True transformation

Every society, and nation, is made up of four basic elements: families, schools, worship centres (churches and mosques), and businesses! When the first three fail, there is no way the fourth won’t suffer.

Viable, visionary businesses are built by people with values. Values are taught in godly homes, in purpose-driven (not profit-driven) schools, and in GOD-Sent worship centres. If there is anything wrong with Nigeria today, and indeed the world, it is absolute loss of VALUES. Decadence and lawlessness seem to be the order of the day in Nigeria, and all over the world.

In this generation, a teenage girl would cry over the loss of her phone, and wink at the loss of her virginity; a father would weep over a collapsed business, and shrug his shoulders over the loss of a son to drugs; a mother would spend hours preparing for parties, and not spare a moment to look through the children’s school book; teachers would award more marks to pupils whose parents are ‘generous’ to them, and victimize those whose parents ‘drop’ nothing during open days; pastors would reward rich members of their churches with titles, and look down on the godly who are poor.
When the gatekeepers – those who should teach VALUES – have gone after satanic baits (mammon and worldly fame), and abandoned their duty posts, what do you expect?! Of course, the wolves would have a field day!

I like to listen to Mofe and Moyo on 101.5 Star FM when driving my boys to school in the morning. About 5 years ago, a returnee Nigerian-American was on their program. He said, “The problem of Nigeria can be summed up in 4 ‘Ps’. Politicians who are visionless; Police who are corrupt; Pastors who are too money minded, and Private-School Proprietors who are ruining the education of our children.”
Then someone called in to say, “I add the 5th ‘P’ – the PEOPLE, who are very gullible, blinded by religion, docile and myopic, to have allowed all this to continue for so long.”

What moral justification does any pastor have to cast aspersions on this corrupt leadership, when he himself is feasting in abundance, and living in questionable opulence, while his congregation members are struggling to eat one meal, daily?

And, when our pastors ask us to pray for our political leaders because of 1 Timothy 2:1-4, where exactly should we PRAY Isaiah 3:11 concerning these unrepentant, overt liars, murderers, looters, and workers of unprintable wickedness?

I know no Scripture that supports Peace in the face of wickedness and injustice. There’s none!
JESUS never taught Peace without JUSTICE, neither did Apostle Paul, nor any of the Old Testament prophets.

The Nigerian Church (Christian Leadership in Nigeria) is much more powerful than it is willing to accept, and take responsibility for.

For example, consider the CAMA law saga, and the vehemence with which the Church came against it, and what became of that useless Act? It fizzled into oblivion!
If the Leadership of the Church in NIGERIA would stand strong, with the same VEHEMENCE and COURAGE, against injustice, corruption, kidnapping, banditry, Boko Haram, etc, Nigeria would experience remarkable, undeniable CHANGES within a year.

There’s this uncanny, inexplicable Blessing, Force and Power that the ALMIGHTY GOD, according to Psalms 133, has bestowed upon THE UNITED CHURCH.

Let’s begin to speak as ONE, in LOVE and UNITY!

Everything bows to the UNITED CHURCH; no force of hell, or men, can stop us when we STAND TOGETHER.

None!

So, if we’re to keep PRAYING for our leaders, and country, we should PRAY the totality of GOD’S WILL: LOVE, JUSTICE, PEACE, FAITH, RIGHTEOUSNESS, HOPE and MERCY, to be done in Nigeria, and that the wickedness of the Wicked, particularly our leaders’, be judged, and adequately punished.
That is sincere, serious-minded prayer! Anything less than that is falsehood, self-deceit and hypocrisy!

Nigeria will CHANGE speedily when parents, pastors, and proprietors of schools, repent and forsake their wicked ways, and do justly! When these THREE take the lead, politicians and the generality of the people would have no choice but to fall in line. The parents, pastors (and other religious leaders), and proprietors, i.e. WE, THE PEOPLE, hold the key to true and lasting TRANSFORMATION.
Let’s provide GOOD EXAMPLES for others to follow.

The real CHANGE must begin in the Household of Faith.

THE JESUS I KNOW!

When I got born-again at the University of Ibadan in 1990, I was determined to follow JESUS with my whole heart, so, I chose to read my BIBLE that I might get to know JESUS for myself, above and beyond anything anyone would ever tell me about Him.

I read my BIBLE so much that I underlined several portions of it, so much so that, when my wife saw the BIBLE many years later, she exclaimed, “You read this BIBLE O!”

And, that’s the greatest challenge in the Christendom today – most Christians (believers and church goers alike) do NOT read their BIBLES, including many pastors who have secular jobs. It has thus become very easy for these same pastors to prey on the ignorance of their members, especially where the pastors (General Overseers, Apostles, Prophets, etc) have acquired, and assumed ‘god-like status’ before their congregations. There is no such man in my life (whose word is unquestionable authority, or incontrovertible), and there will never be!

JESUS said, “You are mistaken (you err), not KNOWING THE SCRIPTURES nor the POWER OF GOD.” – Matthew 22:29.
So very sad!

I have never seen JESUS in any vision, trance or revelation; neither have I ever heard Him say to me, “Dele, I am JESUS, do this or do that.” But, I have seen Him in His WORD, and heard Him whisper to my soul as I read my BIBLE, or listened to inspired messages.

I tell you without mincing words, that JESUS IS REAL! HE’S ALIVE! AND, HE’S COMING BACK JUST AS IT IS WRITTEN IN THE SCRIPTURES.

