RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM

When I was little, I hear about few pastors who pray for the sick and they get healed, I hear about prophets, evangelists and men of God who pray and the lame will walk, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dumb will speak and even a dead person will come back to life. People attend crusades with great expectations of getting so much burdens and problems off their neck.

But these days, it is about the richest pastors in the world, the richest pastors or men of God in Africa, the richest pastors or men of God in Nigeria, the brand of cars they ride on, those that have acquired private jet, those of them that has built the most magnificent cathedrals, etc.

Miracles have become so rare. People are being misinformed about God’s blessings and answers to prayers. People are getting confused about God and his ways because they depend on these men of God to know God’s ways instead of studying His Word.

Naij.com recently reported of a South African Pastor that arrived in Rolls Royce, horses and police entourage to enter his church. According to Naij.com, “A South African pastor and general overseer of Alleluia Ministries International, Alph Lukau, is in the news after he made a grand entry into the church premises. It was also reported that this is not the first time he would make such an entry but it has become his tradition, especially when he returns from a long trip”.

I wonder why many people are still being deceived at this information age. Some Christians receive so much humiliation in the name of deliverance. Yet their problems get worse. They sow seed only to get poorer, yet they seem not to understand the handwriting on the wall. I think that what Christians need these days is mental/mindset deliverance which they may not get from the church but by reading the Word of God, linking it to the present and asking God to help them understand through the Holy Spirit.

Written by Olive Chinyere Amajuoyi

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GIVING TO GOD: A MESSED UP TRUTH

A friend of mine invited me to their church, which is among the chief Pentecostal Churches in Nigeria, and which also belong to Orthodox grouping; hence, not one of those churches referred to as prayer houses. According to my friend, they have a special programme that very Sunday and I did honour the invitation. After the worship and other activities, the man of God of the Church rose to introduce the guest preacher who he said is still undergoing training in a theology college to become a full time priest but carries great anointing. The guest preacher came to the podium and started preaching. As he preached, members cheered and hailed him to encourage him to speak on, because his message, I can say, is really powerful, compelling and persuading. It was really an exciting moment for every member of the church. The look on their faces is enough to tell that they really are having a wonderful moment in God’s presence.

I was also really moved by that powerful message from their guest preacher; particularly when he said “If the money you have at the moment is not enough to solve your many problems, sow it as a seed and see how God will embarrass you financially”. Another one that pulled my leg is when he said, “Believe in the Prophet of God and you shall prosper (2Chronicles 20:20)”. After his message, he made an altar call for those who are led to sow seed and many people started moving to the altar. I wanted to make a move but somehow, I started arguing with my conscience and thereafter, I remembered the argument I had with a friend about giving to God. Then I stubbornly sat down. On the other hand, my friend got up to go and I held her cloth but she jerked off my hand and left hurriedly to the altar. Before the end of service that day, the host man of God instructed that offering basket be brought out so that collection be made for the servant of God who God has used to bless His people. According to him, the guest preacher needs money to pay his school fees to enable him complete his studies in theology college.  I learnt so many lessons that day but no one to share with because I felt as usual, no one will see reasons with me.

One month after the altar call experience, the same friend of mine came to me to share a financial burden. She said that her mother is seriously sick and that a deposit of One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira is needed to commence treatment and that she has only Thirty Thousand Naira in her account. I was so shocked that I didn’t know when I asked her “What have you been doing with your money”. She looked so helpless and left in utter disappointment and I followed her. I kept giving her suggestions of who to meet and ask for the money or borrow the money from but she said she has tried them all to no avail. Then I suggested her church. I told her to go and meet her pastor; since she is an usher and a group leader, they should be able to assist her. At that point, she broke down and started crying and I became embarrassed and asked myself, have I made a sarcastic suggestion? Since I only wanted to help, I tried to cheer her up. Then she opened up and started telling me what is eating her up; and what was that?

