On Grieving The Holy Spirit – Eph 1: 11-16
Ephesians 1: 11 – 15
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. 15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.INSIGHT: The Holy Spirit is God’s SEAL on HIS children, which differentiates the righteous from the unrighteous. That’s the mark that validates my sonship and inheritance in God’s Kingdom. He is ‘the deposit of God in us guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of ‘we’ who are God’s possession – to the praise of His glory.’
I AM MARKED AND SEALED FOR AN INHERITANCE. AMEN
Now if The Holy Spirit is our seal and proof that we have a part in God’s inheritance, how do we avoid grieving Him as laid out in Ephesians 4: 30 (…And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.) and what is the consequences of doing so?
vss 31&32 of Eph 4, follows suit with how not to grieve The Holy Spirit:
31 Let all 1.bitterness, 2.wrath, 3.anger, 4.clamor, and 5.evil speaking be put away from you, with all 6.malice. 32 And be 1.kind to one another, 2.tenderhearted, 3.forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.Which of these lists do we observe? The longer list (vs 31), or the shorter list (vs32)? Choose for yourself!
I am not sure about the consequences of grieving The Holy Spirit, but I am sure about some things:
1. Because of sin, the Glory of GOD (His Altar and Spirit) departed Israel (Ichabod) 1Sam 4:21
2. Because of disobedience, The Spirit of God departed from Saul, and in fact was replaced with an evil spirit 1Sam 16:14; 18:10
3. David prayed for the Spirit not to depart from HIM Ps 51:11
4. Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven Mk 3:29
PRAYER: Lord Keep me submissive and obedient to your Spirit that I might enjoy the inheritance of your Will. Deliver from any sin that will grieve You, and instead bless me with humble and forgiving heart. In Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
Ephesians 1: 6 -10: Grace, Spirituality and Rapture
Earlier today I started a blog post on the Book of Ephesians. I shared my insights from Ephesians 1: 1- 5, which like I said was meant for yesterday. So enjoy the continuation of the verses.
March 2nd: Ephesians 1: 6-10
6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.Wow, The Nostalgia! Rereading this passage reminded me of a song we sang as children in The Church, that was coined out of Eph 1: 6 and 7. The lyrics are
‘To the praise of the glory of His grace We sing praises (2x) To the praise of the glory of His grace We sing praise to The Father for His grace. With which HE graced us In the Beloved In whom we are the objects of His grace With which He graced us In the Beloved In whom we are the objects of His grace.’ – Composer unknownIt’s funny how we sang this song as children without grasping its meaning in its entirety; until now.
‘I AM A PARTAKER IN HIS MARVELOUS GRACE, IN CHRIST HIS BELOVED’.
This ‘Marvelous Grace’, supersedes the grace we daily abuse with constant sin referenced in Romans 6: 1 (… do we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid!), but the Grace that speaks of the Father’s Blessing to HIS own, as detailed here. The components of this Divine Grace include:
- vs 3: blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ
- vs 4: chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight
- vs 5: predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, in LOVE
- vs 6: freely given us HIS glorious grace in the One He loves (Jesus Christ)
- vs 7: have redeemed us through His Blood, the forgiveness of our sins
- vs 8: lavished on us the riches of His grace
- vs 9: with all wisdom and understanding, made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure
These are the particulars of this Uncommon Grace, which we as Christians partake in for an Ultimate reason: to UNITE ALL things in Heaven and on Earth when the time is fulfilled.
Hallelujah for His Marvelous GRACE!
Question: WHEN WILL THIS ‘UNITING’ TIME BE? DOES THIS REFER TO RAPTURE? AND IF YES, WHERE WILL YOU BE? Selah
There are so many schools of thoughts and opinions about the idea of RAPTURE. Some believe in it and others don’t. I am not here to convince you about either opinions. All I know is that regardless of when it will happen, or not, or whether the earth will end this year or the next, aint my cup of tea.
I am Raptured and My World comes to an end the very moment I take my last breadth. And since I don’t know when that will be, I will focus more on my relationship with God than on tell-tale signs and human predictions of the end of the world. That’s MY Conviction.
I AM RAPTURED THE DAY I DIE, IF I DIE BEFORE THE LORD’S 2nd COMING.
Thus, I strive to ensure that I am Rapturable everyday.
YOU Should too!
God bless you richly with His WORD.
