In Face Of Worries: Is Anybody Listening?

I’ve got something to say, is anybody listening? It’s hopeless! Their ears are stuffed with wax-deaf as a post, blind as a bat. It’s hopeless! They’ve tuned out God. They don’t want to hear from me. But I’m bursting with the wrath of God. I can’t hold it in much longer.
Everyone is after the dishonest dollar, little people and big people alike. Prophets and priests and everyone in between twist words and doctor truth. My people are broken – shattered! –and they put on Band-Aids, saying “It’s not so bad. You’ll be just fine”
But things are not ‘just fine’!
And listen to this verdict from God, “Look out! An invasion from the north! A mighty power on the move from a faraway place! Armed to the teeth, vicious and pitiless, booming like sea storm and thunder – tramp, tramp, tramp – riding hard on warhorses, in battle formation against Daughter Zion.
Dear Daughter Zion, dress in black, blacken your face with ashes. Weep most bitterly as for an only child. (Excerpts from the Message Bible in the book of Jeremiah 6:10-26)
Let me ask you a question. Is this scripture not being fulfilled right before your eyes? Take a look at the current menace meted out against the church by the messengers of death:
There have been serial cases of forceful abduction of underage, forceful marriage and without the parental consent of the Christian girls and their forceful conversion to Islam.
The carnage caused by the Fulani herdsmen sounds like the tramp, tramp, tramp of the warhorses. A woman watched her home with her husband and six children inside go up in flames due to the terrorist attacks by these herdsmen.
Now a grazing reserve bill is about to be passed to make their terrorism and intimidation legal.
A religious bill is about being passed in Kaduna to stop you from preaching the gospel for which your savior died on the cross to deliver to you. You might not even be able to play gospel songs in your car. Why the ban on gospel? Why not on hip hop or R ’n B?
Oh child of God, will you not arise? How long will you sit at home calling politics a dirty game while the people in government use it to pour dirty injustice on you. Oh man of God, how long will you watch your church members who are in government compromise their faith while you bless their fat offerings? Oh woman of God, arise? It is time to pray and ACT. Go back to school, take up political positions, get into leadership and counter the effects of wickedness on the church. Stop using the church as an escape route from the world. You go to church to be empowered to take your world, not to hide from it. Enough of the denominationalism! It is time to come together as one people and say no to the rampage of hell unleashed against the church. The die is cast and the verdict is before us. There is no place to hide. We can only die once and death is inevitable. Just like the lepers, if we stay silent, the danger will meet us. If we speak out, the danger will meet us. What then do we do? SPEAK OUT FOR YOU KNOW NOT WHEN YOUR TIME TO STAND FOR THE TRUTH WILL COME. DECIDE NOT TO BE THE LAST CHRISTIAN IN YOUR FAMILY.
LET ALL CHRISTIANS MARCH DOWN THE STREETS AND PEACEFULLY PROTEST AGAINST THE INJUSTICE SHE IS FACING. IF YOU DO NOT ARISE, YOUR FAMILY AND GENERATION MAY PAY DEARLY FOR IT. RISE UP NOW BECAUSE TO WIN A WAR, THERE IS NO RETREAT, NOR SURRENDER.

Filling Of The Spiritual Vacuum

Hab 2:14 The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea

As cliché as it might sound, the saying that nature abhors vacuum is very true in its entirety. Be it school, home, church, club, or any other community of human existence, this saying holds sway. Even in our individual lives, vacuum is abhorred. Whether we like it or not; one can even choose to ignore this fact, but to one’s detriment. Islam by reason of its mode of operation has thoroughly capitalized on this. The religion by way of its dynamism has integrated itself into all aspects of human existence. For Muslims, the religion has become a way of life. There is no vacuum in the life of a Muslim because Islam has filled it up.

The Nigerian case portrays this fact. The problem with Christianity is that we Christians have not accepted it as a way of life. We are yet to understand the Kingdom Culture. The Kingdom Culture goes beyond religion. This is where the Christian sees and understands that it is a way of life. Until we do so, Muslims will continue to “persecute” us. The spiritual vacuum in the life of an average Christian has made it such that he cannot stand the least challenge to his faith. He will tend to give in at the least test to his faith.

To fill up our spiritual vacuum and be able to imbibe the Kingdom Culture, we must engage the following:

DISCIPLESHIP: we must go beyond the level of normal Christian living. Every Christian must of a matter of necessity and urgency seek to be a disciple. The issue of discipleship in the life of a Christian can never be over emphasized. A disciple is one that has counted all things as nothing compared to the life of Jesus. A disciple is someone who sees everything in life the Jesus sees them. His life is under the control of Jesus and his discipler.
SELFLESSNESS: we must also understand that we are owned. Everything the Christian has belongs to God. Everything the Christian has must be used to render services to the Kingdom of God. You must begin to live beyond yourself. As much as is within your capacity seek to help others and alleviate the plight of the less privileged.
STEWARDSHIP: as a Christian you must strive to give account of everything you have. All that a Christian has is God’s and must be used to serve God. You must give back everything you for the expansion of the Kingdom of God.
CULTURAL INFLUENCE:here is another important aspect of the Kingdom Culture every Christian must imbibe. Honestly, this is where Islam has got it right while Christianity has succeeded. As a Christian, you must carry the kingdom culture into every sphere of influence. You don’t practice the Christian faith in the church alone. You must take it to the society where it is needed more. Take the Christian values into your school and work place as the case may be.
TERRITORIAL EXPANSION: you must understand and hold fast to the fact that the kingdom culture is the best societal system that can operate in this world. It is the catalyst for national transformation.Therefore, you must seek to make sure everyone you meet buys into this culture. This is the Great Commission. It is a fundamental responsibility of the Christian.