She told me that the day I followed her to her church, she was moved to make a vow and that later on, she emptied her account of Three Hundred Thousand Naira and gave to her pastor in response to what the guest preacher said that day. She said that presently she needs to renew her rent, buy a laptop, complete her master’s degree school fees, etc. and that the money she has is not enough. Hence she sacrificed the much she had, trusting God to embarrass her financially. The worst is that she said she has also gone to see her pastor and this is their pastor’s response, “What do you want me to do? I don’t have money. Do you want to take back what you have given to God? Do you think money falls from the sky? And bla bla bla”. Even when she pleaded for the pastor to lend her the money, for her to pay back at a later date, he directed her to meet some members of the church to document her request for approval.  And after all said and done, they were only able to lend her Fifty Thousand Naira, which she is expected to pay back. I was really angry when she finished that I dragged her with me to go see their pastor but she told me it is of no use, as we are not going to fight him. She blamed God for abandoning her. She blamed people around her for not lending money to her. But I asked myself, who is to be blamed? God did not tell her to empty her bank account, neither did anybody around her. I simply told her to learn her lessons, as experience is always the best teacher.

When will Christians learn to use the sense that God has given them? Is it not time to read the handwriting on the wall and understand that times and seasons have changed? When are Christians going to understand the signs of the times like men of Issachar to do the right thing suitable for the season? It is not wrong to give to God but such giving should be channeled properly. During the times which were recorded in the bible, prophets then sacrificed for the poor and needy. They toiled to alleviate the problems of the helpless. People believed in them then and they never failed to proffer solution. When they ask anything from anybody, they do so with good motives, leaving people who were good to them better than they met them.

But today, the story has changed. Men of God these days are after expensive cars, flying abroad and acquiring jet. Their messages are coated to attract riches to them so that they can compete and prove to others that God is on their side. Building cathedrals and acquiring expensive cars and jets have become evidence of God’s presence in their ministries. It doesn’t matter if their members who are sowing into their lives are experiencing God’s goodness or not. They have turned the building called churches to Ponzi offices. They have messed up the Word of God on giving.

God is more concerned about those He created in His own image and likeness than cathedrals and other material things. Common sense should tell Christians that when a man of God becomes more interested in material things than his members who are God’s mobile altar and the main temple of God, then that man of God has deviated. Is it not written that we should seek first the kingdom of God and all its righteousness and every other thing shall be added? God is more honoured if I help any needy person around me to realize his or her dreams than give to a man of God whose desire is to entertain his selfish interests. There is no difference between circular leaders and church leaders anymore. If the men of God who are to bring God’s judgment upon the evil politicians in Africa have also become crooks, who will call the evil politicians to order?

Why is it that the so called men of God pray these days without effect? I have even observed those who frequent prayer houses and found out that they get worse every day, when actually they are supposed to be better off, yet they give their fortunes to receive prayer and prophecies. It’s time for Christians to reason and break free from religious bondage. These men and women of God waste their member’s money printing posters and fliers for their selfish programmes that are meant to protect themselves and gather more offerings, and they make such programmes sound like God will come down from heaven, yet, after such programmes, there is nothing to show for the money spent to host it. It’s time to think. How many of such programmes have we attended these days and see the blind, deaf, lame, dumb, etc all receive their healing? 

On the other hand, they turn blind eye to the financial needs of their members. Even social gatherings these days tend to be more considerate because they meet the need of their members from their contributions. If a man of God cannot listen to and meet the need of those who contribute to the growth of the church from church money, or even use the same persuasive manner in which they attract favour to themselves to ask church members to contribute to help one of their active members, then, I advice church members to start sowing their seed in the lives of the needy people around them because our God is more interested in their souls. Be wise!

Written by Olive Chinyere Amajuoyi

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IT SEEMS GOD HAS GONE ON VACATION

Does God Exist

A particular woman has been frequenting my office recently to ask for help from my boss. As she was explaining herself the last time she came, I took note of some rare facts. She said that she belong to a prayer group that prays everyday from morning to 12 noon at the stadium; that they pray for individuals and companies like ours. She said that God has been laying it in her heart to meet my boss for help; she complained of a whole lot of problems like house rent, children’s school fees, etc. She also said that her pastor encouraged her to come and ask for help from my boss. Like other days, she left without getting the help. As she exited from my office, somebody who overheard our discussion asked some bothering questions which are: Is praying a vocation? How can she spend all her time praying without any vocation? Why did God lay in her to meet somebody to solve her problems and not also lay it in the heart of that person to meet her needs?  If prayer is the only solution to her problems why has God not answered her, or has her God gone on vacation?

