Resonance

Category: Christianity

  • Why Is There A Separation between Modern Science & Christianity?

    Almost all major fields in science were discovered by Christians. Scientists like Sir Isaac Newton were found to have more notes from Bible study than papers on his research in Science and Mathematics combined. Yet, Christians has no voice in the world of technology. Why is this the case? Why is the modern scientist more susceptible to agnostic or atheistic beliefs?

    Let’s go all the way back to the 15th century, where almost all phenomena were explained superstitiously. All of Christendom were under the umbrella of the Universal Church, popularly known as the Roman Catholic Church. The Church’s voice were like the Word of God, and the Pope had such massive political influence. However, the Church began to persecute scientists whose experiments revealed scientific knowledge contradictory to the beliefs of the Church.

    One of such beliefs is the earth being flat, and another being that the earth is the centre of the universe. Copernicus and especially Galileo were heavily persecuted, defamed and had their scientific works banned. This was the beginning of the modern separation of science from religion. Christendom waged an unnecessary war with science as if it were the exact opposite of Christian faith.

    Christians “feared” that science will explain logically something they chose to believe blindly. This is because Christianity is based on blind faith while science is based on logical reasoning and systematic analyses. Although not written anywhere in the Bible, Christians believe that the world was created 6000 years ago while science speaks of billions of years. Christianity thought science was belittling the uniqueness of humans after the discovery of billions of galaxies. Humans felt so small and insignificant compared to the vastness of space.

    By the beginning of the Enlightenment Age started by Réné Descartes, the average scientist realised that Christian beliefs only retarded scientific quest to investigate natural phenomena by following scientific methods and resulting with scientific data. Why would a Christian want to know how it simply rains? “It is the work of God. God works in mysterious ways. There is no way we can understand Him.” Eventually, science and religion began to have contradictory explanations for every natural occurrence.

    About a 100 years into the Enlightenment Age, the Holiness movement began in Christendom. Teachings about focusing on Heaven rather than the things of the earth popularised. Many verses about being poor on earth but rich in Heaven were stressed. In Jesus’ own words, “it is easier for a camel to pass through an eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven”. Why amass wealth on earth, where moths can eat them? Why make the world a better place, if you’re going to die and go to Heaven?

    Soon, being poor was tantamount to being Christian. That’s how come the phrase “filthy rich”, was framed. While Christians focused more on the afterlife, the world focused on more on technology and making the world a better place. The world of technology expanded and it had nothing to do with Christianity. Early televanglists began to speak heavily against the evils of technology in modern day, all the while using technology to propagate their messages. Many Christian leaders still censure technology to this day.

    Before the Prosperity Gospel movement could start in the late 20th century for the world of Christianity to believe there’s nothing wrong with being rich, Christians were far behind in making an impact, not only in the world of technology, but the world at large. The political arena, world of science and technology and even sustainability were no longer dominated with “Christian” power. The richest people in the world, most influential and most revolutionary people were not necessarily Christians.

    Christendom was united under the Roman Catholic Church for about 1000 years. After Martin Luther submitted his 99 theses to spark the start of Protestantism, there hasn’t been a stop to separation within the “Body of Christ”. Today, there are a whopping 45,000 denominations and counting. There is still an on-going debate against the speculations of science. The world no longer knows what we believe, because we lack oneness. Thank goodness the world went on to make itself better – in terms of technology – without us.

    Today, the average scientists believes in making the world a better place but this is yet to sync into the reality of the average Christian. The average scientist still thinks one need not believe in God because it will be an impediment to discover, uncover and explore. The world no longer looks to the Church. Rather, the Church is yet to catch up with world movements. This is all because the Church refused to embrace the world of science and technology at the beginning of its modern history.

    If you’re a Christian and you believe in science, let me hear your thoughts on this.

  • If You Want to ReDedicate Your Life to Christ, This Is For You

    Many start well and end terribly. It is better if they never started in the first place. That makes one begin to ask, “what even happened along the way?” How on earth did Solomon mess it all up at the last minute? Was Samson always that stupid? How did Saul keep messing up in the end like that? What at all was Adam thinking?

    To think we are above their errors is a joke. You can mess it all up even before you know it. Some of us may have even started messing it up, but pride keeps us from acknowledging it to ourselves. If this post touches your heart, then you must re-dedicate your life to Christ while it is still day. The night will soon come.

    For all those who fall along the way, some few things run through. Secret sin; having knowledge of God and a form of godliness but lacking the power thereof; living in unforeseen pride; and trying to work our way back when all we need to do is surrender EVERYTHING and come as we are, just like the prodigal son. Your zeal for God is slowly dying out. Wake up, precious one.

    Your Heart: the Root of Your Life

    I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart.

    Ezekiel 36:26 GNB

    Before I got to know that this was an actual verse in the Bible, I had had a vision long long ago where Jesus did an operation on me. He removed a piece of stone where my heart was supposed to be and put an actual heart there. Then, with His fingertips, He wrote on my heart. I could feel it. James calls it the engrafted Word of God. It is written on our hearts.

    This is how God tackles the root of the problem. The symptom is not the sickness. You have high fever because the body raised its normal temperature in order to kill the parasite. The high fever isn’t the problem. The parasite in your bloodstream is. You see, pride is the quicksand that makes sure you keep sinking in your sin.

    Instead of taking a prescription to reduce our temperature, God gave us the medication to cure our sickness of sin; a new heart. Out of the heart comes the issues of life. That is where who we truly are is really hidden. Desire a good heart. Once you have a good heart, you can have a good life. Forget about the philosophies of the world and their misconceptions. Desire a good heart. If you have a stubborn heart, there’s no hope that you will finish your race.

