SCRIBE & INK

God placed more emphasis on how the nation was governed over the religious ordinances which does not visibly impact the society. If we read the Old Testament as a book bearing careful records of how a kingdom (nation) sprang to being and how it was governed, we would have an illuminated perspective about human societies and God's concern for it. Far more helpful will its lessons drill purpose driven life into us. Rather than read through vast volumes only to see religious ordinances/laws, we will see vital lessons for national development. Undoubtedly, God spoke to Israel as a Nation and not as a religious organisation or institution. " And ye shall be unto me a KINGDOM (nation) of priests, and an holy NATION. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel . " Exodus 19:6

God didn't saddle  earthly governments with  the responsibilities of justice and equity. No sir! Lets stop looking for order within chaos. What flood your view when you say Abraham's blessings are mine? Do you see bars of gold stockpiled, a room filled with treasures or something beyond material possessions? Surely as I live I know Abraham didn't abandon family and friends in pursuit of God for cash inflow. There was something the Lord said to him that was far more than material possessions. " Now the Lord had said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of (or from) thee a GREAT NATION, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. " Genesis 12:1-2

The Bible is that compass by which we can navigate through the woes of all human societies and offer precise solutions. If the church is a country colonised by heaven and believers its citizens. If tithes are taxes and offerings are miscellaneous levies. What are the basic amenities and social welfare packages put in place for citizens? Is there not perhaps an oversight in our midst? To what end then is the purpose of our offerings and tithes if Christians needs are not meet by the Church (country) they belong. If the structures of our assemblies cannot enhance infrastructures to solve welfare problems of her citizens we have failed. We cannot cede our duty to (earthly) governments. The Church is a government, a representation of a heavenly one.

Few years ago on live broadcast with a New-Age teacher and author Eckhart Tolle, Oprah Winfrey said, " I took God out of the box because I grew up in the Baptist church and there were rules and belief systems and doctrine. I happened to be sitting in church in my late 20s. I was going to this church where this great minister was preaching about how great God was and how omniscient and omnipresent and God is everything. Then he said, “The Lord Thy God is a jealous God.” I was caught up in the rapture of that moment until he said jealous. Something struck me. I was thinking, “God is all. God is omnipresent. God is all and God’s also jealous? God is jealous of me?”  Something about that didn’t feel right in my spirit because I believe that God is love and that God is in all things, and so that’s when the search for something more than doctrine started to stir within me.  I love this quote that Eckhart has where he says, “Man made God in his own image, the eternal, the infi

I once heard a preacher preach a long sermon about the seamless garment of Jesus that the soldiers cast lot for. Nutshell, His emphasis was, "the most expensive outfit should be found on believers."

How the gospel was conveyed by the early church is so profound. You have to wonder how we made it so complicated. Perverted/twisted preaching of prosperity had imparted many saints with the gift of covetousness. Contentment is gone with the euphoria of we must be rich (in material possessions). 

Today Believers are the least content with their lives. We want to own and drive Cars (plural) and build mansions by the waterside. This seduction of our souls is a result of the kind of teachings that flow from the pulpits. As the Church is painted before us in the epistles, I say to you, All Christians will not be rich (in material possessions) and all Christians will not be poor.

He fades at the backdrop of our world. Our daily hustle drowns his image off our minds. Better things, you say, needs to fill our minds. The raggedy frame, the tragedy we met across the way. The one poverty knows by name. Limping on a bad leg or leaning by the poster ridden wall under a bridge. Eyes accustomed to hunger searching for pity. Pity, is the ghost of all worlds’ mega city. Pity is the horror of the rich’s consciences, the reminder of our frail humanity. The bowl in his hands is empty but some sunny day it’s filled with stipends. Oh the stipends he greatly adore and bless wouldn’t buy a dog’s food. But he greatly appreciates, though it’s below our dog’s breakfast, the most expensive breeds.