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Tag: God

  • Dating a married man is not a big deal – Popular singer, Mzbel

     

    Outspoken Ghanaian singer, Belinda Nana Ekua Amoah better known as Mzbel, has professed that God is not against ladies dating married men, adding that it is not a big deal.

     

    In a radio interview, the controversial entertainer said there is nothing wrong with dating a married man because her religion allows it.

     

    She stated that a lady is also allowed to be with a married man as long as the woman is not a virgin.

     

    According to her: “My religion allows a man to marry as many as he wants so the ladies in Judaism accept the act. So far as he takes good care of you and does not give you problem, then you are good to be with him. Dating or marrying married man is not a big deal.

     

    “The lady can also marry a married man but it has to be just one person in your life unlike a man who is allowed to marry even more than twenty women and be decent with them. If I am dating a married man I won’t be ashamed of it.

     

    “I am not dating a married man but if I am, I won’t be ashamed of it because God permits it. In the old testament, Solomon and others had plenty concubines. The only thing a married man cannot do is to take another man’s wife.”

     

    In the year 2002, Mzbel had the opportunity to work with Hush Hush Studios, which at that time had come on the scene as a new production firm. While at Hush Hush, she sometimes would be asked into the studio, and as the technicians played their instruments, she sang along, songs she had created. These were songs she would usually sing to herself with no serious intention of pursuing a music career. While working part – time at Hush Hush Studios, she secured another job, at Metro TV as the only digital video editor and also producer for ‘Smash TV’, a weekend entertainment programme.

     

    From Metro TV, she was employed by Apex Advertising as a video editor and production manager. She had to combine Music and her job roles at Apex, and when she found the two overly demanding, Mzbel chose to give the music the full span of her attention. Over time, she has been criticized for her choice of clothes which have been described as “sexy” or “skimpy”.

  • Why is it so difficult to trust God – By Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    Jesus used five loaves of bread to feed 5,000 people. He then used seven loaves to feed 4,000. Nevertheless, instead of reaching the conclusion that because of him they would never again have to worry about bread, his disciples were still concerned when they forgot to bring bread with them on a trip.

    He rebuked them, saying: “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?” (Mark 8:17-18).

    From Jesus’ questions, we can extract certain principles about trusting God.

    Unreasonable trust

    Jesus asks: “Why do you reason because you have no bread?”

    You don’t need to trust God just for what is reasonable. What is reasonable will come to pass because it is reasonable. But you need to trust God for what is unreasonable. Solomon says: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5).

    God is not just the God of the possible: he is more pre-eminently the God of the impossible. Jesus says: “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27). God does not receive as much glory for the possible as he does for the impossible. Therefore, the more impossible the situation, the better it is to trust in God’s intervention.

    This was the case with Abraham. God promised him an heir. However, he delayed fulfilling the promise until it was impossible. He waited until Abraham was 100 years old and, presumably, sexually inactive, and his wife, Sarah, had long reached her menopause. Then he renewed their bodies and gave them Isaac.

    So doing, he stretched the faith of Abraham. “Against hope (Abraham) believed in hope.” (Romans 4:18). Thereby God was glorified.

    Spiritual understanding

    Jesus asks: “Do you not yet perceive nor understand?”

    How do you know anything? Do you know it by what someone tells you; by the books you read or by what you see? That is not the source of true knowledge.

    True knowledge comes by faith. It is by faith that we come to the knowledge of the impossible. It is by faith we are brought to the understanding of what God can do. What does it mean to know something by faith? “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17). This means true knowledge comes from what God tells us.

    Peter did not know he could walk on water until Jesus bid him to do so. He believed Jesus, got out of the boat, and walked on water. But even as faith comes by hearing, even so faith goes by not believing what we hear. When Peter took his eyes off Jesus and looked instead at the waves, he started to drown. He started drowning because he believed his lying eyes, and stopped believing the truth of God’s word.

    Fake news

    Do you believe the truth, or are you a captive of the CNN, BBC, Sky News and Al Jazeera?

    It was carried in the news that Jesus had been defeated by his adversaries. They had arrested him and killed him by nailing him to a tree. This dashed the hope of those in Israel who thought he is the Messiah. Except that this factual report of his defeat was in actual fact a lie.

    Isaiah asks: “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1). The arm of the Lord is revealed to those who believe the report of the Lord.

    Jesus rebuked his disciples for failing to believe the report of his resurrection. He was angry because they believed the report of the “BBC” and not the report of the prophets. He said to them: “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:25-26).