    No Temptation is Below You

    “…speak evil of no one, be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.”

    Titus 3:2‭-‬3 NKJV

    When Kojo was young and full of Nigerian-movie scenarios, he couldn’t possibly fathom why married couples divorce. “I mean, if the two of you love each other”, he explained away, “I don’t see the reason why you should divorce”. He exclaimed, “just go on a vacation or something. The guy should buy her flowers and the girl should prepare him his favorite meal”.

    A lot of us talk like that, especially concerning situations we’ve never been in ourselves. Truth is, it is easy to criticise a mistake you’re not part of. On other hand, it is easy to give excuses for a flaw you find yourself in. So we find ourselves in a dilemma; being hard on others for not being perfect, yet explaining how it’s not really our fault when we are the ones who fall short.

    Remember, Jesus said it is those who are merciful that shall receive mercy. It is the same standards you use to judge others that you’ll be judged by. It’s unnecessary to blame Adam for your demise after all what the second Adam did. Remember this: what you’re heavily judging others for, you’re going to meet a similar test in future. You may have forgotten what you said about the situation, but Jesus said He will judge us for every idle word we said.

    No form of temptation is above you. Have some compassion on the fallen. Show mercy to the cripples. Be an extension of God’s grace in someone’s life. Rebuke in private. The tables will soon turn, and pride may keep you from acknowledging your wrongs because you have a “public image” to protect, o thou holier than thou. The merciful shall be shown mercy. This is true wisdom.

    The Tree of the Knowledge of God and Evil

    “I am the Lord, who made all things, 

    who alone stretched out the heavens, 

    who spread out the earth by myself, 

    who frustrates the signs of liars

    and makes fools of diviners,

    who turns wise men back

    and makes their knowledge foolish.”

    Isaiah 44:24-25

    We human beings go through lengthy stretches of our lives with an “I’ve got this” posture. We convince ourselves we know what’s best in any particular situation or what’s right for any particular problem. We convince ourselves that we “get it.” We maintain this belief . . . until we can’t anymore . . . until we find we don’t actually know all that we think we know. We maintain it until we finally face the reality that God is God and we are not.

    Trust me, God has destroyed my very foundations of truth TWICE. Don’t pass there. You may even end up being an atheist if you’re not careful. Stop trying to build up knowledge of God. It sounds like a bad advice but hear me out. God will ALWAYS bring confusion to the Tower of Babel. Because of who He is, because of who we are, there’ll always be a tremendous amount of mystery in the relationship. We must be willing to accept and embrace it—and not let it become an impediment.

    Even if we had access to know all the answers, we won’t have the capacity to understand it all. Such knowledge may even destroy us. You may “need” to know why something is the way it is or why something happened the way it did, but most times we simply cannot—and still we must believe, and still we must obey. To be in right relationship with God we must instead adopt a posture of “I don’t know . . . and I’ll do what He asks nonetheless.” Trust in God because none other than the fact that He is God and you are not.

    A Little Advice

    Have a personal relationship with God. Not for ministry, not like God is a system, not as a ritual. God is a person. Chat with Him like a friend. Walk with Him daily. It is the only remedy. Start from there, and forget about all the super-spiritual showoff of knowledge. Seek God with all your heart. All that passion within you, pour into seeking God. That journey is life-changing. It will automatically break the cycle of sin and penance.

    Pray this Prayer of Rededication

    Dear Lord, I humble myself before you and confess my sin. I want to thank you for hearing my prayer and helping me return to you. Lately, I’ve been wanting things to go my own way. As you know, this hasn’t been working out. I see where I’ve been going the wrong way—my own way. I’ve been placing my faith and trust in everyone and everything but you.

    Dear Father, I return now to You, the Bible, and your Word. I pray for guidance as I listen for Your voice. Let me return to what is most important—You. Help my attitude to change so that instead of focusing on others and events to meet my needs, I can turn to You and find the love, purpose, and direction I seek. Help me to seek you first. Let my relationship with You be the most important thing in my life.

    I give You back control of my life. You are the only one who gives freely, with love to anyone who asks. The simplicity of it all still astounds me. Thank you, Jesus, for helping me, loving me, and showing me the way. Thank You for new mercies, for forgiving me. I rededicate myself to You wholly. I surrender my will to Your will. In the Name of Jesus, I pray.

    Amen.

  • Uncompromising Compassion: How to Remain Sane in an Increasingly Insane World

    Uncompromising Compassion: How to Remain Sane in an Increasingly Insane World

    Once upon a time, life was just simple. Two guys could hug, be madly close and say that they love each other without it being weird. That wasn’t so long ago. Now there are lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, queers, intersexuals, and pansexuals and 99 other “genders”. Soon, it may even be weird for two girls to be around each other or for siblings to be best friends.

    Everything was okay till someone wanted to marry someone of the same sex. After that was accepted, now people have fought for the right to marry themselves, animals, and even objects. A man decided to even marry his laptop. Now the whole idea of marriage is lost – and loses its relevance – in this insane mess. So you find people making a big deal out of not marrying and that can easily become an unexplainable societal trend.

    One wanted to be transgender; basically being a gender one is not. Then another discovered she could be trans-racial, pretending to be black when she really wasn’t. Now the system is broken. We have trans-disability; people who think they ought to be disabled and behave as such when they actually aren’t. Until when will we realise that being trans is basically trying to be something we originally aren’t?