PRAYER: Lord, daily, bless me with the riches of your Divine Grace. And just like DAVID, teach me to number my days according to your Will, that I might grow in wisdom. (Ps 90:12) In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!
Belle’ – 2K4
To behold you
Is better than waking up to the rising of the sun
Or watching it set over the oceans.
The smell of your skin
Is sweeter than the fragrance of 10,000 roses
After the embrace of the morning dew
Beauty was made perfect in you
And elegance was crafted for your covering.
My heart belongs to you,
Thou epitome of beauty
If you will but accept me as I am”
Like this:
My Forever LOVE
I want to touch you
The way sun beams touch the grass- -
Warmly, Lightly….
I want to hold you
The way the night sky holds the stars- -
Gently, Nightly…
I want to kiss you
The way raindrops kiss the flowers- -
Slowly, Sweetly…
I want to love you
The way the earth loves the sky- -
Constantly, Completely…
Take my hand
And let’s build our love
For it’s ours to share
And ours to bear.
Soul of a Living Man
I live with an intention to know, know that which makes ‘ME’ me. I learn with an undying enthusiasm, an excitement that gives my life its meaning. I aint perfect, but is gradually shedding all dat blurrs out the reality of my existence. 2day I meet u, 2morrow u r gone, gone because of my imperfections. But yet still, I rise, I rise continually as the ticking of the clock, never stopping, never backward, till I drop all the crappity that weighs me down, unveiling the real masterpiece ‘ME’.
I’m scared of myself in the flesh, manipulative, deceptive and most times evil. My comprehension of this reality, low, until everytime I meet you. You, who helps expose these baggage full of trash-reality in me. Yet again, the more exposed I become, the more real light shines on me, and the more I better my existence. However tried, you still did not believe me that Sam Cooke‘s ‘Change is gonna come’, had become my song. And yet you walked.
I cried and I tried and I died, yet ego, pride and hatred muted your being from accepting my ‘im sorrys’. I longed for your forgiveness, for your acceptance and for your attention, but the closer I tried to get, the farther away you went, until I realized how far I’d come. Without knowing it, I’d gradually grown stronger, better and wiser, realizing that I needed not rely on You to accelerate.
I had the life within me to live right and achieve; the flame within me to burn out my inconsistences; the desire within me to write my own epitaph; all the enthusiasm to jumpstart my change; and the undaunted passion to fight off the fate not syncing with my destiny. I am whom I choose to be- The Soul of a Spirit-Man dying to his flesh.
Like this:
About ME
for the lazy ones, who could not find the ‘About ME’ icon on the top of the screen next to ‘HOME”…. I am including the same thing on here for your perusal. ENJOY!
Im an outlet, a voice; my expression, my essence; an optimist, yet real; living and loving the ‘twingling and twangling’ of WORDS, speaking volumes to different stations.
I am STATION no1. I, individually hear lots, lots of volumes, but choosing wisely, as I decipher through my mesh of experiences;
YES those experiences garnered from living and loving these ‘twinglings and twanglings’ of Words. WORDS spoken, WORDS read, WORDS heard, WORDS thought and InDEED WORDS lived through ACTIONS……
SEEK ME OUT.
CRAVE Debate
A negative guilt
A sweet wrong feeling
Off I long to go
But longer I stay in put
Off of me, begone!
Yet still knee shackled
I let go from my mind
But clinging on in hand
A bleeding heart,
A grieving will,
And a desiring soul - the ‘killerness’ of decisions.
Leave me to run
And break the circle that is
that I might not find the way
Back to you again.
Let Me Be
How can I scratch an itching in my brain
An energy built from too much thinking
Teach me the way of impossibility
Then I’d understand all that I can do.
Deception has clouded my mind
A system of ‘this is how to do it’, my guiding star
A frustration of disillusion
An ‘impress me’ for you.
I live to see my liberation,
Released from its hibernation
Who has repressed me but ‘You’
‘You’ who have dwelt in my itching head.
A twitch that makes me see
The real exposition of me.