So many things are happening today that people are asking: where is God? Presently, it seems many Christians are living and taking shelter under false hope. Things have gone wrong and no one seems to have a solution. People are dying of hunger and hopelessness. Talents, potentials, destinies are wasting on daily basis because there is no means of nurturing them. Evil is reigning over good. The wicked prosper in their wickedness, and they are gradually recruiting the righteous ones who are helpless and defenseless into their circle of wickedness. Christians have resorted to prayer because of hardship, but it seems God has gone on vacation. The more seed they sow, the more problem they face. The more Christians pray, the more problems they incur; especially those who are not employed and who cannot start something on their own. To so many people, church has become a ponzi platform where you provide help to only pastors and and either get help by struggling afterwards or struggle in vain without any help. Fake pastors have infiltrated the building called church and their mouths are filled with ponzi messages instead of God's Word. The new face of MMM now parade the church buildings as pastors and men of God and people are confused on who to turn to for solution. Many people have asked over and over again: Where is God? Does He exist? If actually He exists, has He gone on vacation?

God Will Never Forsake His Children, any Logical Proof?

Isaiah 49:14-17 says: “But Zion said, the Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me. Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has born? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. Your children hasten back and those who laid you to waste depart from you”.

With this assurance and many more of God’s steadfast love, care, protection and continuous presence with us, why does it seem that God’s promises of love is not realistic in the lives of the majority of His children? Why does it seem like God has forsaken us? God is not the problem but we are because we have refused to make His presence known.

How Big Is Our God?

No matter how fervent, long, much we pray, if we don’t put it to work, we will continue to feel that God has forsaken us. God has given us all the assurance we need, to convince us that He will never forsake us. God said He engraved us in the palms of His hands, meaning that He sees us every moment as long as He has His palms with Him. He expects us to act with His mandate in order to feel His presence and make His presence known. If David had gone into prayers alone to save the Israelites from the philistines, he would not have defeated Goliath. Prayer is the key but we need to put it to work, using God’s mandate. God cannot come down from heaven to do what we are supposed to do because He has people to do that.

Even The Heathens Experience The Testimonies We Give

There is no distinction between the righteous and the heathens as we can see today. We go to church to give testimonies about safe delivery of our children, the contracts we won, smooth graduation from high school, acquisition of a new car, house, etc. The heathens also enjoy those blessings and more. They enjoy the sunshine and the rain; they also enjoy life and sound health. Disasters that come to them like accidents, sickness, rape etc also affect the righteous. So what is the distinction?  People always ask. What is the evidence that God will never forsake His own children when they are the ones that suffer the most? The point here is that God is the God of all.  He said He will make a distinction between those who serve Him and those who do not (Exodus 8:23) and He never fail to keep His word. The problem is that we lack knowledge. The content of our prayer is poor. In Malachi 3:13-18, the righteous one seeing and hearing of the prosperity of the wicked never gave up on their God. They rather encouraged one another with the assurance that God will visit the wicked with their wickedness. They did not bless the wicked neither did they envy them. They talked God into making a distinction as He promised. We have refused to search the scriptures with understanding and report wickedness to God for justice. The heathens work hard to prosper in order to dominate the earth; the wicked intimidate the righteous and channel our God given resources to their selfish ventures while the righteous only pray and look up to heaven for miraculous manna and quails, and if such magical expectation was not met, we tend to be hopeless and frustrated; we feel that God has forsaken us. Abraham served God and even though he had a challenge of childlessness, which God is a party to, he was the envy of his generation. He worked hard and was wealthy. People around him benefited from his wealth and it was clear to them that his God is different. God has given us talents, resources and man power; let us put them to good use so we can be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth, subdue and dominate it as God commanded us to in Genesis 1:28. Then it will be clear to us that God has not and will never forsake those who serve Him.

