A Mighty Fortress
If I was as wealthy as Bill Gates, or as my brother and country man, Aliko Dangote; but had not the fellowship and friendship of God's Son Jesus Christ I'd have been dead as I write this thought to whomever it might help!
I was attacked by the spirit of death a couple of hours back, 03:00 hours today, 13th October, 2013. I rose from sleep needing to urinate. I noticed I had a painful feeling as if a stick was being forced into my anus. I have never been a homosexual, as I think the feeling was akin to what one might feel should a man force his manhood into your asshole.
I got out of bed and stepped out of my room to use the toilet. As I stood at the door a hazy, dizzy feeling came over me from within my head and in my heart. Like I was going to drop and die, I had no feeling of physical strength in me; I felt drained. It was like I was in shock. I tried to force the urine, but it had gone; my thing had surprisingly speedily shrunk! I thought, if I would just urinate whatever it was would be terminated.
I eased myself down on the floor before I should fall, knowing that something bad was going to happen to me if I did not fight it in some way. So, I started whispering out the name of Jesus, confessing the Blood of Jesus. I put off the interrupting Tv I had forgotten to put off as I slept. I sliced an orange from off the table and forced me to eat it, then I stretched myself back on my bed. The pain had not stopped.
As I laid there I reminded God that I had chosen the covenant of life which He had offered me back in time because I want to live. Then I farted a little, but the pain was still there. It struck me to call my wife. We have different rooms. Our children were all deeply asleep. She took my call and I invited her over and together we prayed declaring, decreeing, casting out, sending back evil messengers and reclaiming our inheritance in God.
As we prayed I felt the anal pain disappear even before we were done. After we thanked God and shared grace, my wife and I discussed a bit about the experience and a thought came to me. It was that I would have died this night if not for my being with Jesus. We are convinced it was a situation of an occultic invocation of death. But our God, a mighty Fortress, enabled us to resist the attack. What God did for our family early this morning could not be bought. If I were the richest man in the world, but be without God, I would be a dead rich man now. I myself want to be wealthy, so do not misunderstand my thought here.
We repelled death and cry of distress from our home by the power in the name and Blood of Jesus Christ. It is a place of greatest power to be. Were I to be anything else good in the world, but without this relationship with Jesus, I would have been dead as I write. I pray that you reading this post would crown your sweet achievement in this life with this saving relationship with our God through your surrendering control to Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son.
My family and I thank God for the benefits of being His own. We also appreciate my many mentors in the Lord, chief of whom are:
- The Jehovah Witness organization for all their wonderful and insightful divine literature I had all through my youth,
- Revd Chris Tunde Joda in whose Christ Chapel International Church I was born again in the Easter of 1987,
- Pastor W F Kumuyi for his scathing and unsettling Life Media messages of the Deeper Christian Life Ministries on righteousness, holiness and sanctification,
- Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye whose Divine Intervention initiative of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in 1998 began God's revolution in my life,
- Pastor Daniel Kayode Olukoya whose Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries led me to know that you can also take the battle to the tent of hell and ravage them,
- Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly, the prophet standing in the Watchtower of our land,
- Pastors Oladele, Oyeleru and Osokoya all of the Brethren Church through their incisive teaching of scripture and doctrines.
- Pastor Enoch Aminu of the Pure Fire Ministries whose commitment and dedication to ministry brought me out of a recent wilderness moment,
- Revd (Chaplain) Rufus O Oyedeji of the Infallible Word Assembly who continues to sow into my life and family love, encouragement, intercession,and faith; believing that God has an agenda for me which will ultimately come to be.
For all these servants of our God by whom I have been blessed to learn, and still learn from, I am very grateful. I praise you and give you respect, Father, for your giving me access to their ministries. With God, indeed,
When God Speaks
We are a people led by God. We chose to be, although He is the one who called us. We follow Him willingly, and He is not a slave-driver by any means. We should listen to and obey His word spoken into our situation, if we are not to make Him look like He is unable in our affairs.
When God speaks we are to take it as He says. We don't negotiate His prescription for our well-being. The just lives by faith. The just must live by complying with what God has given as the solution to our needs.