How can you ever understand my ‘bouquet of junketed words
When all I do enjoy is an inking from my twitching arm.
iHURT #withasmile
tell me tell me baby, why cant we live another day without another excruciating dustup,
tell me tell me baby, y cant we go on without another needless argument.
yes i promised to be the best that i can be,
making two of us my eternal investment,
but u’d rather have it as hell for me on earth,
instead of the quasi-paradise sensations my daydreaming profession desires.
why must i be the recipient of your disgruntled psychological expectations?
incarcerated in your 4 by 4 box of your perfect expectations,
and turning me into the stooge of a monks’ choir bass singer, only echoing
‘forgive my shortcomings and lets try to work this out’ AT GIVEN INTERVALS OF THE CONDUCTOR’S baton.
can i baby express my soul to u girl?
ive been quiet and mute for as long as this has lasted
baby, can i get an avenue to voice out my hurt feelings of your crude ‘picking ons’?
encroaching depression, gradual decay, and a somber deprecate i have become,
a state u’ve caused me to slither into trying so hard to contain my insane GOING self.
talk about being a running ruin,
i feel worse than the dying AIDS patient,
i am even in more pain that a ‘celibate’ priest searching endlessly for sex, driven uncededly into underage homosexuality, and becoming the city’s sexual harrasment felon.
i am in more ruin than a nation plagued with corruption and false leaders,
i have become likened to a war-stricken society, kissed on both cheeks by the fangs of death,
sexed up by the evil desires of greedy world rulers.
i feel worse than a little grasshopper, stumped upon by the angry fight of two heavy elephants, and seeing no breaklight of death to relieve me of my pain.
And they call this love,
how long will we put up with anger and pain,
PASSIVITY AND STRAIN in the name of love?
how long will this system of deception cloud my mind just to cuddle my insatiable need for care?
love they say is like the august rain..sensational to willingly go to dance in, but cold and pneumonic once you REALIZE HOW soaked down to the skin YOU ARE…
no, love is a smokescreen avenue for slow suicide,
a refuge for the very weak and insecure at heart.
a justified reason to fool your victim, and be fooled BY THEM OR OTHERS.
a delicacy of sweet poisioned gourmet, SERVED TO taste, Oh sooo lovely but murdering oh so gently.
a venom that quickly diffuses into your bloodstream, and chokes out its supply of oxygen ONE molecule AT A GIVEN TIME.
but lately, seeing u with other people, i just cant help but burst out…
how can u tell me u dont wanna share no more the things we toiled for so long.
THE FIRST TIME I LAID MY EYES ON YOU,
I THOT u WERE THE diamond hidden in the desert, by an ‘unfindable’ oasis,
THAT ….i hopeD to find someday with consistent persistence
the looks of you caressed my inner thighs,
causing me to experience the likes of menopausial quick hotflashes.
that sweet wrong feeling of ‘having and doing’
till sourity became a word to describe the climax of our ‘dogging’, ‘rabbiting’ and ‘kama sutraing’, enveloped me till the bubble feeling went from my lower abdomen into my loins.
but looking at u now syncs with ‘BANG!…the gunshot and I’m dead’,
not knowing between the both of us, who the villian is and who the victim has become….
DisENGAGE
Don’t engage my Mind. You might not like its Content; Raw, Blunt and uncut Truth, Capable of decapitating a ‘mind-BEING’, plagued with foolishness Don’t engage my Heart. As delicate as it seems, It beats music faster than any Fast-Forward track on a Techno album can produce; Harmonizing exclusively with the chemical composition of the element ‘RL (REAL)’, And having an extremely combustive effect for reactions involving elements ’PHO (PHONY)’ and ‘HYP (HYPOCRISY)’ Don’t engage my Love. As deep, intense and overwhelming as it gets, It is a Guarded Island of Isolation; Its acquisition would Make or Break You, For its requirements, so Scarce, Would gradually scarify the falsitude of your emotions; Or better still, violently rape the integrity of your LUST, wrongfully defined. Don’t engage my Desires. I have no time for your classic idiocies. The ‘Multiplicity of my Acme’ is the fabric of my desires. He who wears no piece of my desired clothing, Barks with a pack of Chihuahuas Hovering aimlessly around my abhorred field of inconsequence. Don’t engage my Time. I do not dine with Simpletons, Because I have come to realize that Time is the ONLY gift that defies duplication. Thus, guard mine with care; Because your attitude or my compromise could cost me a fortune untold. Soinafter, only engage Me if you DARE! Because, I am an Eagle soaring above the limits of your comprehension; A Being, Superior to what you are used to. UPGRADE YOURSELF!
Simply Yours
Caring for you
Is a fairy tale
I want to live in forever.