    He was angry because he had told them beforehand that he would be killed but would rise from the dead on the third day. (Luke 18:31-33). Nevertheless, they still did not believe when what he predicted came to pass. Natural men say: “Seeing is believing.” But Jesus stands this on its head by telling doubting Thomas: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29).

    Hardened heart

    Jesus asks: “Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see?”

    What do you see? Do you see God at work or do you see the devil at work? Can you see what God is doing in spite of the hullabaloo around you? The hardened heart refuses to accept the truth of God. God’s truth does not change his philosophy.

    Jesus says: “The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.” (John 10:25-26). The hard-heart sees a miracle denies it, rationalizes it or explains it away. The reason is simple, the human heart is not fashioned to receive the truth. It can only receive lies.

    Jesus says: “This people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.” (Matthew 13:15).

    Therefore, in order to trust God we need a new heart. God says: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26).

    Forgetful hearers

    Jesus asks: “Having ears, do you not hear? Do you not remember?”

    Do you know when it is God who is talking to you even though he might be using the mouth of a friend to do so? Do you ask God a question and expect him to answer? Jesus says: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10: 27).

    Do you remember what God has done? If he has done it before, he will do it again. He says: “I the Lord do not change.” (Malachi 3:6). Do you remember what God has said? If he said it, he will do it. “God is not a son of man, that he should change his mind.” (Number 23:19).

    God is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the beginning as well as the ending. That means he will never begin what he does not intend to bring to completion. If you ever see him move in your project, it means he is committed. “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6).

    The enemy is a thief. Don’t allow him to steal your dreams. Don’t allow him to steal your testimonies. “He who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:25).

  • Osinbajo celebrates wife on birthday, describes her as ‘My gift from God’

    Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has showered praise on his wife, Oludolapo, as she celebrates her birthday today.

    The pastor-cum-politician described his wife as his wings and gift from God on his Twitter handle, @ProfOsinbajo.

    He tweeted, “My gift from God, watching over me, my support, at my side, my wings, my wife.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Mrs Oludolapo Osinbajo is a grandchild of the late Obafemi Awolowo. She lost her mother Otunba Olubusola Soyode, one of the children of the late Awolowo, in 2011. Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo is the leader of the Ladies Fellowship of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Jesus House Parish.

  • 2019: God made me governor, I will seek his permission to re-contest – Ortom

    Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State on Friday said that he would have to seek God’s approval before he could go for a second term in office in 2019.

    Ortom made this disclosure at an interactive session with journalists in Makurdi.

    The governor said that he would have to seek God’s face before knowing whether or not to contest the 2019 election.

    Ortom said that if after consultation with God and the answer was negative, he would go back to his farm.

    According to him, he is a product of a divine intervention and he always relies on God in everything he wants to embark on.

    ”It was God that told me that I would be governor of Benue someday, it is not my making but purely the handiwork of God,” he said.

    Ortom, however, expressed satisfaction that he had performed creditably well based on his achievements, which cut across all sectors of the economy.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that former President Olusegun Obasanjo had recently endorsed the governor for a second term in office.

     

    NAN

  • Ill health: God spared Buhari before, He’ll spare him again – Presidency

    Ill health: God spared Buhari before, He’ll spare him again – Presidency

    …says President won’t resign

    The Presidency has expressed hope in God for the full recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari insisting that he (Buhari) will not resign and that those asking him to, are “merely expressing their opinions.”

     

    The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina stated this during an interactive session with journalists, at the launch of Olusegun Adeniyi’s new book, ‘Against The Run of Play,’ on Friday in Lagos.

    “Saying the president should resign is an opinion but don’t forget that 15 million people elected the president so if one or two people express their opinion, will their opinion override that of 15 million people that voted for him?” he asked.

    “Those who are expressing their opinion have rights to their opinion.”

    On the state of Buhari’s health, he said: “There is no need for apprehension, God spared the president the first time. Remember he said that he has never been as ill as he was before. The same God that spared him will also ensure that he returns to full health. Nigerians prayed and God answered, Nigerians are still praying and God will still answer.”

  • Easter: Pope prays, begs God to end church scandals, global killings

    Easter: Pope prays, begs God to end church scandals, global killings

    Head of the Catholic Church worldwide, Pope Francis, at Good Friday service, asked God for forgiveness for scandals in the Church and for the “shame” of humanity.

    He referred to daily scenes of bombed cities and drowning migrants.