I despair when I feel disconnected to God, when I am not sure of what is going on around me. I hate the moments I've had to lean on my understanding under the pressure of what was happening, though feeling convinced that God would have me do things differently!
The person to whom God gives a word for a situation is really better placed than anyone having all the intelligence of the world. Of what value is dissipation to one who has time for just one shot!? It is a great blessing to be spoken to by God.
If we are willing and obedient we shall eat the good of the land, we are told in Isaiah. So, we know that God has something of use in us when He speaks to us. Often, of course, we find it had to believe; so we trifle with His gesture. And we, like I have, wound our hearts with pain we could have avoided.
If anyone reading this is in any way like me, usually very restless and finding it difficult to slow down unless you crash; please, be still. Stay still, so that God can work in your affairs. Do not time God by your clock. God knows that my life is marred by my impatience. My inability to wait till He gives a green light.
Jesus is the cornerstone laid for us, as written. And if we believed in him we shall not make haste. But, how that is so contrary to the speedy time we live in now! I, myself, have been hasty on so many things in which I should have followed the pace of God. I have not fared better, notwithstanding. Making matters worse, God must now look at me with suspicion that I am unpredictable.
But, I know that my source is God. Perhaps, it is this familiarity that tricks me into presumptuousness. Things are just sometimes so slow, and I get so in need to do something, rather than wait! I must be the only Christian who is this way! May God give me more grace to overcome me. And I do need all your prayers.
Take it from one who has a first-hand knowing that you'll be better off waiting for God's word before wading into that murky situation. Don't mortgage your peace of mind, rest and time through ungodly haste. Be still. Let God speak to you. Then, do whatever He tells you to. It is a great privilege to hear from Him.
Please, don't allow your personality make-up to become an open door through which darkness will overwhelm you. It is still moving about like a roaring lion seeking whom to devour. There need not be another one telling my kind of story. I should be enough!
Knowing That God Is Always Right
We start to be truly wise when we decide to fear God. We know that fear is crippling, it paralyzes. No, not that one. The fear which is respect or honor, or deference; that is the fear of God that translates into wisdom.
' He who walks in uprightness fears the Lord, but he who is devious in his ways despises him.' (Proverbs 14:2)
We have not really profited if we gained the whole world but stood in danger of losing our soul. I know that the sceptic and the thorough realist would doubt the existence of the soul and the concept of continuing life. However, why not just take a leap of faith over that.
What if you were wrong about life after life? What does it take from you if you lived constructively? As we know, it's a win-win thing. You lose nothing by being good. Someone once observed and noted that a candle does not lose anything by lighting another. Living right is a sound strategy, if you gave it a thought.
It's a shame that in some societies of the world some people, even by law, frown at and resist exhortation. They say it is hate message. The word of God, in which I believe, says that he who wins souls is wise. It is actually an act of the greatest kind of love to attempt to steer another person away from futility, destruction and death. That is what it is. Not hate.
'Where there is no guidance, a people falls; but in an abundance of counsellors there is safety.' (Proverbs 11:14)
We should all return to God, really. I feel that no one should hear the gospel twice and still be sitting on the fence. Believe it or not, there are people and places in this world who have not yet heard about the life option made available to humans through Jesus Christ. They may not accept it, but those others too deserve to be told of that option, one way or another. Someone, or some people got through to us. We too should let the remaining others know.
We cannot let children run loose and expect they'd behave well. Spare the rod, spoil the child. The rod is for discipline, and discipline is not only punishment. It is also guidance, training, persuasion, mentoring and so on. Wouldn't you rather a loved one was preached to and is changed, than be left alone in assumed liberality to eventually run foul of the law? Would the law choose to look away then? Would it call it's demand for justice an hateful act?
It seems to me that sometimes when society runs smoothly we tend to clog it up ourselves, perhaps, to keep us being relevant in that area. Wouldn't it have been better to just leave things be, move on and find something else useful to do?
So, just because we have heard the good news of salvation and scoffed at it does not mean we should not allow others to hear and make their own decision whether or not to live by God's standards. We can never be god unto ourselves. You'll find out eventually. God must be honored in our lives.
"All glory must be to the Lord,
For He alone should be praised.
No one on earth should glory in himself'
All glory should be to the Lord!"