But forever starts
With the sweet thoughts of you
Beautiful, graceful, lovely……
Only flowers so rare
Could be so breath-taking
C.U1
atONEmeNT 4 LovE
I write to bring A truth untold As I atone For love unknown I gave a love So selfish, cold As blind I was To love, so deep I kept a count Of good deeds presumed And real sight I lost Of love, tender and sweet I remember the tears That came to your eyes Whenever our hearts At distance, might be I cherish the smiles That lit up your face When words of love I whispered to you I miss the music That graced your voice When laugh you did From real joy, so pure And though I loved, I loved unfair, And ’ways denied A love unknown I truly loved And fear that I’ve lost The most precious thing I ever did find But this I know I’ll never forget The princess who stole My warm heart unknown As down I lay To sleep tonight Alas! My love Some peace ’twill have
I HATE your churches Vol 1
I HATE your churches because they are not of GOD. For one, there is only ONE CHURCH, which is the Body of CHRIST. So when next you refer to your place of worship as your CHURCH, think again carefully, the Body of Christ is not a building, but the TRUE Christians who worship HIM in Spirit and Truth. These are those who have a RELATIONSHIP with HIM, and not a religion. I have NO religion, but I have a true relationship with whom My Soul doth LOVE.
Call me a hater, but I DESPISE Titles in the church(the ‘c’ is intentionally not capitalized): Bishop, Reverend, Most Reverend, Right Rev, General Overseer and all other categorical nonsense by which we describe ourselves. As a believer in Jesus Christ, and a devout lover of HIM, it aches my heart to see men crave to bear titles that I believe only belong to HIM. I do not care what your reasons for them are, or your intentions for using them. However, I know that their place in the fabric of the Church of Christ is one of negative impact.
The desire of man to assume the Title of God facilitates the division, strife, disappointment and the breakdown of the Universal Church. I believe that the desire to have, acquire, or maintain them, perpetuates the exaltation of some men over others in the church, substantially defining clergy and laity in the body of Christ, and thereby causing segregation, favoritism, hypocrisy, vanity (Nicolatian spirit), and division in the Universal Church. It also breeds greed, callousness, pride, envy, jealousy etc; Sins of the Churches in Pergamum, Thyatira, and Laodicea; Indulgences that the Lord abhors. (Rev 2 & 3)
We consistently over-emphasize these Titles, which cannot in themselves guarantee salvation, as we continually lose sight of the most important things in life – Loving and Caring for one another unconditionally (1 John 4:7, 11-12)
To me, the greatest Title anyone can call me is ‘Brother’ and/or ‘Friend’. Our Lord Jesus Christ with all His power and glory, referred to his disciples as ‘Brothers and Friends’ (John 15:14). He also embodied humility in service, as seen with the washing of the disciples’ feet etc; (a quality that is alien to many of our so-called church leaders).
Now, If The Lord views me as a ‘Brother’ and ‘Friend’, then that’s what I want to be known as – a respectable Friend and/or Brother to fellow sons of God (Rom 8: 14-15); not a servant to some Self-Titled ‘Brother’, who demands reverence and worship from me. In case you were in doubt of my position, regardless of whom you claim to be, I’d respect you as a fellow Brother/Friend, but I WOULD NOT revere nor fear you.
Many of us are so caught up with being identified with these ‘Titles’ that we indulge in all sorts of sacrilegious deeds to acquire them.
I’d tell you a story. My beloved Mother turned 50 in the year of Our Lord 2001, for which my Father decided to celebrate. Growing up in a Christian home, we sent out invites to some of my Father’s peers who had in several ways become leaders of several churches. There were 2 cases for which I was and have remained baffled to this day.
Case 1: We invited a ‘man of god’, who furiously returned our invite because he claimed we had insulted him by addressing him as Brother ‘So-and-So’ on the invite, as opposed to Reverend. He had afterall started and grown a church membership of about 1000, and deserved to be recognized as an important man of God. He did not show up to the event because of that.
Case 2: Same scenario as Case 1, however, the invite was returned because we had left the church he ‘oversaw’ 11 years prior, for which he had prophesied death on both my parents, and a futile future for us. Unfortunately, none of his prophecies were actualized (I’d speak on that in later writings).
The Bible says that ‘We are a Kingdom of Priests and Kings to God (Rev 1:6, 5:10), not a kingdom of Pharisaical Christians; some of a better caliber than others.