    Francis presided at a traditional candlelight Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) service at Rome’s Colosseum attended by some 20,000 people and protected by heavy security following recent attacks in European cities.

    Francis sat while a large wooden cross was carried in procession, stopping 14 times to mark events in the last hours of Jesus’ life from being sentenced to death to his burial.

    At the end of the two-hour service, Francis read a prayer he wrote that was woven around the theme of shame and hope, Reuters reports.

    In reference to the Church’s sexual abuse scandal, he spoke of “shame for all the times that we bishops, priests, brothers and nuns scandalized and wounded your body, the Church.”

    Francis lamented “the daily spilling of the innocent blood of women, of children, of immigrants” and prayed for those who are persecuted because of their race, social status or religious beliefs.

    He spoke of “shame for all the scenes of devastation, destruction and drownings that have become ordinary in our lives.”

    Francis expressed the hope “that good will triumph despite its apparent defeat.”

    In 2017 alone, more than 650 migrants have died (or are unaccounted for) while trying to cross the sea.

     

  • Meningitis: All diseases come from Allah, Yari insists

    Zamfara Governor, Dr. Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar, has issued a statement to debunk media reports stating that he said outbreak of the deadly Cerebral Spinal Meningitis which has killed over 300 Nigerians is as a result of God’s punishment arising from fornication and other sinful acts.

    In a statement issued by his media aide, Yari however insisted that all diseases come from Allah while urging Nigerians to move close to God.

    Speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Public Enlightenment, Mr. Ibrahim Magaji Dosara, the Governor said he urged Nigerians to move closer to God as he insisted that all diseases come from Allah.

    “The Governor noted that the situation was unfortunate because the state does not have enough vaccines yet for the Type C Meningitis.

    “The governor thereafter enjoined all Nigerians to embrace prayers, as God who is aware of the outbreak of the ailment surely has the antidote for it.

    “The Governor specially appealed to Nigerians to make a deliberate effort to be closer to God by shunning sins of fornication and other forms of disobedience so as to receive his divine health and other blessings, as he is closer to those who obey him and distant themselves from sins.

    “No doubt, as a God-fearing man, and a Muslim, the governor believes in the powers of Allah to inflict whatever punishment He decides on the human race.”

    “The governor added for example, that fornication “should not spread so much in society that it becomes common place and if that happens, Allah promises to inflict, on its perpetrators (people) a sickness that would have no cure.”However, the governor who spoke in Hausa had a particular audience in mind when he spoke to the BBC Hausa reporter.

    “Let it be known too that the governor still insists that all diseases come from Allah and that at no point in his interaction with the reporters did he insinuate that Allah was punishing Nigerians but instead drew from the teachings of great Islamic traditions to buttress the point he was trying to convey.

    “This is exactly what the Governor said. But because some people are out there to ridicule him at the slightest opportunity and make a mountain out of a molehill with a view to tarnishing his rising reputation, the innocuous statement was misinterpreted and quoted out of context for reasons best known to the authors.

    “We, therefore, use this medium to appeal to all well-meaning Nigerians to ignore the story making the round and condemn the act of unethical practice by those disseminating the deceptive story.

    [Read Also:] “Meningitis is caused by bacteria, not sin” | Ben-Bruce replies Gov Yari

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the Zamfara State Government in conjunction with relevant federal government agencies is making frantic effort to contain the outbreak of meningitis in the state by taking immediate steps to secure appropriate vaccines for the latest health challenge.

    “Let it be on record that the state under the leadership of Governor, Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari will not abandon the wellbeing of the people, who elected him to pilot the affairs of the state for any other thing.

    “As the saying goes, health is wealth, and the administration will not settle for anything apart from vigorously pursuing the overall well-being of Zamfara people,” he said.

  • Fornication, other sins made God send Meningitis to punish Nigerians – Gov. Yari

    Fornication, other sins made God send Meningitis to punish Nigerians – Gov. Yari

    Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State has said that the outbreak of Type C Cerebrospinal Meningitis in the country was a direct punishment from God to the people of Nigeria for their various sinful acts.

    Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari He said that God had always sent strange illnesses which had no cure to torment the people for turning their back on Him.

    Yari whose State appeared to be worst hit by the disease spoke with State House Correspondents at the presidential Villa Abuja after a private meeting with President Muhammdu Buhari on Tuesday.

    Reports say that over 200 persons had dead while several others are receiving treatment at various hospitals and clinics.

