God has directed me to prophesy against Buhari, Uzodinma – Mbaka

The Catholic Priest and Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Fr Ejike Mbaka, has blessed the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, for championing the cause of his people.

“Up till today, I don’t know who Nnamdi Kanu is. I have never seen him face to face. Look at my hand on the altar. But I want to tell you something. Wherever he is, may God bless him. Because if somebody has risen to shout that his brothers are suffering, is it a crime? May the lord bless his courage,” Mbaka said in a recent sermon at his church.

Mbaka also stated that God had asked him to withdraw his support for the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, and to prophesy against them |||READ MORE

Woman collapses in church while fasting, dies in Lagos hospital

The family of a woman, Joy Owoyele, is in grief after she died during a 14-day fasting in the Isheri Olofin area of Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro gathered that Owoyele had sought spiritual help regarding her matrimonial challenges at the Christ Apostolic Church, Ori-Oke Gbogunmi, aka Ajanpelenbe Mountain, located on Pipeline Road, Isheri Olofin.

She was said to have been placed on 14-day fasting and prayer, but on the 10th day, things took a tragic turn as she suddenly collapsed after the morning prayers inside the church |||READ MORE

The Answer to Your Church’s Problems

While the Bible encourages and even commands gathering together as believers, nowhere do we find that a perfect church is expected or even possible.

I was not very excited about my first Sunday at my church three years ago. Still aching from the closure of the church I had attended for years, I missed the people I was used to seeing every week. It took me a solid year of back-and-forth before I decided I would stay at this new church, and it took me even longer to feel like I was finding my place in it.

At first glance, my church may not look like the ideal church for singles. We’re a smaller congregation with less than 200 people, most of whom are families with kids. We don’t have a singles ministry, a young adult group, or even Sunday school |||READ MORE

Religious Tolerance: Governor Bello Leads The Way

When national, state, or local governments make a concerted effort to solicit input from citizens and provide services to all of their constituents equally, they sow the seeds of stability and growth. When this is done within a framework of political and legal accountability, citizens increasingly trust state institutions to support and to treat all of them in an even-handed manner.

Governance is inclusive when it effectively serves and engages all people, takes into account all facets of personal identity and when institutions, policies, processes and services are accessible, accountable and responsive to all members of society.

Fostering governance that is inclusive is essential to advancing democratic values, including peaceful pluralism and respect for diversity, religion, human rights and equality before the law|||READ MORE

Would You Have Justified Slavery?

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.” Proverbs 31:8

If we're citizens of God’s Kingdom, we want to value what He values even if it affects our pocketbook and our popularity.

Slavery existed in America because most of God's people didn't speak up. Perhaps the majority were opposed to slavery, but they didn't do anything about it.

Did they feel that abolitionists were too focused on the rights of slaves, overlooking the interests of others? |||READ MORE

 

Churches race to set regulations days to reopening

Despite churches having a reason to smile about days after they were given a go-ahead to reopen, many worship places are still figuring out how they will begin their services.

In his address on Monday, July 6, President Uhuru Kenyatta spelt out stringent conditions in which chapels and mosques would operate upon resumption.

Uhuru allowed churches to reopen albeit under stiffer measures. Photo: State House.

Source: Twitter

A spot check by TUKO.co.ke revealed most churches were ready to comply with the new directives and many of them also established a supplementary set of regulations to navigate the reopening with ease.

One such church is Buyangu Catholic Church, in Kakamega diocese which said it had laid out measures which would enable them to run their worship services without breaching the Ministry of Health containment measures |||READ MORE

Dreamin' of Heaven

When I first visited Orlando, Florida, I realized why it's called the "Theme Park Capital of the World."

Disney World theme parks and resorts cover 30,000 acres. As if that weren't enough, there's the competitive Universal Studios, the legendary Sea World, plus a plethora of smaller amusement parks like Legoland, Aquatica, and Discovery Cove.

All of these theme parks are successful because people love fantasy. There are a number of negative applications I could make about our desire to fantasize, but there's also a very positive one |||READ MORE

 

Are You Feeling Lonely?

Loneliness is the feeling that we're separated from relevant relationships.

It's not completely dependent on contact. It's dependent on meaningful contact. That's why Christians can feel lonely even when surrounded by a group of non-Christians.

But Christians are unique in this regard. Loneliness is only a feeling for us, never a fact. We’re never truly alone because the Lord is always with us (Joshua 1:9; Isaiah 41:10).

So how can we deal with “feelings” of loneliness? |||READ MORE

 

 

 

Adeboye: good things coming after pandemic

GENERAL Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Pastor Enoch Adeboye has prophesized that a lot of good things will happen in Nigeria after the lockdown imposed due to the deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Adeboye, in a sermon during a live broadcast to his members yesterday through the DOVE Television monitored in Abuja, predicted that many babies will be born in early 2021.

