is exceptional. The bible describes it as “unspeakable” Some translations call it indescribable.

    Heavenly gift

    “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44-46).

    That speaks of the allure of the heavenly. Nevertheless, many insist on the earthly reward. “Men of the world” want their portion in this life. (Psalm 17:14). But David only wants the heavenly. He says to God: “As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.” (Psalm 17:15).

    Which reward do we desire? Have we found anything worth forsaking the world for? Once we receive a reward for anything in this world, we cannot get another reward for it in heaven. To get the heavenly, we must forsake the earthly. God does not reward those who have received earthly payment.

    Jesus emphasises this in teaching about giving to the poor, who cannot repay. He says: “When you put on a dinner, don’t invite friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbours! For they will return the invitation. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the godly, God will reward you for inviting those who can’t repay you.” (Luke 14:12-14).

    In the same vein, He warns against ostentatious giving: “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.” (Matthew 6:1-2).

    Counterfeit riches

    The question is whether the Christian of today has found any treasure worth forsaking the world for. If we have not, then we have yet to inherit the kingdom of God. If all we want is here and now, then we can have no regard for the consolations of Christ. Paul says: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

    That was the problem of the rich young ruler. Jesus made him a proposition: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Matthew 19:21). But he would not sacrifice the world for treasure in heaven and, therefore, he forfeited the grace of God. He had the “good” life on earth; he was not interested in the abundant life in heaven.

    People who have received the abundant life of the kingdom of God (the one provided by Jesus) have no difficulty in giving away the trappings of the counterfeit good life here on earth. They understand the kingdom dynamic that Jesus presents that:

    “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:25).

    Giving and receiving

    One of the cardinal principles of the kingdom of God is the principle of giving and receiving. (Philippians 4:15). This requires the believer to be liberal with his resources, thereby lodging spiritual credits in a heavenly account.

    However, this process of heavenly accumulation is only appealing to the spiritually minded and not to the carnally minded. For a church socialised into carnality and encouraged to seek prosperity in the world, keeping treasures in heaven is pie in the sky.

    Jesus warns emphatically: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21).

    How do you know a man who has true riches? In the world, we know how rich a man is by what he has. But in the kingdom, we know how rich a man is not by what he has, but by how he gives. A man abounding in the abundant life is always inclined to give to others.

    Paul exemplifies this by the generosity of the Macedonian church: “I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing.” (2 Corinthians 8:3).

    Moreover, someone rich in naira has only naira to give. But the man who is rich in Christ has much more than naira to give. He does not just have abundant money; he has abundant life. He is abundant in all things that pertain to life and godliness. He abounds in every good thing; in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in love for others. (2 Corinthians 8:7). He is also abundant in grace.

    When we are not abundant in the grace of God, we cannot give. We are not sure we will be able to replenish whatever we give. But the man who is in Christ is enriched by him in everything. All his springs are in Christ. (Psalm 87:7). Therefore, he knows he will never lack any good thing. (Psalm 21:1).

    Indeed, the reason why God gives us the abundant life is so that we can give it away and come back for more. God gives us more life than we require; he gives us more than we need. He gives it to us so that we can use it to minister to the saints.

    In this regard, Jesus is our outstanding example: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

    Therefore, the reason for the abundant life is our liberality: “Yes, God will give you much so that you can give away much, and when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will break out into thanksgiving and praise to God for your help.” (2 Corinthians 9:11).

  • Abounding in the abundant life – Femi Aribisala

    Femi Aribisala.

    Pull Quote: While the blessing of the Lord makes one rich, riches are not the blessing.

    How often have you heard this kind of testimony in the church? “Praise the Lord, I was blessed yesterday. Someone blessed me with N100,000.”

    But is N100,000 a blessing? Can money really be a blessing? What if I use the money to shoot cocaine and end up in the hospital? Would it still be considered a blessing? If a blessing is a blessing, surely it would remain a blessing come rain or shine? It should not be possible for a blessing to end up bringing adversity.

    Clearly, many of the things Christians consider to be blessings are nothing of the sort. Solomon declares: “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22). True blessings will never bring sorrow.

    Moreover, while the blessing of the Lord makes one rich, riches are not the blessing. Indeed, the riches that the blessing of the Lord confers are significantly different from those of the world. This is because God has not chosen the rich of this world. Instead, He has chosen: “the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him.” (James 2:5).

    “Can you bless me with 1000 naira?” “No, I cannot. But I can pray for you.”