Furthermore, many of us also bear Titles based on our gifts, both natural and spiritual e.g. Evangelist, Prophet, Miracle worker, Tongue interpreter, etc. Why isn’t there any Janitor This, and Cleaner That? Those are also duties in the House of God you know. Once again, the Bible records that ‘…these gifts are for the edification of the Body of Christ’ (Eph 4:12), not for promoting schism; and not for our selfish use. The Body of Christ is One, with no part worthy of more importance than the other; eye, toe or finger.
So next time you introduce yourself as ‘Whatever’ for people to recognize you by, remember John the Baptist, who with all that he was; even as the only one who baptized The Christ, was focused on his Calling, rather than his title. He was humble enough to refer his disciples to Jesus, recognizing himself as nothing but he, who has come to lead others to Jesus Christ, the ONLY Master, Reverend, General Overseer and Lord of All.
Strip yourselves of HIS Titles!
Remember, Many are called, but FEW are Chosen! (Matt 22:14). And in case you were not sure of what those ‘titles’ meant, look them up for what they really are:
Revere (Root word for Reverend): to fear, a feeling of profound respect for someone or something far superior; “the fear of God”;
Bishop: Overseer in most Christian Churches derived from the Catholic principle of apostolic succession (the doctrine that bishops represent an uninterrupted line of descent from the Apostles of Jesus). This is even more ridiculous!!!
This is the first of a series of insights into the ‘I HATE your churches’ collection. ‘I HATE your churches’ is an expository collection of writings aimed at the practices of religion in The CHURCH.
Like this:
My Damsel Treasure of Darkness!
La La La La…
The quietness of my early morning soul
A blended symphony of my cacophonic existence
Tested… Tried… but yet unfinished
I pursue the ‘wholiness’ of life
In several unholy ways,
Seeking unfindingly a liberated opening
To escape my barrage of decisions.
I have become the hybrid Being of Love and ‘Disgust’
A blend;
Only surpassed by Pharasitical Love Puritans
Methodically striving for blasphemous glories.
I am agitated at the emptiness of Your soul
And the sweet shallowness of its lyrics
I’m constantly drawn to the music of Your minds’ melodic oration,
But experiencing no salvation after its inspirational nonsense is done
Your Breasts, a fountain of honey oozing succour
Your Lips, a treasure-chest of vanity in dark’s delight
Your Bosom, my forever guilty atonement for our midnight sacrilege
Your Lust triangle, the passionate sweet death of me.
I look for You in the Light,
You whom I thought I knew in the Dark
But there’s so much the Light has shown,
That my picture of you stands worse than distorted.
Thus, I sit and listen to Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings
To restore some civility and sanity to my chaotic mind,
As I gradually erase the taunting memory of You.
Still boggled by the contradiction of Your words,
Your deeds and Your thoughts;
I stand ashamed for bearing Cupid‘s message to your heart.
Well, that which I never found.
Sadly, You were more beautiful in the Dark, My Damsel Treasure of Darkness!
Like this:
Baby DADDY!
Daaggg!!! Its so true what they say yo, A son is likened to His Father. (Shake My Head!)…. Offsprings are so parental copies. For once in my life, I aint happy being a proud Father, For that child aint nothing like the beauty I hoped ‘twould be. But instead, Love has borne me a Monster unbeknown to me, A monster whose paternity I still question. But wait! I actually fathered THAT, But I hoped ’twould be a replica of You, its Mother. Unfortunately, the monster You thought I was, You gave life to, Nurturing it so perfectly, Like it was custom made for You. But guess what? I am The Baby Daddy Solely responsible for this Monster-Child Whose expression defines none else, But You. Babe, You were supposed to teach me how to Love, Instead you unlearned that which you knew. No wonder they say, ‘Its more difficult to build than to destroy’ Cos this Child has definitely destroyed US. Once, You were the oxygen that sustained me, Longing for nothing else but You But now, I suffocate from loving you, Slowly dying with every wail from that Child. I used to hope for the U- U-wer-B4- NOW, To be the Mother of all my little stuborn sons. Longing for the smiles and midnight screams of them children, Whom I hoped would make me the perfect Baby Daddy But I think I’m loving the U -U- R- right-NOW, Because even though the product of our ‘coitus un-interuptus’ has made me Baby-Monster Daddy, I gots to make you know That what has not killed me Has definitely made me stronger! So I aint no longer scared To be ya Monster child Baby Daddy Cos I know that Our Lil Monster, Slowly, but surely, Will grow some beauty someday.