    We pick every other identity that isn’t us except what we are really made to be. In fact, “what we are made to be” is even up for debate. Sexuality has now become a spectrum so fluid that there are “genders” being made up everyday. LGBTQRSTUVWYZ. Yet, it’s amazing we still count health cases according to the two God-made genders. This is not an LGBTQ+ slandering message. The world is in a serious identity crisis. Nothing makes sense anymore. What do we need to do now?

    It does matter who hang around with and who you allow into your inner circle; it does matter. Jim Rohn once said that “we are the sum total of the personalities of the five closest people to us“. Thus, the adage, “show me your friend, and I will show you your character”. The Scriptures says, “Don’t be deceived; bad company corrupts good manners.”

    When you hang around people who are broken, our compassion makes us feel and understand what they think, but that doesn’t mean that we should take up their mindset. Compassion becomes perversion when we reduce our convictions to embrace the crooked. Christianity is not a calling into isolation, where we isolate ourselves entirely from people due to their negativities; poor, broken, rude, hot-tempered, gay, bully, or naughty. Christianity is not compromise of convictions either.

    Many Christians complain to God that people take advantage of their good heart, their compassion, their generosity, when that is not the case. They then want to isolate themselves. Yet we are the Light of the World. It is the deepest darkness that needs the most light. We are that light. No need to squirm and hide your light.

    If no isolation at one extreme, then no compromise at other extreme either. People hang out with the poor and then develop a negative attitude against the rich. Pastors accept everyone for who they are, even homosexuals, and then develop a theology that supports homosexuality. How are you bringing light when you become darkness?

    Hanging out with people who don’t believe in godly values doesn’t mean we have to take up their conviction. It is wrong to avoid gays because you’re the help from God they need. But it is equally wrong when we try to defend their stance as though it is right. That is NOT compassion. That is compromise.

    You don’t have to change your convictions to love a homosexual. You’re not even helping the homosexual when you change your convictions. Jesus had great compassion for the lady who committed adultery and was about to be stoned. Jesus didn’t condemn her. Neither did He support her. Love is NOT Incompassionate compromise. Love is uncompromising Compassion.

    The whole sexual crisis in our world today is an identity crisis; be it homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, transsexual, transgender, queer or what have you. And just like Jesus did for the adulterous woman, our uncompromising Compassion is what will change their lives for the better. This is the true meaning of unconditional love.

    “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my Unfailing Love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed”, says the LORD, “who has compassion on you”.
    Isaiah 54:10

    I love you ❤

  • Making It Into Purgatory

    Usually, when a choice is presented to someone, it can be reduced to two simple options; it’s either yes or no, good or bad, right or wrong. There are no two ways about that. You can’t be an in-betweener. You cannot sit on the fence. However, liberals believe in a third option. Not everything should be rigid. Why the need for dualistic thinking when we can barely decide on what is right or wrong. In fact, must everything be about right and wrong? We can have an option that is a hybrid of the two, or neither of the two. It is therefore of no wonder that there is such a thing as purgatory.

    A Humanly-Devised Happy Ending

    In the Apocalypse of Peter, a book not canonised into the Bible, there is an elaborate detail about the punishment in hell for each type of crime and the pleasures given in heaven for each virtue. In the 14th chapter, a chapter that looks like it was added later because it lacks coherence with the overall outlook of the book, there is a very weird story that seems to have a happy ending for everyone. This doctrine is going to be popular once more in the coming generations, thus the need to know. This separate story explains that in the end, God will save all sinners from their plight in Hell:

    “My Father will give unto them all the life, the glory, and the kingdom that passeth not away, … It is because of them that have believed in me that I am come. It is also because of them that have believed in me, that, at their word, I shall have pity on men… “

    Thus, in this additional story, sinners will finally be saved by the prayers of those in heaven. Peter then orders his son Clement not to speak of this revelation since God had told Peter to keep it secret: [and God said]”… thou must not tell that which thou hearest unto the sinners lest they transgress the more, and sin“. It sounds like what a Loving God will do, right? Must He eternally punish His very own images because of temporary wrongdoing? Punish them for a moment and later release everyone to Heaven.

    God of Justice

    God is a Judge! Just like a King, He sits in His Throne Room and judges issues. He is the King of Kings, and His domain extends over all things, even in the kingdom of darkness. Daniel 2:22 says it better, He sees what lies hidden in darkness, though He is surrounded by Light. The kingdom of darkness is ALWAYS in the court of law, accusing each and every one of us day and night based on our actions and God’s commandments. This is a typical scene in the Throne Room;

    purgatory

    Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord , and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord , who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.”

    Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.” Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by. The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.

    Zechariah 3:1‭-‬7 NIV

    As aforementioned last week, God is justified in whatever action He decides to choose. With God being a just God, He can declare us guilty and hand us over to our accusers whenever we fall short. Yet, He offers grace, kindness and mercy. However, when we reject His convictions and refuse to admit our wrongdoings, our accusers have a right standing and foothold. It’s like giving someone the opportunity to insult you. As long as you don’t acknowledge that you sinned, that sin has the right to have you in its grip.

    Why the Options Are Only Two

    purgatory

    By confessing Jesus as your Saviour, there is now no condemnation for you as long as you walk in the Spirit. When God convicts you, He is only saying admit that you are wrong. Even in our court system, once you plead guilty, your sentence reduces drastically as compared to pleading not guilty and losing. You are not pleading guilty to your accusers. You are pleading guilty to the merciful Judge.