    When the beggar at the Beautiful Gate asked Peter for money, Peter gave him Christ instead: “Then Peter said, ‘Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.’” (Acts 3:6).

    Blessings are spiritual

    A blessing is something that is spoken or uttered, and which has the power to confer goodness: “For You meet him with the blessings of goodness; you set a crown of pure gold upon his head.” (Psalm 21:3).

    Like a curse, a blessing is immaterial. However, it has an inherent power to confer goodness on the person to whom it is invoked.

    God does not bless with money. God blesses with His word. Whenever God blesses, He says something instead of doing something. In the New Testament, our blessings are pre-eminently spiritual. Paul says: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3).

    The perennial carnality of the Church is that we have largely refused to believe the word of God. Where the commandments of God seem to contradict self-interest, we simply ignore them and effectively re-write scripture. So, when people give testimonies about being blessed, the testimonies hardly ever conform to the blessing prescriptions laid down by Jesus in the beatitudes.

    According to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, only those things that take us along the path of eternal life, or those things that move us closer to God in heaven, are blessings. (Matthew 5-7). However, Christians do not say we are blessed because we are bereaved or mournful. We do not say we are blessed because we are merciful.

    We do not think we are blessed because we are persecuted for righteousness sake. We do not consider it a blessing to endure temptation. We never think people who die in faith are blessed. But John says:

    “I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labours, and their works follow them.’” (Revelation 14:13).

    Counterfeit blessings

    But we believe we are blessed when someone gives us money. Thereby, we re-write the scriptures according to the ways of the world; according to the carnal and vainglorious nature of man.

    Jesus says: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35). Here we see the pre-eminence of the spiritual in new covenant blessings. The man who gives loses materially but gains spiritually and is thereby blessed.

    But if we see blessings only in terms of the physical, our carnality will disqualify us from true blessings. Jesus says:

    “If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” (Luke 16:11-13).

    Begging to give

    Normally beggars beg to receive a gift. But have you ever seen a beggar that begs to give and not to receive?

    The true Christian is a peculiar person. (1 Peter 2:9). On earth, he is a foreigner and a sojourner. Therefore, he should act very differently from the unbeliever.

    Take a good look at the Macedonian Church. Paul says they were begging to be able to give to the saints: “Imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.” (2 Corinthians 8:4).

    Although they were poor, their deep poverty abounded into their liberality: “In a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.” (2 Corinthians 8:2).

    Why would they behave like this? Jesus provides the clue: They loved much because their sins, which were many, were forgiven. (Luke 7:47).

    The question then is this. Do many Christians not believe the word of God, or do we not want the true kind of blessings associated with giving? The so-called blessing associated with receiving is actually very limited. What has happened to all the gifts, money, clothes, and shoes that we received when we were ten years old?

    When a man receives a gift, the gift will only be good to him in this world. It has no use in the world to come. Even the spiritual gifts administered to the church by the Holy Spirit are of limited value: “Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.” (1 Corinthians 13:8).

    Jesus told a bed-ridden paralytic: “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” (Matthew 9:2). He did not ask him to be of good cheer because he was going to heal him. But he should be of good cheer because his sins are forgiven.

    The forgiveness of sins makes the man an heir of salvation; whereas good health is bodily exercise; it profits little. David says: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.” (Romans 4:7-8).

    When a man receives anything in this world, its value is limited to this dying world. But when a man gives in this world, he will qualify for rewards not only in this world but also in the world to come.

    Accordingly, Jesus told his disciples: “Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20).

  • The hope of righteousness (2) – Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    We shall be perfect; one hundred percent perfect.

    The bible calls us to rejoice in hope. It says we should rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:2).

    When we rejoice in hope, our joy is in the promise of God. Like Christ, it is a joy that enables us to overcome the world. We become like Christ who: “For the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2).

    “For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” (Romans 8:24-25).

    Carnal hope

    If our hope is in this life, we cannot be true believers. To prosper, we would have to live the unrighteous and cut-throat way the people in the world live because it is the ungodly who prosper in the world. (Psalm 73:12). Believers only prosper in Christ.

    If our hope is in carnal things, we would soon run out of time. But if your hope is in God, just wait. God is never late, and He promises:

    “For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory.” (Isaiah 62:1-2).

    Those who hope to spend eternity in heaven must be determined to learn the ways of God. John says: “Everyone who has this hope in (Jesus) purifies himself, just as (Jesus) is pure.” (1 John 3:3).

