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Showing posts from November, 2022

PRESENT PAIN IS END-TIME GAIN

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Revelation 20:1-6 (NLT) Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven  With the key to the bottomless pit And a heavy chain in his hand.  He seized the dragon That old serpent, who is the devil, Satan And bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit,  Which he then shut and locked  So Satan could not deceive the nations anymore  Until the thousand years were finished.  Afterward he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones,  And the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge.  And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded  For their testimony about Jesus  And for proclaiming the Word of God.  They had not worshiped the beast or his statue,  Nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands.  They all came to life again,  And they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. This is the first resurrection.  The rest of the dead did not come back to life  Until the thousand years had ended. Blessed and holy ar

WILL YOU BE THERE REIGNING WITH HIM?

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Isaiah 11:1-10 (NLT) Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot Yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. He will delight in obeying the LORD. He will not judge by appearance Nor make a decision based on hearsay. He will give justice to the poor And make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of His word, And one breath from His mouth will destroy the wicked. He will wear righteousness like a belt And truth like an undergarment. In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; The leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, And a little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a c

SATAN PROMISES HEAVEN BUT DELIVERS HELL (PART IV)

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By Akin Ojumu “Eden, a Taste of Heaven” Eternal bliss, i.e., that state of unending, complete, all-encompassing joy and utter satisfaction, is the holy grail of all mankind. For the entire length of his earthly existence, the attainment of eternal serenity is man’s never-ending quest. Man spends his entire life in relentless pursuit of things that he believes would grant him everlasting bliss. After acquiring all the desires of his heart, he suddenly realizes he has been chasing shadows all along. The bliss he seeks cannot be found in any of his life’s pursuits. Despite all his best efforts, blissfulness remains elusive. Like chasing after the rainbow, the bliss constantly beckons, but it’s always just beyond reach. There’s always another dollar to gain, a better job to have, and another pound to lose. There seems to always be a better car to drive, a nicer place to live, a bigger prize to win, and a far more beautiful woman to marry. Lamenting his own futile chase after eternal bliss,

SATAN PROMISES HEAVEN BUT DELIVERS HELL (PART III)

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By Akin Ojumu “The Folly of Fools” Religious belief is in rapid decline globally. For the first time in human history, there are now more nations where nonreligious people outnumber the religious. An analysis of data on religious trends across 49 countries conducted by Ronald Inglehart found that from 2007 to 2019, 43 out of the 49 countries became less religious. More and more people are turning to secular humanism to find meaning and give their lives purpose. For those who may not know, secular humanism is a philosophy that denies the existence of God. This belief system is rooted in the delusion that “humanity’s ability to be cruel, selfish, deceitful, and violent is far outweighed by our more pervasive and dominant capacities to be humane, altruistic, cooperative, sensible, fair, and peaceful.” (Phil Zuckerman Psychology Today). On the face of it, the idea that man, all by his own will and left to his own device, is inherently good and capable of being good sounds pretty appealing.

SATAN PROMISES HEAVEN BUT DELIVERS HELL (PART II)

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By Akin Ojumu “You Need More than God is Able to Give” Satan is a liar and the father of lies. Wherever Satan rules, falsehood is the coin of the realm, and fabrication, the currency of the domain. Since the day he was kicked out from the presence of God, along with a third of the angels, satanic strategy hasn’t changed. Over the course of the ages, Satan has always gone about his work of destruction by cunning craftiness and deceitful scheming. Satan ’ s sales pitch is always the same: “You need something more than God can or will give you. And I’m willing to give it to you without conditions.” First, Satan convinces man that there’s something more that he needs. Next, he tricks man into believing he can’t trust God to provide that “more” that he needs. Then he promises man he can get the “more” for him with no downside. At its core, the lie Satan peddles is not all that complicated to decipher. As wise as this evil angelic being is, his lie isn’t that sophisticated. All Satan does is

SATAN PROMISES HEAVEN BUT DELIVERS HELL (PART I)

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By Akin Ojumu “Man & Sin Are Siamese Twins” Man is the architect of his own destruction. As it was in the antediluvian period, so it is today nearly 5000 years after God blotted out the earth that was then in the great flood. Throughout all the ages, man’s success has always been the enemy of man’s success, and his accomplishments are his own downfall. Achievement of economic prosperity has a way of luring man into thinking he is the master of his own destiny. Whenever mankind attains a certain level of advancement, there's a tendency for him to assume that it’s all by his own power, will, intellect, and making. Petulant pride fills his heart and impetuous arrogance takes over his mind. He assumes he has got the whole cosmos all figured out and often concludes that God is antiquated and irrelevant in the scheme of things. Buying into age-old satanic lies, and believing in the whispers of demons, man empties his heart of God and desensitizes his mind from the tugging of the Spir

RICHES OF GOD’S GRACE

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By Akin Ojumu Observance of days is not my thing. I put no premium on any particular day. One day is no more special than the other, as far as I’m concerned. The days are all the same for all I care. What’s more important to me is how I spend each and every single day that I get to live, move, and have my being. Nonetheless, I recognize that societies like to observe certain days as being special compared to other days. While I totally don’t give a hoot about it, I kind of understand why we want to celebrate certain days. And to be honest, I don’t mind the temporary time off from the daily grind, I most certainly welcome the days off for the holidays, and you can count me in for the special food and delicacies that often come with many of these special days. Today is one of those special days. It is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. For reasons unknown to me, Thanksgiving happens to be the most popular holiday among the many holidays celebrated in the USA; it’s even more popular t