The cleric, who informed Christians to rejoice during the lockdown, identified David and Elijah and Joseph in the Bible, as persons who became great as a result of lockdown in their lives |||READ MORE

 

Why churches should remain closed, by CAN

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has explained why churches should remain closed despite mounting pressure in many quarters for their re-opening.

The Nation reports churches and other religious centres were closed by the Federal Government to contain the spread of COVID-19.

But there had been pressures from many church leaders and members for the reopening of churches |||READ MORE

Worship centres: Buhari, govs strike five-point deal

There were indications on Friday that President Muhammadu Buhari and state governors reached a five-point agreement on containing the coronavirus disease while easing the lockdown nationwide.

It was learnt that the deal addressed the apprehension of some governors on the observance of Sallah prayers and reopening of worship centres.

A major thrust of the agreement is that gatherings in mosques or churches and the observance of Eid-el-Fitr prayers will not exceed 50 people at a time |||READ MORE

 

Intolerance Toward Christians

A certain type of persecution is increasing: Christians are being called "intolerant" based solely on our beliefs, not because we've actually been intolerant. 

Christian groups that offer humanitarian aid are regularly condemned for their beliefs, even when they offer their help to everyone without bias. 

Some Christians are buckling under the pressure. A well-known Christian restaurant chain recently quit donating to ministries, based strictly on their statement of faith, even though the ministries serve the poor and needy without partiality (source).

Tolerance means treating people decently even if we disagree with their beliefs. Christian organizations that serve people with non-biblical views are going above and beyond the meaning of tolerance.(1) |||READ MORE

 

Vatican, Italy resume public church services as lockdown eases

Pope Francis inaugurated the full reopening of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Monday and Catholic churches across Italy held public Masses for the first time in two months, in the latest easing of coronavirus restrictions.

Francis said a private Mass in a side chapel where St. John Paul II is buried to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the late Polish pope’s birth. John Paul II was made a saint in 2014.

The basilica, which on Friday underwent a sanitising process to make it as coronavirus-free as possible, later opened to the public for Masses by priests on other side altars after the pope had left |||READ MORE

Where Sin Increases

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'" ― Fred Rogers ("Mr. Rogers" from children's television)

We are often faced with difficulties and disasters in our fallen world, but sometimes those bad things bring out the best in people.

The "helpers" are those people who comfort, rescue, help, and make sacrifices for complete strangers |||READ MORE ….

Happiness in Jesus

I sometimes get confused about happiness and the promises of Christ.

There are several definitions of happiness according to Merriam Webster, and the one that most Americans hold is "a pleasurable or satisfying experience."

People usually base their happiness on things that are important to them: marriage, children, wealth, prestige, health, power, sex, pleasure, leisure, revenge, or a variety of other things |||READ MORE ….

Can You Die Before Your "Time"?

Some Christians are claiming that Psalm 91:3 promises them protection from “deadly pestilence” like the Covid-19.(1) 

If Christians never died from disease and the only passage in Scripture was Psalm 91, we could legitimately hold such a view. But they do, and it's not.(2) 

Psalm 91 assures us that God can protect us from anything. But it doesn't promise invincibility, nor does it free us from personal responsibility |||READ MORE ….

You Probably Don’t Remember Me

I’d been in his seminary class with 200 other students, so when I saw the professor several years later, I said:

“You probably don’t remember me, but I’m a former student who thoroughly enjoyed your class on the Book of Acts.”

That phrase—“You probably don’t remember me”—came to mind when I was reading Psalm 139.

Why? |||READ MORE …

To The Girl Who's Never Been In A Relationship...

I was recently speaking with a young woman who felt ashamed of the fact that she's never been in a relationship. Actually, she's not the first female to express the frustrations and stigma attached to her situation with me. It begs the question, is there a specific benefit to being in a relationship before marriage? In this episode, I explore this situation and share what I call the "Glass Theory" of a woman's heart |||READ MORE …

Friday sermon at a Sunday pulpit

Zulum and Buratai (in front row) after their meeting

A sermon is supposed to be short and precise, making it a collage of knowledge that is comprehensible and can easily be recollected, especially at the most auspicious times — when it needs to be applied or utilised. These days, sermons and the custodians of sermons in religious spaces have found it hard to remain apolitical and they have dabbled in too much politics, you would believe they were chairmen of political parties and campaign directors of political aspirants. The sermons become too long and lack proper ‘sermon content’. We remain keen on learning from the preachers, hoping to enjoy the body of knowledge that can be harvested from enjoying such sermons; but many atimes we are let down by unnecessary and unsolicited banter over political content and other matters of social discourse. I found myself on the outskirts of Bauchi as Tami had taken me to a mosque nearby, close to his residence and luckily for him, his office as well. We, of course, couldn’t help but lament the fact that there were over five mosques that offered Friday prayers in the same vicinity, and how they all have to inconvenience motorists, as all access roads are blocked from around 1pm till after 3pm. Insecurity around this practice have long receded but yet, we are faced with precautionary measures that have more or less become traditions; that have probably come to stay, untill we have a Zulum as state governor in every state in dear naija |||READ MORE …