Grieve, Child
If you’ve never said goodbye, To the best thing in your life; If you’ve never let go, Knowing it wasn’t meant to be; If you’ve never lost, That, most cherished and dearest to your heart; Then you’ll never know the pain, And feeling, watching you go away. If you’ve never heard the words, That ended the best times in your life; If you’ve never sat and wished, You had the power to turn back time; If you’ve never cried to sleep, Wishing the heartbreak would abate; Then you’ll never understand, The endless pain piercing through my soul. Mine is a simple, loving heart Wanting only to care and share. Alas, my heartbreak, my cross to bear To carry me through my lonely somber days.
iTHINK
Thoughts of you are like whispers Whispers of love to my soul Pictures of moments, sweet, we shared Keeps replaying in my mind The aching vacuum hardly filled Remind me of your constant absence The hunger for you, To see you, to hold you Keeps me awake thinking, wishing If heaven crafted any, Any more beautiful What a misery my life would be For gazing at you, I am lost Confronted by the mystery That beauty can be If I had a flower For every time I thought about you I’d have a bouquet Big enough to fill the Oceans The Nightingales may sing But fail to describe enough Your Beauty, pleasant to behold And the joy your presence brings There is a thought in my head There is a wish in my heart There is a hope in my soul That once more, I might be graced To look upon thee, My Fairest Beloved
Like this:
Injustice of Fate
I have seen a pattern That leaves me baffled. Those who seek naught but fun Find willing people to ruin But those with true affections to give Find it hard to be loved. Well such is the irony of life That plagues the honest heart. The lying lips tell sweeter tales And the fairer sex falls deeply in; But the true heart finds it hard to lie And waits to express feelings, true Impatient, they run after lies, After pleasure, fleeting and fading. Yes the rich get richer And the poor get poorer For who is this man who Finds pleasure and yet abstains? Who sees an easier way, And yet seeks the harder path? But I know for sure That truth will always prevail And reality will always come to pass. So hold your peace, dear fragile heart For you shall find, in a lady fair Love beyond your imaginations. Till then, Adieu! O Cupid For my time is yet to come.
Like this:
Nigeria: My Fatherland of Chaos
(The Town-crier cries, as the drums roll)
Nigeria my Fatherland
Great land of mischief
Borne of a white experiment, full of dauntless surprises
Naija as we know it, is the home for all
Lion of Africa, therefore, speak for we hear thee
Patched like a starry midnight sky, let out your different ‘twinkles’
The ambidextrous Goddess Nigeria Speaks:
I am full of tribes, a score dozen and ten
Like a mother hen with her chicks, I house them all
The Motherland of the Color Black
I am all that’s Beautiful
Talk about Variety, and You talk about Me
Think of Diversity, and You’ve called my Last Name
Talk about Beauty, and let me show You my babes, whom u call Culture.
I am bloated with rich Cultures
Cultures that represent me
Cultures that speak volumes about me
Cultures that break the ice of division.
Which do you choose to see first
The Igbos, that are very industrious Ohaneze kwenu!
The Yorubas, who like book too much Odu’a I lie?
The Hausa’s, who have taken to Rulership like white on rice Arewa una
dey?
Ha! Ha! These are just my first babies
I din’t even mention the Ijaws and Itshekiris, my twin babies who love war
I din’t mention the Urhobos, The Ibibios, the Kenuris, Efik, Nupes,
Calabaris, Amokus, Fulanis etc.
Oh! What a Nation.
Let me show You a Little bit of our World
Lagos, the ‘Real Center of Excellence’:
How I miss the Oshodi-Oshodi, Obalende-CMS, Lawanson, Iyana-Ipaja cries
of the shrill coarse voices of my conductors. The ‘Onsha-Owerri-Aba, Inaga’ music of eastern bus drivers; Oloshe! curses of our Tejuosho/Alaba traders.
How I long for the 5 Naira Beans, 5 Naira Dodo, 10 Naira Rice, with Kpomo,
no Meat and one Pure Water of our Mama-Put delicacies.
The early morning ‘Agege-bread’ that graces my breakfast table with ‘Ewa-goin’
and hot tea to go with it.
Oh! The pleasures of ‘Baby how far? And Nne kedu kwanu?’ slangs of ‘toasting’
babes.
The vibes of ‘Baby, you know anytime I see you, my heart just do VAA, and you know
as I behold your radiating beauty, baby e be like say we are on the cliff of
love waiting to dive into the ocean of passion. Abeg no say no.’