    The penalty of sin is death. Do you realise that? The side punishments – the torments, beatings and whatever visualisation you have of hell – are the devil’s own creative ideas. The actual penalty is death; being eternally cut off from God, where the forces of darkness can do whatever they want with you. If you lose your grip on Jesus being your lawyer, death will eternally hold you in its grip. So it’s not that God has condemned people to hell eternally. He hasn’t chosen to condemn people, neither did He choose to make it an eternal thing.

    It is already an eternal thing. Remember Newton’s 1st law of motion? He rather provided an eternal solution. By conquering death, Jesus rid death of the power to keep holding us in its grip. We have that decision to make in this age, not in the age to come. For in the age to come, God has already judged Death as guilty and condemned Death and Hell into the lake of fire. Must you still submit to death at the time, you are condemned together with it.

    purgatory

    In conclusion, there is no purgatory. Simple and short. Heaven is forever. Hell is forever. If you miss one, you can’t miss the other. Blaming God is the easy way out for fools. Don’t be one of them. I love you ❤️

  • Making it to Hell

    THE ONLY WAY TO HELL


    Would you believe it if I told you that there’s only one way to hell? Absolutely not! In Jesus’ own words, broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many walk that path. However, the only reason someone would be thrown in hell is that they didn’t accept Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary. “Whoever does not believe is already condemned“. By default, we are all headed towards destruction because the power of sin is greater than the will of man. If you don’t accept Jesus, no matter what you do, you are heading towards destruction.

    This is why Jesus is the only way to the Father. He brings us back to the path of righteousness once we acknowledge His sacrifice and accept God’s gift of salvation. Just as there are several ways the Spirit leads people to Jesus, the only way to the Father, all other sins gradually push us to the ultimate sin that sends us to hell; not accepting Jesus as your personal Saviour. Does that make sense to you now? So essentially, no one is going to hell because of fornication. However, the fornicator is going to hell because the sin of fornication blocked his/her heart from continuing to believe in Jesus.

    It is very important that we know this. The more you live in sin, the more your heart grows cold till you don’t believe anymore. Why is this important to know this perspective? Because it’s not over for such a person to be reconciled to God once more no matter how far one has walked away. As long as you are alive and have the chance to believe, you are still welcome at home, in the Father’s arms.

    GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE

    God is justified in whatever decision He makes. He does not need to do the right thing. HE IS the right thing. Only He holds the power to right a wrong. Thus, whether He chooses justice on us as the penalty for our sins or chooses freedom for us as a result of Jesus’ death and resurrection, He is justified. Do you understand this? With justice as the foundation of His throne, He has the power to sanction all creation – for falling short – into eternal damnation and still be right for doing so.

    “How can a loving God send people to hell?”. Truth is, even if He did send people to hell, He will still be justified for doing so. By rejecting Jesus, we crucify Him a second time and become guilty of an even greater sin. The God who has the power to condemn us is the same God who made the provision to ransom us. Is this stone going to be our cornerstone or our stumbling block? Is the consuming fire going to ignite our hearts for more or burn our souls forever? It is our utmost decision to make, and God respects that.

    GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT


    When I was young, God showed me a simple vision. Perhaps, a very common story you may have heard from somewhere else. Jesus and I were standing in front of a gigantic tree with a huge bottom but an endless apex. There were several people climbing the tree at different heights of the tree, all the way into the clouds. Very typical of trees, the stem of the tree got thinner as one climbed upwards.

    At the bottom, there were a lot of people who kept climbing and falling almost immediately. They didn’t feel hurt because they didn’t fall from a great height. Eventually, some of them simply stopped climbing, stuck around for a while and then left. Suddenly, one of the people at the very top lost grip and slipped. He fell heavily from the great height, and couldn’t even stand again.

    That is the thing with growth and development. If you are at the early stages of your Christian journey, you are tempted to abuse God’s Grace. Yet, don’t be deceived. God cannot be mocked. You won’t grow to your fullest potential. You will have yourself deceived so much that before you realize it, your heart is far far away from your First Love. When you grow to a certain place, however, you don’t have the luxury of giving the devil a foothold. You can’t afford to backslide when you’ve grown to some extent.

    As you walk with God, His Spirit will teach you to stop things you thought were not necessarily wrong. People do not realise that growth didn’t come into the story because of sin. Even before sin, Adam needed to grow. Even in Heaven, we will continue to grow. Growing means increasing our capacity to receive more, experience more and understand more. God stays the same, yet everyday the angels discover something new about Him and sing an even louder hallelujah. So will we!

    Are you growing? Or you’re foolishly abusing Grace till your heart grows cold for the things of God? It’s your choice. This choice is either leading you on the Broadway to hell or on the leeway to Heaven. It’s your choice, my dear

  • Making It To Heaven

    Making It To Heaven

    All doctrines are from a Holy Book. Every Christian doctrine, including the false ones, has a Bible verse. “Making it to Heaven” is no different and by far, one of the most misunderstood concept.

    The fear of sin, the fear of hell, and even the fear of God’s wrath never saved anybody. You didn’t save yourself in the first place so don’t think Christ has left it to you to “maintain” your salvation. If you fear “losing your salvation”, then you never understood what Christ did on the Cross.

    Psalm 118:14 reads, “He has become my salvation”. It means salvation is not a thing. Salvation is a person. That person is Jesus, and as long as He lives in you and will never leave you nor forsake you, you have life. Salvation is not a possession; like a substance outside you like money you have. Christ is Salvation. And how seemingly impossible it is to lose Christ. No wonder the Gospel scares many Christians; because it’s too good to be true. It totally sets us free from even our own thinking. But no! We want religion, which is a prison.