    Since we expect to sit at the Lord’s right hand in heaven, we cannot afford to remain mired in the works and lusts of the flesh. A man who truly has the hope of righteousness does not continue to live in sin.

    Jesus is looking for a church without a spot or wrinkle. His disciples are not those who hunger and thirst for the things in the world. Neither are they even those who hunger and thirst for heaven. They are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. They are those who are determined to be completely sinless. They are those whose hope is the hope of righteousness.

    Righteousness is the preeminent glory of God. Everything about God is in Him. Nothing about God can be abstracted from Him. God cannot be rich because he has riches. He himself must be the riches. That is why He makes us partakers of Christ, that we also might be the riches in glory of God.

    When Moses asked to see God’s glory, he did not see God’s possessions. He did not see money, lands, houses, or properties. He saw God’s character. He saw the righteousness of God because the glory of God is His righteousness. (Exodus 34:6-7).

    God’s decree

    God says: “Rain down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together. I, the LORD, have created it.” (Isaiah 45:8).

    When a man has the hope to be rich, it makes him greedy and selfish. When he hopes to be promoted, it makes him mean-spirited. But when he has hope in Christ, it brings forth godliness. Paul says: “The only hope that bears fruit is the hope that is in Christ, and the fruit it bears is the fruit of righteousness. (Colossians 1:3-6).

    When a man has the hope of righteousness, he has peace, and he has joy. He does not need to be impatient. He can afford to be long-suffering, confident that whatever happens everything is going to work together for his good. (Romans 8:28).

    He is inclined to show love for all the saints. Since we are to live together forever in heaven, there is no point in quarreling here on earth. After all, we are to be partakers of the same joy, the same love, and the same glory.

    Spiritual heaven

    The heaven of the believer in Christ is not fleshly. It is not physical heaven. God is Spirit and not flesh and blood. Therefore, the heaven that we are going to is spiritual heaven. It is the heaven of being like Christ. It is not the heaven of a place; it is the heaven of a being.

    We are called into fellowship with God. Therefore, heaven is not so much a place as wherever God is. Heaven is all about God and not about things. While it involves, sharing in the Lord’s power, joy, and honour; it lies in our being spiritually and morally like him.

    John writes: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (John 3:1-2).

    Hope of glory

    Paul says: “God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27).

    The present and indwelling Christ is our hope of glory. This glory will not be revealed to us. The glory will be revealed in us. This coming glory makes every difficulty of the present bearable because “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18).

    The glory that is in Christ is the same glory that will be in us. Paul says: “According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.” (Philippians 1:20).

    How delightful it would be to have no propensity to sin whatsoever. We shall have no temptation to sin. There will be no erring judgment, no straying passion, no rebellious lust. There will be nothing that can defile, or weaken, or distract. We shall be perfect; one hundred percent perfect.

    We shall be secure from every danger. There will be no evil in us and none around us. No bereavement, no sorrow, no labour, and no reproach. No doubts, no difficulties, no anxieties, and no fears. No sickness, no accidents, and no pain. Just the righteousness of God. Hallelujah!

    “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” (Isaiah 61:10-11).

  • Nigeria has become a massive killing field – Kukah

    Nigeria has become a massive killing field – Kukah

    Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Hassan Mathew Kukah has observed that there is a growing fear among Nigerians whether the country’s glory is about to depart owing to Boko Haram, banditry, Kidnapping, armed robbery and other merchants of death happening across the nation.

    He made this known in his Easter message titled, ‘Before our Glory Departs’, according to him today the citizens of this country are being traumatised by bandits.

    “The nation has since become a massive killing field, as both government and the governed look on helplessly. A thick and suffocating cloud of desperation, despondency, desolation, gloom, and misery hangs in the hot air.

    “We have no message and have no idea how long this will last. Our people seek solace and protection, but frustration and darkness threaten to drown them. Is their government on AWOL?”

    According to him, there is collective fear as to whether Nigeria’s glory is about to depart!

    He noted that retired military and intelligence officers lament over what has become of their glorious profession as they watch the humiliation of our military personnel. Traumatised citizens are tortured daily by bandits.

    “Two weeks ago, I came across a video in which a very frustrated Muslim cleric, addressing a Muslim audience, lamented: If you killed 200 chickens in the farm of any of the big farmers, you will be dealt with. But today, we are being killed. It is your fault. On the day of elections, you say, it is Jihad! Christians will take over Nigeria! Ok, the Christians did not take Nigeria. It has been left in the hands of those who sit and see us being killed.