The Heart Of Stone Or Christ?

After a long manhunt, the Police finally arrested the serial murderer that specialized in painfully and slowly killing children. His choice of victims seemed to be children between the ages of 2—5 years old. His method of killing them was the same. He would go to a park, find a child playing alone and lure the unsuspecting child away.

Then, he would use chloroform to make the child unconscious and dunk the child inside a sack and disappear with his victim. After getting to his hideout, he would begin a deliberate torturing of the innocent child with blade and knives. The child would bleed to death while he watched without any emotion. By the time he was finally arrested, he had killed five innocent children, two boys and three girls. Rational human beings could not believe that such a monster could be alive. To add insult upon injury, he later claimed that he did it because he was mentally deranged. How would you describe this man? A monster? An animal? A beast? A lunatic? Whichever adjective you employ, you have just described an abortionist. As a matter of fact, the lady committing abortion is worse that this man. While this man is killing the children of other people, the abortionist is killing her own child. Abortion is not merely “evacuating” a fetus from the womb, it is actually murdering a human being. According to the National Right to Life, a pregnancy normally covers forty weeks, beginning at fertilization, when the sperm and the ovum meet to form a single cell. All the characteristics of each person—sex, eye colour, shoe size, intelligence, etc. – are determined at fertilization by the baby’s genetic code in the 46 human chromosomes. Every person begins as a separate single cell; nothing new is added except oxygen and nutrition. If the process is not interrupted, a human being will live approximately nine months in the mother’s uterus and decades outside of it. At Three Weeks: The baby’s heart begins to beat and pump blood. At Six Weeks: The baby has brain waves that can be measured with an electroencephalograph. (The end of human life can be defined as the cessation of brain waves, but many ignore the scientific evidence of brain waves in unborn babies). At Seven Weeks: The baby is swimming in the amniotic sac with a natural swimmer’s stroke and is already kicking. At Eight weeks: The baby begins swallowing. At Nine Weeks: Parents can watch their baby moving around inside the uterus on an ultrasound scanner. At Ten to Eleven Weeks: The baby can breathe amniotic fluid and urine, is sensitive to touch, and can seize an object placed in his or her hand. At Eleven Weeks: All the baby’s organ systems are functioning. Although still so small that the baby could stand on an adult’s little fingertip, his or her little feet are perfectly shaped. The baby has a skeletal structure, nerves, and circulation, as well as eyelids, nails, and fingerprints. At Fourteen Weeks: The baby’s heart pumps several quarts of blood enough through his or her body every day. At Eighteen Weeks: The child is perfectly formed. At Nineteen Weeks: The baby can conceivably survive outside the womb. Kenya King was born in Florida on June 16, 1985, at nineteen weeks, or just little more than 4 ½ months after her life began. She weighed eighteen ounces. With each abortion that is carried out, a human being is murdered. The person that commits abortion is a cold-blooded murderer that will rather murder an innocent baby rather than have her life of fun interrupted by pregnancy. Or maybe, would rather commit murder than face the consequence of her life of immorality. Either way, the abortionist is a cold blooded murderer that kills her own child. If you are guilty of the sin of abortion, now is the time to repent and ask God for forgiveness. There is no difference between the abortionist and the armed robber that kills to steal. Both of them are murderers. Pray right now and ask Jesus Christ to forgive you and cleanse you from the unrighteousness of shedding innocent blood. To avoid the sin of abortion, STOP sexual immorality. God ordained sex for marriage. Be patient until you get married. Prostitution is not an alternative profession. There are other jobs that could be done to generate income.

Source: houseofkaris.net

Children Of Martyrs: Is There Still Hope?

Arguably, the greater evil is not simply the persecution of Christians in various parts of northern Nigeria, but the unholy neglect of the northern believers by most of the Christian assemblies in the rest of the country.

Please ask yourself these questions:

Whenever there was religious crisis in the North, how many churches in Nigeria declare prayer and fasting to intercede for the persecuted brethren?
How many churches have you observed packaging relief materials to help the persecuted brethren?
Have you seen a church take a full page advert in any newspaper to sympathize with the persecuted Christians and protest against the killings of Christians?
Which Nigerian church has gathered the widows, the orphans, the bereaved, the homeless and the mutilated to care for them?

“And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; …”

1 Cor. 12: 26. Do churches in the South believe this?
What shall we tell the Lord?

OUR OBJECTIVES IN RUNNING THIS STORY:

To re-awaken Christians in the South to their spiritual and moral obligations to pray and support the persecuted Christians in the northern part of Nigeria. “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.” 1 Cor. 12:26. The sufferings of the Christians in the North are the sufferings of the entire body of Christ in Nigeria.
To encourage churches and Christians in the South to contribute resources to take care of the children and the widows left behind by those martyred in the North. Stephen’s Centre would be able to do much more if the resources are available.
So far, Canadians and other foreigners have been in the forefront of supporting Christian believers persecuted in the North. The Nigerian church should come forward and champion this cause with the enormous resources that God has given Christians in the South.
To encourage Christian families to adopt the cost of educating these children. Some of them are ready to attend Universities but the resources are lacking. In addition, denominations that have established Universities should grant scholarship to these children.
To mobilize warfare prayers against the satanic forces behind these unwarranted shedding of blood in the country. Bloodshed defiles the land. Churches should make religious violence a consistent major prayer point at each prayer meeting and vigil.
To harness every Christian influence in Nigeria to ensure that government takes the right steps to put an end to religious violence in the country.

Source: houseofkaris.net