    The leavens of the Pharisees is slowly rising in what’s meant to be the Unleavened Bread in the saints

    _____________________________________________

    Christians are so stingy with Heaven. They think God is so stingy with Heaven that He doesn’t want just anybody to go there. In Jesus’ parables, it was common people in the streets that entered into the banquet, not the “chosen” ones. Some Christians even lowkey believe some people have been predestined to go to hell because they are not part of the “chosen”. Jesus didn’t save you to put into the “saved category”. It will really shock many Christians to know the kind of people in Heaven; that there are more people in Heaven than in hell. The prodigal son is still a son even if he’s eating pig’s food somewhere. It’s of no wonder at the end of the story, the second son was enjoying and the first born was sad.

    _____________________________________________

    Nothing of God is earned. It is all a gift freely given. Once you think you can earn anything from God by what you do, you have missed the whole point of Grace. God’s awards super-exceeds His rewards. He has already blessed all men with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. And this gift of salvation was freely given to all humanity. Your self-righteous works does not make you worthy of going to Heaven. All men were forgiven on the Cross whether they themselves believe it or not. Their accepting is accepting what is already a fact.

    When Paul told the Ephesian church to “live a life worthy of your calling”, he is not saying justify your salvation, he is simply saying we are not unworthy anymore so they should stop the false humility and live the God-life to the fullest.

    The Bible does not even teach us about making it into Heaven. The whole point of life is not to die and go to heaven. That is not the main point. If your reason for doing good is to make Heaven one day, you don’t understand the Gospel. The Bible rather teaches us how to live life more abundantly. The Bible rather teaches us to love one another, live according to the Will of God and fulfill His purpose for us. Not so we could make it to Heaven. Focusing on making it to Heaven is totally different from focusing on Heaven. All religions believe in the former, but not true Christ-living. It comes as a shock?

    Actually, just like the Jews awaiting the Messiah, many Christians pray “thy kingdom come” without knowing that the Kingdom is here, within us. (Luke 17:21). “Focus[ing] on things above” means living from Heaven towards earth. This is what victorious Christian living means.

    “Making it to Heaven” means we are not there in the first place; which is contrary of the finished works of Christ that “seated us in heavenly places with Christ” and made us “citizen[s] of Heaven”.

    Making it to Heaven also means awaiting a world that hasn’t come so there’s no point living the abundantly life in Christ here; contrary to the mission of Christ stated in John 10:10.

    Eternal Life does not begin when we die. There are no promises in the New Covenant. Christ is the fulfillment of every God-given promise. This means once I’m in Christ, I have access to any promise that has ever been made. Jesus told Nicodemus, “whoever believes in the Son has eternal life”. John wrote to the 1st century church, “He who has the Son has life”. It has always been the present. God of the present.

    The I Am not I will be. So when people say Heaven is a lifestyle, don’t get annoyed. God intended everything to be a lifestyle. This is even way better than seeing Heaven as a destination.
    I don’t need to die to activate eternal life. I need eternal life to deactivate death. When death thinks it has got a hold of me, the Resurrection and the Life sustains His Life within me. Hallelujah! I personally don’t believe in death because “the last enemy to be defeated was death”. Jesus’ finished works include the death of Death. “Now death, where is your sting?”

    So before we go around condemning people with our Bible verses, know for sure that the reason why many people are not Christians is because of the lifestyle and condemning ideologies of Christendom. Christians today are arguably the most condemning people in the world. We must go back and check our foundation and belief systems. If it segregates, brings fear or makes us “holier than thou”, then it’s not from God. The Truth is not about who is right. Truth is about what is right.

    It’s about time we went back to Christo-centric living, Christo-centric doctrines and Christo-centric mindsets where is about what all about Christ from top to bottom. Why have we set Christ aside and gone back to Old Testament lifestyle? Life is about recognizing Jesus at the center of it all, from salvation to rulership.

    I love you ♥

  • Why Do The Gospels Have Different Accounts of the Resurrection?

    In Matthew, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary rose up at dawn to go and balm the dead body of Jesus because they couldn’t do it the evening he died, which was the Sabbath. They went to meet a mighty angel sitting on the rolled stone. The angel told them to go and tell the rest of the disciples, and that Jesus had gone ahead of them to Galilee. In their joy and fright, they meet Jesus along the way. Jesus also echoes and affirms the angel’s report.

    In Mark, it was Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome who rose up at dawn to go and anoint Jesus’ body. They were contemplating on how they’d roll the stone away. When they got there, the stone had been rolled away and an angel was sitting on the right side. Trembling and bewildered, the women left and told no one anything because they were afraid. Then Jesus appeared to only Mary Magdalene, who went to tell the rest of the disciples about the Resurrection. Jesus appeared to two other disciples and later appeared to the Eleven.

    In Luke, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna and some other women took their spices and went to the tomb and arrived right after sunrise. They found the stone rolled away, and the tomb empty. Suddenly, two men appeared. The angel told them to remember the words of Jesus concerning His Resurrection, which they did. They came back to tell the other disciples but they didn’t believe. So Peter run back to check for himself and met an empty tomb and went away, wondering what had happened. On that same day, Jesus appeared to the two disciples Mark talked about, on the road to Emmaus.

    In John, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed. So she went running to Simon Peter and John, complaining that Jesus’ body had been stolen. So Peter and John run to the tomb. They both found the tomb empty, with the cloth and linen lying there. They went away. Mary Magdalene still stayed, crying. She bent over to look in the tomb and saw two angels in white. They only asked her why she was crying. After replying, she turned and saw Jesus but didn’t recognize Him, thinking he was the gardener. Jesus mentioned her name again and she finally recognized Him. Jesus spoke to her and she ran to tell the disciples that she had seen the Lord.