When God Frowns

Most times, God frowns at the frailties and errors of His children. That does not mean that God has forsaken His children. According to William Cowper, a Hymn Writer, “Behind God’s frowning Providence, He hides a smiling face”. God created us for a purpose and that purpose was made known to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to come and redeem our souls from the power of sin that can lead us to destruction; and Jesus Christ did give Himself as a sacrifice. That sacrifice alone shows that God will never forsake those that His Son died for. Jesus Christ finished His work and left us to continue with the task of reconciling men back to God. God’s heart beat for sending Jesus is for all to have eternal life. Jesus said to Peter three times: If you love me, keep my sheep” (John 21: 15-17). This shows that His priority is to make sure that His children are not starved of His Word. This feeding includes making sure that everything that will make His children vomit the amount of His Word that they have consumed and anything that will hinder them from hearing God’s word is dealt with. This is to make sure that people will not continue in their sins. That is enough evidence that God will not forsake His children. There are too many churches today where people go to hear the Word of God. The Word of God is preached in the buses, market places, streets, etc. Despite this, the crime rate is high. Kidnapping, prostitution, armed robbery, rape, drug abuse, illegal migration, destruction of lives and properties are becoming the norms of our society; yet, most of the perpetrators all go to church. Have we stopped to ask ourselves why this is so? We need to read the handwriting on the wall. In as much as people need the Word of God, they also need food on their tables, job security, financial freedom, sound health, etc. The possibility that a jobless man with so many financial issues will retain the Word of God for an hour is minimal. That moment he is reminded of his problems is the moment he will vomit the Word, and the alternative to survival will start running in his head. People go to church to find logical answers to their problems; the problems that evil rulers have created by way of siphoning and diverting public funds for selfish purposes. When people fail to get the answers that they seek, God frowns because He knows that those problems can make them a slave to sin. It seems the Word of God these days make no difference to people’s lives. The Word of God is losing its value in people’s lives today and God is not happy. It has become a mirage to so many people. People need to know how to apply the Word of God to better their lives. As people fellowship with one another, they want to feel that they are valued members; they need to be encouraged and motivated by way of promoting their talents, helping them to learn a trade, get a job, etc. By so doing, they will not be distracted in their service to God. God has called many men and women and positioned them to feed the hungry sheep but it seems they are too busy building cathedrals, flying jets and stooping so low to reason with evil leaders who are busy playing politics of selfishness with people’s lives. How will a man of God feel if his member dies and goes to hell because of one pressing need or the other that pushed him to sin. Men of God are human and they are equally tempted to sin a times because of one pressing need or the other; how much more their members. Let us do what we are supposed to do and stop making God a liar because He will always be true to His Word. He will never forsake His own.

Is God A Beggar?

It seems there are a high tendency these days to bribe God through tithe, seed sowing, offering, etc. in order to get God to be on our side and work for us. When God said He will never forsake us, He did not demand all that. “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24: 1). So why does it seem He wants our penny for Him to be on our side? We were not there to donate a penny when He created the heavens, earth, seas, animals, etc. Tithes, seed sowing, offering, etc. are to pledge our allegiance to the Almighty God and to honour Him as our creator. When King Solomon was set to build a temple for God, all the gifted, talented and skilled men worked sacrificially to build a house for God because they know that Solomon was working with God. They were not coaxed to do the work. Our church leaders should follow God’s heart beat, which is meeting the needs of the poor and needy. They should report the evil leaders that are impoverishing the citizens of this country to Almighty God. They should issue decrees, warnings and proclamations that will shake the evildoers and the enemies of Nigeria; like Samuel, Elijah, etc. did during their time.  By so doing, God will judge the wicked and make a distinction between the wicked and the righteous as written in (Malachi 3:13-18), thereby, creating an enabling environment for the righteous to prosper and serve God with all their hearts and resources. Our church leaders should not let their comfort zones close their eyes to the sufferings of people. God’s words are not mere theories. People want results. When we do that which God expects from us, God will be pleased to handle the rest His own way.

God’s assurance is very strong. Even if a mother forgets the baby at her breast, He will never forsake His children. God has given us so much: Talents, skills, resources, etc. and He expects that we put them to work; to be fruitful, to multiply, to fill the earth and dominate. Obedience to His word will prove to us that He will never forsake us. If God has not kept to His promise, by now, nobody will say anything against the government in power and go free; I bet you, people will be dying in silence because of too much burden of imposed silence.

Written by Olive Chinyere Amajuoyi