    The scary situation had also prompted some Medical Doctors under the aegis of Nigeria Medical Association, Zamfara state chapter to accuse the state government of not being proactive despite some warning.

    Yari said: “What we used to know as far as meningitis is concerned is the type A virus. The World Health Organization, WHO, has carried out vaccinations against this type A virus not just in Zamfara, but many other states.

    “However, because people refused to stop their nefarious activities, God now decided to send Type C virus, which has no vaccination. “People have turned away from God and he has promised that ‘if you do anyhow, you see anyhow’ that is just the cause of this outbreak as far as I am concerned.

    “There is no way fornication will be so rampant and God will not send a disease that cannot be cured.”

    The governor who dismissed insinuations of non proactiveness by his government however said that he had called an emergency meeting of all stakeholders, ranging top state and local government officials to traditional rulers to address the issue, saying that “the meeting came out with a strategy to be adopted and the money required to deal with the outbreak and a lot of work is going on”.

    According to Yari, only 5 million dose of the vaccine against the Type C virus was available globally. He said that the dosage would not be enough for his state. He however stated that Federal Ministry of Health has only 50,000 doses of the vaccine, out of which 20,000 was given state.

    He said: “That is not enough for Zamfara people alone, not to talk of Katsina or Kano. “Our Focus as a state now is to continue treating those who are infected with the disease, but as for vaccination, it has an international dimension.

    “We have information that Nigeria will get the highest percentage of the 5 million doses available now. Apart from WHO, other International bodies such as the Bill Gates foundation and UNICEF are also currently focusing on how to tackle the outbreak”. As a solution to the problem, Yari asked the people to repent from their sinful ways and embraced God, expressing optimism that the epidemic would be tackled.

    “The most important thing is for our people to know that their relationship with God is not smooth. All they need to do is repent and everything will be all right”, he said. Reacting to a question of whether it was only the people and not the leaders that needed repentance, Yari exonerated the leaders, saying there were only the messengers.

    “Leaders are doing their best by enlightening the populace and working assiduously for the good of all. “Your major assignment as a leader is to convey the message; you cannot go from house to House and arrest offenders for instance,” he said

  • Only God can decide who succeeds me in office – Fayose

    Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has said only God can decide who succeeds him as governor of the state in 2018.

    Fayose said he has taken the issue of his successor to God in prayers and he is waiting patiently for a divine directive from God to decide whome to support in the coming governorship polls.

    He stated this in Ikere-Ekiti on Wednesday evening while flagging off the last phase of the dualisation of the town’s main road, as contained in a press release on Thursday by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, in Ado-Ekiti.

    Fayose, who was reacting to the demand by the people of the town that Ikere-Ekiti should produce the next governor of the state, said he had taken the matter to God in prayers and was waiting for God’s directive.

    While saying that Ikere-Ekiti, like any other town in the state could produce their children to seek election into the office of the governor of the state, he urged the people ‎to also take the matter before God.

    ‎”With God all things are possible. I will advise you to ‎take the matter to the Lord in prayers since you are legitimately qualified like any other town in the state. As a leader of the party, I must create a level playing ground for all aspirants. It is God who puts people in positions of authority.

    I am currently waiting on God to give me the directive on who to support for the coming election. As for when I will come out with my choice of candidate, we still have over a year before the election and I hope that by the time we clock three years in office in October, the coast would have been clearer,” he said.

  • ‘Anyone who kills another, and says God is great is insane’ – Buhari

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari has said that those killing using the name of God in the country are insane.

    Buhari said this at the 2017 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration Service in Abuja on Sunday.

    Buhari was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo also commended the Armed Forces for their successes so far in dealing with Boko Haram in the North East.

    “We remember our departed military heroes. Against the Boko Haram, they stood side by side and fought the insurgents.

    “The President said and I quote, ‘The military that I joined never recognised tribe or religion, we fought side by side. We must never be deceived by those who kill in the name of religion. Anyone who kills another, and says God is great, is insane. He does not understand what he is saying’,” Osinbajo said.

    “Today, we celebrate our fallen heroes. We do so with the wisdom of the scriptures. The battles they fought against are the battles to ensure that good prevails over evil in Nigeria.

    “Many of our soldiers died in the North-East. At some point, this evil ideology of the Boko Haram had taken over 14 Local Government Areas in this country, before the military engaged them and won.

    “Soldiers occupy a special place in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The military profession is the only profession to which the saints are compared”, he added.