    Before I go on, it is necessary to point out that each of the Gospel writers had a clear purpose and emphasis set out to accentuate a specific and special image of Jesus. Therefore, each detail they add or didn’t add was because of what they want to emphasize.

    At least five women went to the tomb since Luke names three of them and then says “other women” went too (at least two). Notice that Matthew does not say that only two women were there. Mark does not say that only three women were there. They simply focus on the women they name. They arose while it was still dark according to John and reached the tomb right after sunrise.


    Prior to their arrival, Matthew tells us that there was a great earthquake, for an angel descended and rolled back the stone and sat on it. The women were contemplating how they’d roll the stone but went and saw it removed. There were two angels. Neither Matthew nor Mark claims that only one angel was at the tomb. The complete number does not appear in their accounts and clearly wasn’t the emphasis of the story.

    Apparently, Mary Magdalene left the other women to alert Peter and John. Based on her comment about not knowing the location of the Lord’s body, it seems that she was not among the women who encountered the angels at the tomb.

    Meanwhile, the other women entered the tomb and encountered the angels. Mary Magdalene first left the tomb and entered nearby Jerusalem to get Peter and John. During that time, the other women encountered the angels and then left the tomb to set out on the two-mile trip to Bethany to tell the other disciples about the Resurrection. They may have stopped along the way to tell Clopas and an unnamed disciple about the morning’s events (Luke 24:22–24), or they may have split up so that a couple of them could inform these men. In all likelihood, “the wife of Clopas” was among these women (John 19:25).


    Meanwhile, Peter, John, and Mary raced to the tomb. The men entered the tomb, saw the grave clothes, and then left. Mary stayed behind, weeping outside the tomb. When she looked into the tomb, she saw two angels (John 20:12), and after explaining her grief to them, she turned around and saw the Savior (John 20:16). After Mary departed to tell Peter and John about seeing the risen Lord, Jesus appeared to the other women who were on their way to Bethany (Matthew 28:9).

    The remaining appearances of Christ on that day are much easier to follow. Luke wrote about Clopas and a companion meeting the Lord while they walked from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They did not recognize Him until He broke bread with them (Luke 24:30–31). They immediately returned to Jerusalem to share the good news of the Resurrection with the disciples, without Thomas (John 20:19–24). Upon their arrival, they were told by the disciples that Jesus had appeared to Simon Peter (Luke 24:34; see also 1 Corinthians 15:5).

    So you see, the entire story fits like a jigsaw puzzle. As a learner, don’t be too quick to draw conclusions. If you are always quick to draw conclusions, you won’t learn anything. Wait for the story to unfold before your eyes. The fact that someone’s account is different from the other doesn’t mean one is true and the others aren’t. Though they all went into different details to expatriate the Resurrection story, the whole story comes together to tell one big true and eternal story: Jesus has Risen.

  • How to be Grateful Without Being Such a Dick About It

    “Lord, I thank you that I am still alive. Many people died last year but I’m still breathing. Thank you that I am not sick. Some are at the emergency hospital with their legs in the air. I’m not a human being more than they are but you have shown me mercy”. Is this how to be grateful?

    If you don’t have a problem with the prayer above, it’s simply because you heard it many times. Our brains can believe something based on how frequently we hear it. That is why it’s important to step back and question whether we’ve been doing it right all along or we are stuck in a wrong status quo.

    Don’t thank God by comparing yourself to someone else. Thank God by comparing your current situation to the previous times. There is one funny thing about comparing ourselves to others because they died and we didn’t. Some dead people may also be rightly thanking God for taking His breath from their lungs. Imagine being so old and having every joint in your body ache 24/7. After dying, you are now as young as a flower at the beginning of spring.

    Yet, someone on earth thinks they are in a better situation than yours because you’re dead. Meanwhile that someone on earth has to pay school fees for his 4 kids, work 6 times a week on 2 different jobs and make time for his wife. What’s my point? The person you’re comparing yourself to in your attempt to be grateful may even be in a better situation than you are. This leads me to be the 2nd point.

    how to be grateful
    You think God is good to you because you think you are better than them. Truth is, they are more and truly grateful than you are.

    The point about comparison is that you’ll always look for and find someone in a worse situation than yours. One of the easiest ways to be stagnant in life is to compare yourself to someone lower than you. No, it doesn’t make you grateful. It makes you proud. Imagine if all males thank God that He didn’t make them females. It’s an insult to those God made as females. Can’t you simply thank God without making someone else feel less of a person? The prayer in the very first paragraph is no different from this Pharisee in Luke 18:11;

    The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ What did you notice? It was a prayer of thanksgiving. What again did you notice? Though a prayer of thanksgiving, the prayer was more about how he was better than someone else.

    You are not better than someone else just because you’re a Christian. Sorry to burst your bubble. Our prayer gives the insinuation that God gives His special grace to a special group of people. It sounds nice when you see yourself as a part. The day you’ll hate it is when you end up in the emergency hospital with your leg in the air as described in the first paragraph. Funny enough, since we keep finding someone in a worse situation than ours, we think we are privileged.

    You would find some people at Golgotha thanking God that they are still alive and did not die like Jesus did on the cross, shamefully hanging totally naked and dying non-peacefully. You would have found some people for sure. They don’t even want to know God’s bigger picture. All they are concerned about is how special they are. The Bible states clearly that God shows no partiality (Romans 2:11, Acts 10:34). In fact, Jesus taught us to be good to all people like the Father is, for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

    Find a better way to be grateful and stop arguing. Are you saying if you were the only living thing in the universe you wouldn’t have a way to be grateful? If this post rid of all your approaches to be grateful, then it’s time to search the Scriptures for prayers of thanksgiving. Don’t thank God that others are dead. Thank God you’re alive. Don’t thank God others are sick. Thank God you are in good health.