The ‘I Love You, Love’nt I? And ‘Are you shy, why shall I shy?’ conversations between
Touts and market girls.
The ‘Nne eeh, my container is all for you. Egbuwom ozu na high sea, just to
envelope your charitiuos love’.
I have not also forgotten our ever-willing Ayilara/Opebi-Allen customers,
Whose dictionaries only contain, ‘Si, si going my way?’
Neither did I forget our powerful world of ‘Kilonshe, Onye n’ekwu. I say
na who dey talk?’, when actually we’re speaking into an empty unconnected
handset, all in the name of ‘I don get my own GISM. No wonder wetin dem
call am na General Street Madness’.
I won’t also be justified to forget our powerful Power Authority NEPA,
whose most favorite slogan is ‘Never Expect Power At all; Make sure you have
fuel for your generators, or at least buy candles and light them up’.
Well at least, they’ve made us appreciate the values of the romantic serene
environments of daily dusk to dawn candle lit dinners, romantic privilege craved by our so-called westernized counterparts; one that we enjoy almost every night.
The quick response of ‘the number you have dialed is temporarily out of
service’ from every land phone line u dial, reminds me of NITEL- Nigerian
telecommunications, and makes me wonder if people dey talk for phone at
all for Naija.
Oh my Nigeria! Lion of Africa, how religious you are to have the highest
number of churches in the world yet endeavors to make sure you don’t go
beyond the 3rd place on the worlds list of most corrupt countries.
Thanks to the Anti-Corruption Bill.
Finally, God bless the day our National Anthem was formed, and even more
when its remix was nationally composed: Arise o compansion. To sa to sa our land, one
natia ba, our he shaba…’. I’m sure not all of us reading this can correctly sing the 2
stanzas of the National Anthem properly: Patriotic Nigerians!
I have not even mentioned the patriotic leadership attitude of ‘Fellow
Countrymen, I have come to take my own share of the national cake, support
me and get the icing of my share, or reject me and wash the knife wey I
use cut the cake, and wait for my successor, OLOSHE! All this, while noble citizen are ‘suffering and smiling, chanting the poor man’s mantra of ‘Ol boi, God dey joo’, as a solution to all our problems.
Hmmn! What good leadership (Shaking My Head).
However, I haven’t lost hope yet. At least I have You.
I believe that I have a hope with You all.
Yes! A future for a better place- an honest, fun-filled and successful
Nigeria.
That’s all I want.
Hence, abeg make una strive to make this a reality, so that the future
would be a better place for us all to enjoy in Nigeria.
Think on these.
THANK YOU.
The Vices of an Adulterer
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Epitomical Epiphany
Redefining Pro-LIFE in AMERICA
I came to the realization today Wednesday, September 7th, 2010 at 4.47am, that the word Pro-LIFE has been re-branded in America. It is currently defined by Wikipedia as ‘…the political and ethical opposition to elective abortion, and support for its legal prohibition or restriction. Those involved in the pro-life movement generally maintain that human fetuses and, in most cases, embryos are persons, and therefore have a right to life. The pro-life position is commonly supported among several Christian and Muslim countries.’
On the other hand, Pro-LIFE is rightfully classified by Dictionary.com as an adjective meaning ‘the right to life’.
I have been bothered by this definition since the advent of the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wars that were embarked upon by our mostly professed conservative righteous men; Men whom you’d think correctly understand the dictionary meaning of being ProLIFE, since they are supposedly embodiments of the ‘Righteousness’ of GOD. Instead, they connived to justify their acts as the plan and will of God, for the betterment of all man-kind. (What NERVE!)
Their divine ACT, less than a decade later, has plagued this NATION with several casualties of war, and more than $1,090,000,000,000 poorer than it was before the war. (that’s more than $1 trillion dollars; our National debt is almost $13 trillion; and we wonder why we are in a die-hard recession…SMH!).
For all we know, discussing the 2 words, ProLife/ProChoice in America, is always recipe for the suffocation of social civility; from barber shops, to political circles, to churches, and even to our kitchen tables. This reaction has made this discussion a very delicate path to tread. We often just restrict these words to a woman’s right/ability to choose to abort or keep her baby prior to childbirth (a topic I will address later).