    “If we are killed, the head says, God forbid! He was not elected to say God forbid. This imaginary jihad won the elections now where are the jihadists? The lesson here is that politicians will use religion to mobilise for elections, but they cannot use it to govern.”

    Also he said, “The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria weighed in with a strong statement on February 23, 2021, titled, We Must Pull Back from the Brink of Collapse. Part of the statement read: The very survival of the nation is at stake. The nation is pulling apart. Widespread serious insecurity for long unaddressed has left the sad and dangerous impressions that those who have assumed the duty and authority to secure the nation are either unable, or worse, unwilling to take up the responsibilities to their office. Patience is running out. Sadly, all of these warnings are still falling on deaf ears.”

    However, he pointed out that “It may sound strange, but for us Christians, the celebration of the resurrection of Christ is the greatest assurance that all these will pass away.

    “This is not a call for us to simply sit on our hands or believe we can pray our crises away. As pointed out above, the sufferings of Jesus and His Cross provide us with the perfect mirror of our hope. St. Paul reminds us: We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed.

    “We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body (2 Cor. 4:9). These are the hallmarks of our faith. We must remain steadfast.

    To this end he appealed to Christians to continue in the spirit of the Gospel, saying, ‘the teachings of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. St. Paul says: Though He was God, he humbled himself, became man and remained obedient up till death (Phil. 2:6ff).

    “Following in His steps, we Christians have lived through the life of martyrdom. Jesus taught us how to pray for our enemies (Mt. 5:44). Although His teachings are hard (Jn. 6:60), it was not the guns of a powerful army that brought down the walls of Jericho.

    “The prayers of the priests did (Jos. 6:20). Jesus defied the temptations of coming down from the Cross. He knew there was a higher truth deferred. It was fulfilled on Easter day. No matter the provocation, we must arm ourselves with the weapons of truth, the Word, the Spirit, and love. At the heart of Christianity is the Truth and Love.

    “Today, many of us erroneously speak about the trial of Jesus by Pilate on Good Friday. In reality, it was Pilate who stood trial, not Jesus. Pilate sat on a throne to judge what he himself was ignorant of–the truth. Chained by ignorance, the powerful often grope around a twilight zone between truth and lies.

    “At the mention of the word “Truth” by Jesus, Pilate was jolted from his chair. In trepidation and apprehension, the mighty man says, Truth, what is that? (Jn. 18:38). Pilate was looking for the Truth but did not recognise it when it stood right before him. In every age, the seduction of raw power tends to blind the Pilates of this world to the truth.

    “Bishop Kukah noted when governments face legitimacy crises, they fall back on serving the sour broth of propaganda, half-truths, and outright lies, saying,’ they manufacture consent by creating imaginary enemies, setting citizens against one another by deploying religion, ethnicity, region, and other platforms while appealing to the base emotions of patriotism.

    “We forget the reality that without truth, the throne of power often turns into a cage, and the occupant is turned into a prisoner. In reality, the truth needs neither a judge nor a witness. The truth is its own judge and witness. Without the truth, as the old song says, all else is sinking sand!”

    Nigeria has become a massive killing field ― Bishop Kukah

  • Easter: Don’t lose hope in coronavirus times, Pope tells Christians

    Easter: Don’t lose hope in coronavirus times, Pope tells Christians

    Pope Francis called on the faithful at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, not to lose hope in the protracted coronavirus crisis.

    “In the hour of darkness when humanity is grappling with the pandemic and other ills, Christians need to take to heart the Easter message of the angel not to be afraid,’’ the 84-year-old head of the Catholic Church said in St Peter’s Basilica.

    One message of Easter, he said, is that it is always possible to start anew.

    “Even from the shambles of human history, God has created something new from the rubble of our hearts,’’ the Pope said.

    “God can create a work of art from the ruined remnants of our humanity, God can prepare a new history.’’

    “In these dark months of the pandemic … listen to the Risen Lord as He invites us to begin anew and never lose hope,’’ the pope said.

    About 200 faithful and clergy joined in the service.

    Only a limited number of people were allowed to attend as a precaution to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

    Christians commemorate the resurrection of Jesus during the Easter weekend.

    At the beginning of Saturday’s vigil service, the pontiff carried the Easter candle – the light of Christ – into the dark St Peter’s Basilica.

    For devout Christians, Easter is the most important feast in the church year.