    If someone’s worse condition is what makes you appreciate your life, you’ll hate to see them having a better life than you are

    God doesn’t need any comparisons to know how much He has done for you as compared to “less privileged” people. If you want to compare, compare your current situation to how it used to be. Gratitude flows from a source. Make sure that the source is contentment and not selfish comparison.

    I love you ❤️

  • 5 Misconstrued Truths Regarding the Birth of Jesus

    Because we are in the 21st century, we can subconsciously assume Mary and Joseph took a motor ride to Bethlehem and arrived only to realize the entire village was full, including their family home; the 3 wise men saw the star as soon as Jesus was born and came in their limousine to see the baby. I’m obviously exaggerating but you get the point.

    Our imagination only makes sense in our current context, and until you learn the historical context, you’re likely to picture the story in a wrong way. Forget about the movies. This is 2000 years ago, not 20 years ago. Here are 5 widely known misconceptions about the birth of Jesus;

    The Bible Didn’t Say…

    1. …That It All Happened in One Night

    “Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,”
    ‭‭Luke‬ ‭2:4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

    Perhaps, because we live in a fast-paced world – or we may have picked that assumption from the movies – we read the Christmas story and over-simplify the story. There are no cars and aeroplanes, remember? To give a bit of context, it was a 90-mile journey from Nazareth to the south along the flat lands of the Jordan River, then west over the hills surrounding Jerusalem, and on into Bethlehem. It takes about 10 days to make such a journey.

    With a pregnant woman, the journey would have taken longer. Now imagine the wise men travelling all the way from the East! Even a Christmas movie isn’t likely to be shot in one day.

    2. …That There was no room in Joseph’s family house

    “And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.”
    ‭‭Luke‬ ‭2:7‬ ‭NKJV    ‬‬

    Why are we trying to make Joseph’s family and the entire neighbourhood look bad? Why are we assuming that literally nobody had the common sense to give their space to a pregnant woman? Except, of course, that it’s not true and only an assumption. The Bible never said that Joseph’s family house was full and that they were looking for another place. Just like the other assumptions, the misunderstanding comes from just one word; inn. The New Testament was originally written in Greek, and the Greek word translated as “inn” here is kataluma.

    Typical architecture of 1st century Israel villages

    This is better translated as “guest room” as the NIV does, and is different from pandokheion, also translated as “inn” – in the Good Samaritan story in Luke 10:34 – which rightly means hotel. What the Bible said is that the guest room was full. Simple! It’s like all your uncles travel home and one of them sleeps in the living room because the guest room is full. The place was full of people and wouldn’t be so comfortable for a woman to give birth there.

    3. …That Jesus was Born the Very Night they Arrived

    “While they were there [in Bethlehem], the time came for her to give birth,”
    ‭‭Luke‬ ‭2:6‬ ‭AMP‬‬

    They arrive and Mary is in labor. Joseph runs from place to place, asking insensitive hotel owners if they have any suites available. They don’t get any but one kind old man said he had a little stable he could rent out for free. Mary is rushed in, where she gives birth to a baby boy. Such a fast-breaking epic Hollywood scene! Read Luke 2:6 in a different version think about this whole scene again and watch it slowly fade away. Truth is, Mary was in Bethlehem for days, long before she gave birth.

    4. …That Jesus was Born in a Stable

    “And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
    ‭‭Luke‬ ‭2:7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

    Pictures of Jesus’ birth are filled with animals staring at a baby in their manger. Yet no, no Bible version ever insinuates that it was a barn or a coup or a stable. The only word to suggest that is “manger”. A manger is not a place where animals are stored; it’s simply a long trough in which the food of livestock are put and they fed.

    This is not to say that there weren’t animals around. I’m just saying that when someone says he put his books on a shelf, don’t be quick to assume that he has an entire library room. It could be a simple bookshelf in his living room.

    5. …That There Were Only 3 Wise Men

    “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,”
    ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2:1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

    Because they presented three gifts and many movies, plays and pictures portray three old men dressed to kill, the most famous assumption in the Christmas story is that of the 3 wise men. If someone came to your house and presented you with a couple of gifts, you wouldn’t count the gifts to assume the number of people behind the gift, would you?

    Matthew 2:1 simply says “Wise men”. In fact, with men of such calibre, they are probably travelling with an entire voyage. Plus, they presented gifts to Herod too – since it was the culture – when they went to inquire of him about Jesus’ birth. The three gifts they presented Jesus were mentioned in detail to draw our attention to their utmost significance to Jesus’ ministry.

    Surely this doesn’t take an inch away from the humble birth of the King of Kings. What it certainly takes away is the vilification of Joseph’s home and the neighbourhood of Bethlehem. It also allows us to meticulously meditate on the story of the first Noël, instead of assuming every year.

    Mind you, this wasn’t written so you could argue out your newfound knowledge with your paddies. Just like the Scriptures, this was written so you could appreciate the birth of Jesus; the greatest of kings, born in the humblest of places.

  • Vessel of Honour: Becoming Great in the Authenticity of your Design

    Becoming successful is an undying trend in the 21st century. This is because of the realization that virtually anybody can become successful. Unlike in past centuries, your success is not primarily dependent on the status of your family, level of education and other social privileges that put a select few at a ridiculously high advantage. This is good news. Anyone can become successful.

