African Plume

By Akin Ojumu In his letter to the Church in Rome, Apostle Paul grieved over the spiritual condition of his fellow Jews. While he acknowledged the fervency of their zeal for God, sadly, it was a zeal not rooted in knowledge. The Jews were pious in their religious rituals, but they were oblivious of true righteousness. Heartbroken by their ignorant zeal and misplaced piety, Paul prayed that they would come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 10:1-4 “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Like Paul, the levee of my heart breaks for the young kids I see in this video clip who are being whipped into a frenzy by Edu Udechukwu, all in the n...

By Akin Ojumu For the vast majority of Nigerian church folks, getting rid of the traditional native pagan religion mindset is a tough ask. Although many of these people claim to have converted to Christianity, nevertheless, they are unable to purge themselves of the beliefs and practices of their pagan background.  What you often find in many Nigerian “Church” settings are pagan religious customs syncretically incorporated into Christian liturgy and worship. Regardless of the size and influence of the denomination, what obtains is that traditional pagan religious practices have been Christianized and adopted as the norm. Featuring prominently in this odd scenario of syncretism is a few powerful men and women who have been elevated to godlike status. There is almost always an unshakeable belief in witches and wizards, perpetual fight against enemies of destinies, and incessant prayers against eaters of flesh and drinkers of blood. People who belong to these denominations are often f...

“In Christ Alone My Hope Is Found” By Akin Ojumu Composed by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty in 2001, In Christ Alone is a song that lyrically demonstrates the rhythm and melody of the Gospel of Christ. The song is a musical retelling of what Christ accomplished on the behalf of wretched sinners like you and me. Whenever I listen to the song, I’m reminded that Christ has done it all for me, and there’s nothing left for me to do. The very thought of that gives my soul wings. As a warm rush wash over my soul, it’s as though my feet might not touch the ground. I often feel as though a tight band around my chest has suddenly snapped, and my heart begins to sing. Describing the inspiration for writing the song, Keith Getty says: “I began the whole subject of telling the story of Christ, and in particular, what that means for us; what Christ has done and what that means in our lives. The first verse sets the scene of who we are in Christ, and then it goes into the subject of what Christ has d...

“The Second Coming of Christ is a Farce” By Akin Ojumu “Jesus is going nowhere. Is coming back again, my lord is coming back again. That’s how we used to sing it. We don’t use to say “AGAIN,” but “HAHGAIN.” So, that you know he is coming hahgain. He went away and promise that he is coming back again. He didn’t went [sic] away. Lo! I am with you always. So, the “returning Jesus concept” is not a Bible concept. What we have in the Bible is the appearing Jesus. When Christ who is our light shall appear. Appearance is different from returning.” Don’t freak out. There’s nothing wrong with your eyes. What you’ve just read is exactly what you think it says. The “Jesus is Coming Back Again” concept is not a Bible concept. What we have in the Bible is the “Appearing Jesus” and not a “Returning Jesus.” Appearance is different from returning. Before you go, “Ha ha! We always knew Akin Ojumu is an apostate,” just hold your horses. The idea that the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is a myth ...

By Akin Ojumu Myles Munroe asserted, and Benny Hinn concurred, that:  “…Prayer is man giving God permission or license to interfere in earth’s affairs. In other words, prayer is earthly license for heavenly interference…God could do nothing on earth…nothing has God ever done on earth without a human giving him access…[God is] always looking for a human to give him power…permission. In other words, God has the power, but you got the permission. God got the authority and the power, but you got the license. So, even though God could do anything, he can only do what you permit him to do.” Obviously, the god being described in this video clip by Benny Hinn and Myles Munroe is definitely not the God of the Bible…the Most High God...Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent Potentate, Creator of the Universe and everything in it. Psalm 33:6 “By the Word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host.” Psalm 135:6 “Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven a...

By Akin Ojumu What sort of human being will have the creative power to turn his wishes and desires into reality and yet live in an insecure and impoverished nation like Nigeria where the average life expectancy is barely 55 years and approximately 63 percent of the population – roughly 141 million people – live in multidimensional poverty? This is a country where hundreds of school children get abducted and ravaged by marauders and thousands of innocent lives are senselessly slaughtered on a daily basis. One would have expected that a powerful man of God, imbued with such creative power like Mr. Oyedepo claims he has, would have used the power to turn the situation around and make Nigeria an El Dorado. Why is it that Mr. Oyedepo has failed to deploy his power to transform his own country?  If, by stroke of luck, I acquired the creative power that Mr. Oyedepo claims he has, one of the very first ways I would deploy it would be to travel to every state capital in Nigeria. Standing in...

By Akin Ojumu I know you are familiar with John 10:10. You have read the text on countless occasions. It is one Bible verse that has featured prominently in your prayers, ad infinitum ad nauseam. You use it to bind Satan. And it is your go-to verse for repelling demons.  Guess what? P robably unbeknownst to you, a ll this while that you ’ ve invoked this verse, all you’ve done is twist the text and distort its true meaning. John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”   Read it in its proper context. The thief in John 10:10 is NOT the Devil. The thief referred to in this text are the wolves in sheep’s clothing who are devouring the flock of God. Those false shepherds of the Body of Christ who are fleecing God’s sheep are the real thieves the Lord Jesus had in mind in John 10:10.  False apostles, false prophets, false teachers, charlatans, scoundrels, and impostors of the Church work overtime to STE...

By Stephen Law | Psychology Today | June 22, 2011 Around the globe, audiences sit at the feet of marketing experts, life-style consultants, mystics, cult-leaders and other “gurus” waiting for the next deep and profound insight. People often pay a great deal of money to hear these words of wisdom. So how do these elevated individuals come by their penetrating insights? What is the secret of their profundity? Unfortunately, in some cases, the audience is duped by the dark arts of pseudo-profundity. The art of sounding profound is fairly easily mastered. You too can make deep- and meaningful-sounding pronouncements if you are prepared to follow a few simple rules. First, try stating the incredibly obvious. Only do it v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y, with a sort of knowing nod. This works particularly well if your remark has something to do with one of the big themes of life, love, death and money. Here are some examples: “Death comes to us all.” “We all want to be loved.” “Money is used to buy things...

“The Danger of Mysticism” By Prof. Hanko | Professor Emeritus of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary Introduction In the previous article, I described the ladder which mystics defined as necessary to climb to attain union with God. In this article I take a look at criticisms of mysticism which must be made. Criticisms of Mysticism There are various criticisms of mysticism that can be made which, as serious as they are, do not come to the heart of the matter. We mention these first. Some have said that in the quest for union with God and absorption into the divine being, the mystic bypasses Christ. There is an element of truth in this, although it is not true of all mystics. However, when one reads the mystics, one cannot help but think that the union with God which the mystic holds up as the ideal religion is such complete absorption into the divine essence that Christ is no longer the only way to the Father. One goes directly to God and hurls himself i...