African Plume

“How Hebrews 5:7 Gets Turned into Theological Play-Doh” By Akin Ojumu Courtesy of Instagram’s ever-resourceful algorithm, I recently stumbled across a post containing a quote attributed to Lou Engle: “Pay close attention to your tears because your tears point you to your destiny.” – Lou Engle For those unfamiliar with Lou Engle, he is a prominent figure within the prophetic-apostolic stream of modern charismatic Christianity and has long been associated with the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) milieu – a fast-growing heretic movement within Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity that teaches that God is restoring the governing offices of modern-day “apostles” and “prophets” to lead the Church. Engle is also known for his extraordinarily intense preaching style—the animated gestures, the violent rocking back and forth, the shaking, the groaning, and the highly charged prophetic theatrics that frequently accompany his public ministry. So, when I saw the statement that “your tears point...

“Touch My Wife and My Daddy Will Make Sure You Don’t Wake Up” By Akin Ojumu In Part I, we examined what the Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles taught about how Christians should respond to those who offend, persecute, mistreat, or seek to harm them. The verdict of Scripture was unmistakable. Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who persecute you. Do good to those who hate you. Repay no one evil for evil. Never avenge yourselves. Overcome evil with good. These are not optional commandments reserved for exceptionally spiritual Christians. They are the moral obligations of everyone who professes allegiance to Jesus Christ. And Christ Himself demonstrated them. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return. When He suffered, He did not threaten. While His executioners nailed Him to a Roman cross, He prayed: Luke 23:34 “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Stephen followed His example while being stoned to death. Paul instructed Christians to ble...

“How Christians Are Commanded to Treat Their Enemies” By Akin Ojumu What does the Lord Jesus Christ teach about how His followers should relate to their enemies? How should Christians respond to those who insult them, persecute them, mistreat them, slander them, or do them harm? The answer is not buried somewhere in an obscure corner of Scripture. Jesus was explicit. His Apostles were equally explicit. And their teaching is remarkably consistent. Christians are forbidden to repay personal evil with personal evil.  We are commanded to love our enemies. Pray for those who persecute us. Bless those who curse us. Do good to those who hate us. Forgive those who wrong us. Refuse personal vengeance. And entrust ultimate judgment to God. That does not mean calling evil good. It does not mean refusing to expose wickedness. It does not mean remaining in an abusive or dangerous situation. It does not mean surrendering the right to lawful protection. And it certainly does not mean abandoning j...

“An Exposition on James 1:13-15” By Akin Ojumu | Originally Published on December 02, 2021 Recently, I shared a molecular animation showing the astonishing process by which HIV infects a T-cell, hijacks its internal machinery, and turns the very cell designed to defend the body into a factory for producing more viruses. The scientist in me finds the molecular choreography fascinating. It is intricate, efficient, and, from a purely biological standpoint, remarkably sophisticated. But as a Christian watching that animation, my mind wandered somewhere else.  I began thinking about temptation. There was something eerily familiar about the process. HIV does not arrive inside the cell carrying an entire manufacturing plant on its back. It hijacks what is already there. It exploits the cell’s receptors, enzymes, machinery, and resources. It enters, commandeers, replicates, multiplies, and eventually destroys. And although biological infection and moral evil are obviously not identical, th...