    However, climbing the ladder of success has become a systematic approach, a mathematical formula, a scientific method. One needs to have something, do something in a certain way, act like a certain kind of person. We seem to have made a god out of the standard for attaining success that people legit think they have to lose themselves to attain it.

    What if I told you that the only way you can be great in your unique way is by simply being your authentic self? If you have to be like someone to be great, you will only be an inferior copy of the person. You have unlimited potential to be the greatest version of yourself. Don’t waste it trying to be a duplicate of another person. Nonetheless, you may have some discrepancies that make you feel less of a conqueror;

    Maybe you’re dumb

    Samson got tied up 3 times by Delilah, who desperately wanted to know the secret of Samson’s strength. Ei so Samson couldn’t figure out that this girl wanted to destroy him? After 3 attempts? Don’t tell me he was blinded by love. Being in love is different from being stupid. Samson had both, yet God used him so mightily. He was blinded by his own lust for a forbidden woman. Nevertheless, how God used Samson is unique and very different from every other Bible character.

    Maybe you’re weird

    If you’re like me, you probably do some weird shit regularly that leaves people wondering if what they just witnessed was real. You even surprise yourself. Even you yourself cannot figure yourself out, how much more others? Indubitably, that cannot be compared to the weirdest guy of all time; John the Baptist.

    He ate locust and wild honey as food, wore camel’s hair and leather belt (Matt 3:4), a kind of fashion that still hasn’t come into style, and lived in the wilderness. Yet, he was so great that “all of Israel went out to meet him”. He was that weird preacher’s kid, coming from a highly religious background. However, when his parents’ friends – the Pharisees – came to be baptized, he called them a brood of vipers. I’m only hoping his parents weren’t so ashamed of him.

    Maybe you’re not qualified

    Sometimes we disqualify our ownselves. Jeremiah thought he was too young. Yet, one of the best kings in Israel’s history was Josiah. He was only 8 when he became king. You think you’re ugly – bad teeth formation, disproportioned nose, unattractive countenance – so you so shy away from public speaking. You think you’re uglier than Abraham Lincoln without a beard? Lincoln had a bone disease that made him so ugly that a little girl told her to grow a beard when he was running for Senate.

    You need to understand that you don’t need to be perfect to be great. Study all the greats in history and you’ll be amazed by their weird shortcomings. That’s why I love the Bible. None of the characters are photoshopped. Moses was a murderer. David was an adulterer. Noah was an alcoholic. Yet, their greatness was unique. Noah was the only righteous man on earth in his time. Moses was the meekest man on earth in his time. David was the man after God’s own heart.

    This is a trustworthy saying; God doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the called. Greatness lies within the authenticity of your design. Nowhere else. So relax yourself in the Potter’s hand. Let Him make you a unique vessel, a masterpiece fashioned beforehand for greatness. Be yourself. You’re great just the way you are.

  • A Desperate Cry for Intimacy

    Lord, I wanna get my life together. I want to be more conscious of you. I desire to be in your presence.

    I want to long for your glory. I want to be more intimate with you. I want to read your Word like I used to.

    I want to lay down at your feet. I want to spend time on my knees in fellowship. I want to grow more in spirit.

    And most of all, I want to say “I” less because it’s all about You.

  • The Foolishness of God

    The Foolishness of God

    God’s first foolishness is seen in his outpour of free will to His creation. Why give all heavenly beings free will if it can bring about the possibility of a devil? What makes it an even harder pill to swallow is the fact God knew it would happen. And He literally sets up the stage for it then watches it happen.

    God’s second foolishness is seen in His creation of man. If God ever had a weakness, it was us. That’s why the enemy spends all his time trying to destroy us. God literally said that “…whoever touches you touches the pupil of my eye”, and that’s exactly what the enemy wants to do. Human beings are so dumb in the eyes of the powers of darkness. To them, we look like a prince who doesn’t know he’s a prince and lives like a pauper. They’re literally always licking our brains to believe in the dumbest things.

    God’s third foolishness is putting that tree in the garden. He put right in the middle, where it cannot be unseen. Then, He tells the man not to eat from it. It’s like telling a kid not to switch on the TV and putting the remote right next to him. It only sparks more curiosity. Did God actually expect Adam not to eat from the tree? If He didn’t, why did God put the tree in the garden?

    God’s forth foolishness is dying for the sins of humanity and giving us grace. God must be pretty dumb to think we wouldn’t abuse Grace. Now instead of praying to God for a car for many years, I can steal one in a day then ask for forgiveness. The picture of God in our minds has moved from an always-angry, l-will-strike-you-with-thunder schizophrenic to the Mr Nice Guy literally everyone takes advantage of.

    But here is the Truth; God doesn’t need anyone to defend Him. He doesn’t need anyone’s advice. He doesn’t need to explain Himself to anyone. We are too finite to understand His infinite picture. He knows exactly what He’s doing. His Love cannot be taken advantage of and His Grace cannot be abused. The fact that he gave all of us minds of our own and even the ability to argue with Him that he’s wrong doesn’t mean He sometimes doesn’t know what He’s doing.

    There’s nothing that has happened; that is happening; that will happen that has taken, is taking and will take God by surprise. He cannot be blamed for our own demises because of His foreknowledge of all things. Sometimes our way of thinking actually equates God to the devil if we think about it carefully. He has the right to punish yet He chooses to admonish love. He allows our mistakes and gives us time to mature. He’s not accountable to anyone but everything is accountable to Him. Though we may be His weakness, He is our strength. Though He gives us the free will to push Him away, He will always hold us close.

    “because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.”

    He loves you ❤️