BELIEVE it for your own GOOD; despise it to your damnation. Check out John 3:16-19.

However, I can emphatically tell you that JESUS is not Who many pastors, preachers and pictures, have portrayed Him to be. JESUS is LOVING and COMPASSIONATE, but also very FIRM, and INSISTENT on doing His FATHER’S Will, even if it costed Him His Life, which He SACRIFICED ultimately.

His insistence on doing things the right way explains why He DROVE out (‘O wa won jade’) all the money changers, money doublers and merchants that were polluting the temple – Matthew 21:12-13.
O, that someone (and, I am willing) would arise and whip, physically, and drive out all these modern day ‘Money-money, kalokalo pastors’ in the House of GOD, just like JESUS did.

The real picture of JESUS is given in Revelation 1:14-15, and not all those pictures of ‘gentle’ JESUS you see all over the place.

Yes, JESUS is gentle, loving and compassionate, but also very FIRM! This is the accurate description of JESUS CHRIST, and not many preachers of today say it like that, nor paint the right image of the SON OF GOD.

JESUS was never against self-defense, and He never taught such. Walking away from a slap, or lawsuit, or retaliation (Matthew 5:38-48), is different from a gun (AK-47) threat to your life. JESUS spoke against evil, revenge, hatred, getting even, but He never asked anyone to die for their enemies, nor allow their enemies to kill them like fowls. No!

He said to love our enemies, not allow them kill us; Paul taught that you may die for a friend, or a good person, but no where did He, or the BIBLE, ask anyone to die for an enemy, EXCEPT JESUS HIMSELF!

JESUS was born to die for the sins of the world; but every other man/woman was born to live, to fulfill GOD’S Purpose, and not to be cut down by another, who is perpetually evil and wicked!
Let’s rightly divide the WORD OF TRUTH, please! John 15:13, Romans 5:6-8.

If JESUS was against self-defense, He would never have asked His Disciples to get a sword (AK-47 of our day) in Luke 22:35-38. And, if you argue that JESUS spoke against taking the sword in Matthew 26:51-52, I’ll tell you that He stopped Peter because the attack was not against Peter, but that HIS PURPOSE on earth might be fulfilled. I’m almost too sure that the conversation would have been different if it had been about Peter, and not JESUS, otherwise, why did He ask them to get a sword in the first place, if not for self defense?!!

‘Sword na part of dressing?!!!!’

JESUS’ Words in Matthew 26:52 was against the murderers, robbers and those who exploit others by force, and not against those who defend themselves against such marauders.

And, to those who pontificate in ‘Christianese’, that the devil is the only enemy we have, and not human beings, that contradicts the Words of JESUS CHRIST in the Gospels, because He talked about ENEMY, and ENEMIES; same for Apostle Paul. We have satan as our number one enemy, and we have enemies in human agents of satan.

I have never been an advocate of ‘fall down and die’ prayers, but, I’m well aware that I have enemies who would gladly wipe out my entire lineage, clan and tribe, if allowed; and my prayers for such enemies stop at the very point they confront me with a weapon: gun, cutlass, knife, acid, etc, to kill or hurt me.

Believe me, I’ll not hesitate to gun down anyone who tries to kill me or anyone I love. Not only would I blow their brains out, I’d blow off their ‘balls’ too, so it won’t be useful to them in the hellish heaven they think they are going!

I’m also averse to those who say it’s wrong to call our leaders names because of political, pseudo-spiritual correctness. I wonder if they ever read Matthew 23 and Luke 13:31-32!

While I am not advocating for insulting our leaders, or anyone else for that matter, I’m saying there’s nothing wrong in stating the obvious concerning leadership.

Hypocrisy, wickedness, nepotism, mediocrity, etc, are all acts, not insults, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong in saying or writing such about any leader, or citizen, that is guilty of them.

We’re to speak the TRUTH to one another, in LOVE, in the Household of Faith, but we’re to say it as it is, to the wicked, especially if they have been consistently evil.

In conclusion, it’s on record that five different people were kidnapped on Lagos-Ibadan expressway in the last 8 days. That’s supposed to be the safest highway in NIGERIA today. Alas, banditry and kidnapping are fast approaching Lagos just as I predicted 4 to 5 years ago.

For a fact, the entire South West of NIGERIA is no longer the safe haven it was 6 years ago. Yet, a sitting governor in the North said it’s okay for Fulani herdsmen to carry AK-47 because they need it to protect themselves.

Shouldn’t we (the Church, and every sensible NIGERIAN) ask, “From whom????!!!!”

Let me tell you that the vast majority of our General Overseers, Church leaders, and ‘Christianese talkers’ have dual citizenship, with children abroad, and can easily take off with their spouses, to join their children in Europe, USA or Canada, if NIGERIA becomes extremely unlivable!

So, be very careful how you join your pastors to talk ‘Christianese!’ You are not at the same level with them O!

That’s the quintessential truth!

So, READ your BIBLE diligently, know what it says; do your THINKING/MEDITATION CONSCIENTIOUSLY, and join the few who COURAGEOUSLY SPEAK UP against evil, wickedness and needless loss of lives in NIGERIA.

That’s what JESUS would do; that’s what Apostles Paul and Peter would do; that’s what William Tyndale, Martin Luther, Martin Luther King Jr, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela did; and that’s what Father Matthew Hassan Kukah is doing.

The entire NIGERIAN CHURCH should line up, with all its MIGHT, behind a man like that. And, that is where I stand!

Have a good day!