STEEP COST OF REDEMPTION

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By Akin Ojumu Salvation and redemption are two words you hear a lot about among Christian people and within church circles. These two words are infinitely ingrained in the lexicon of Christianity. As common as these two words are, however, a large number of Christians haven’t given much thought to the difference between the two. To many, salvation is synonymous with redemption. As a result, the two words are used interchangeably. While those who hold such a view about salvation and redemption aren’t entirely wrong, there’s a more accurate way of considering these two words than thinking they mean one and the same thing. Salvation is the entirety of the saving work of God in rescuing mankind from the state of fallenness and restoring them back to the place of the glory of His grace. In salvation, God plucked man up from sin and placed him in His glory. God liberated man from bondage to trespasses, released him from slavery to transgression, in order to establish him in His righteousness

BORN AGAIN INTO A LIVING HOPE

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By Akin Ojumu Contrary to what you may have been told by your Pastor and daddy-in-the-Lord, Christianity is not a five-star hotel furnished with leather-soft beds, cushy duvets, and smooth luxurious sheets. When you come to Christ, you are not coming to lay in a sumptuous pool sprinkled with scented roses and sip pina colada for the rest of your life. When you choose Christ, you are venturing on a road of pain overlaid with shards of broken glasses. Becoming a Christian is like setting on a path paved with burning coals. The road is going to get pretty rough, and you should expect the going to be extremely tough. Turning to God, away from the world of sin, is to bring the wrath of hell upon yourself. Surrendering your life to Christ is an invitation of fierce opposition from the people you love most. Your family will disown you, friends will reject you, and the world will turn against you. Be prepared to be mocked, scorned, and shunned like you’ve got some highly transmissible viral di

THE WIDOW, HER MITE & A CORRUPT RELIGIOUS SYSTEM (PART IV)

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By Akin Ojumu “When the Shepherd Becomes the Predator” Not unlike what obtains today in many of the Church denominations around the world, the Jewish religious establishment during the Second Temple/Herodian period, i.e., at the time of Jesus, operated an oppressive system of manipulation, exploitation, and greed. For filthy lucre, the religious leaders had merchandised the worship of YAHWEH. Greedy of gain, they corrupted the religious sacrifices and festivals turning them into sources of pain and anguish for the poor masses. Very much like the modern-day preachers of health, wealth, and success, those supposed to show the people the way to God, were busy amassing wealth and living lavish lifestyles. Lacking in deep and authentic spirituality, their piety was limited to expansive symbolism. Void of true spiritual life, endless symbols became the order of the day. They covered the Temple in pure gold and the inside was full of rich trappings. Genuine holiness on their inside was substi

THE WIDOW, HER MITE & A CORRUPT RELIGIOUS SYSTEM (PART III)

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By Akin Ojumu “Absolute Religious Power Corrupts Absolutely” To those who frown whenever a man of God is subjected to criticism, I recommend Matthew 23. And to the irate church members prone to throwing a hissy fit every time their anointed daddy-in-the-Lord is rebuked, take one teaspoon of Matthew 23 three times daily for five days to calm down your frayed nerves. Throughout His 3-year ministry, the ire of the Lord Jesus was mostly directed at the religious leaders, whom He didn’t mind naming and shaming openly. Repeatedly, Jesus called them out for their vast corruption and hypocrisy. And the people loved Him for boldly saying out loud what they all knew to be true but were afraid to speak of openly. As you can imagine, the constant public humiliation got under the skin of the religious leaders, and the incessant harangue got the Sanhedrin pretty mad. In response, they plotted to trap Him in His words and get Him to say something that would cause the public to turn against Him. Also,

THE WIDOW, HER MITE & A CORRUPT RELIGIOUS SYSTEM (PART II)

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By Akin Ojumu “Woe to Corrupt Religious Leaders” “And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4) As stated last time, the above Bible passage is a story that many who are reading this commentary are quite familiar with. Right from when we were kids in the Sunday schools, it was drummed into our ears. Just like the poor old widow, we were told to always bring to the house of God everything we have to drop in the offering basket. This commentary is a re-examination of our understanding of the exact lesson the Lord Jesus

THE WIDOW, HER MITE & A CORRUPT RELIGIOUS SYSTEM (PART I)

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By Akin Ojumu “A Rotten Religious Establishment” “And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4) That’s the story of the poor widow who dropped her last two copper coins into the treasury of the temple in Jerusalem. It’s a story many of you are familiar with and have probably read over and over again…ad infinitum and ad nauseam. In the times I have heard this story preached, the interpretation of it has always been that of a poor old lady who gave her all. Consistently, everyone I hear preach about this woman always

WHAT’S YOUR THEOLOGY?

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By Akin Ojumu Atheists would like you to believe there ’ s no such thing as God. That’s theology.  Agnostics are of the opinion that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena. That too is theology.  Gnostics, on the other hand, believe God is known only by a select few who have acquired transcendental and esoteric spiritual knowledge not available to anyone else. That, my friend, is also theology. Whether or not you believe there’s God, and whatever it is you believe of God, you most definitely have a theology. There’s no one without a theological perspective. Wherever you fit on the continuum of religious beliefs, you are a theologian in your own right.  And theology matters. Your theology is the foundation of your beliefs, what you believe shapes who you are, and who you are determines which side of eternity you'll find yourself.  If your theology is not rooted in Scripture, it amounts to nothing but an aesthetical