However, we busy ourselves worrying about embryos, fetuses and unborn children, (who YES, are very important), that we forget to associate these terms with understanding the pertinent need to rightfully sustain and protect those of us who are alive today – our Rights to LIFE. I choose to be meaningfully alive, and to coexist peacefully with other living human beings, thus I’m ProLIFE by Choice (I guess which makes me Pro-Choice as well). When we irrationally exercise Power in making decisions as to who dies for our selfish gains, that person to me, ceases to be ProLIFE in all its definitions, nor even the dreaded liberal ProChoice.
While reading articles on how to improve on my poetry blog www.rewordblog.com earlier this morning, I ran across a link, which led me to tangible data that for me, have rightfully redefined the meaning of the word ProLIFE-in-America. (My anger and disbelief triggered the writing of this piece). Words which when discussed, completely deviates from its original meaning, nor that of its arch rival – ProChoice. In fact, its new definition, I can boldly say, has also altered and re-branded the definition of its YANG-Prochoice, assigning it a new meaning, which I employ all reasonable citizens of the world to adopt (will further discuss).
Prior to this epiphany, I had always wondered how there could be any supporters of the war who claimed to be ProLIFE. Did they really understand what the word meant, or did they just use it carelessly? To me, they had embodied inhumanity, and had directly or indirectly destroyed lives through decisions that have murdered many in several ways; decisions that have not only cut short useful promising lives, but have destroyed others emotionally, psychologically, physically, mentally and otherwise. How then could they be ProLIFE? These decisions also negatively impacted the financial and economic stability of this Great Nation.
With these consequences, I sought, and still cannot find any definition of LIFE within them- Emotional LIFE; Psychological LIFE; Physical LIFE; etc. The reverse has actually been the case, where there has been nothing less than death and destruction in many, while fighting these meaningless wars.
Thus today, I have ingeniously redefined our nicely controversial word ProLIFE, and thus employ you to think on these when next you remember or encounter the word, ProLIFE.
- $1.09 trillion spent on 2 wars since 2001 (www.costofwar.com)
- 6570 veteran suicides per year (almost 1 per 1.5hrs @ 18 suicides per day) (www.antiwar.com)
- More than 7700 American deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 (www.antiwar.com, www.icasualties.org)
- More than 1.36M Iraqi deaths since US invasion, almost 200X more than US casualties (Sometimes, we forget that these are also people) (www.antiwar.com)
- An estimated 100,000 wounded soldiers (www.antiwar.com)
- 320,000 Vets with Brain Injuries (www.antiwar.com)
- And so on.
New ProLIFE Synonyms: NoLIFE, Recession, Bankruptcy, Pro-Death, Abandoned, Murder, Impulsive Reaction
Antonyms: ProLIFE, International Diplomacy, Logical reasoning, Critical Thinking
Now because I know that I’m not the only troubled citizen of the world tired of these massive invasions and killings, I employ you to subscribe to the ‘iCHOOSE2LIVE’ Campaign and become ProLIFE-by-CHOICE by adding your email address at the subscription button on the LEFT TOP CORNER of the page.
This is a Campaign informing our Leaders that we have a Right To LIVE. It will also demand that ALL of Our Leaders (those who endorse WARs) enlist at least one child or closely related family member to go to any wars that they endorse.
Let’s create a reasonable world together, one person at a time. Therefore, join the ‘iCHOOSE2LIVE’ Campaign and become ProLIFE-by-Choice: Choose to LIVE and Let others LIVE.
Share this with as many people as possible. Also join our Facebook page: iCHOOSE2LIVE Campaign
(I encourage you to embed the Cost of War (http://www.costofwar.com/) and Casualty Counters (http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/counter.php) on your website or blog. It is JavaScript supported, so I’m still trying to find a way to do that because my blog does not support JavaScript. Please if you know how to convert JavaScript to Html, leave me a message. Thanks)
Scientific Sacrilege
I looked in his face
And I died
Once sweet and tender, I have gone sour
Young, full and strong, I have withered
His hold was stronger than death
His kisses were more passionate than life
I had grown to love him even more
As my enthusiastic passion became my profession
I met him about two dozen years ago
His subtle sweet talk caressed my every being
At first we seemed like Venus and Mars
As our passions blossomed undyingly
I kissed his lips and tasted honey
I looked in his eye and I saw heaven
I felt his touch and melted within
Yeah ’twas a union designed by Science
The laughters and the small talk
The whispers in the darkness
That dazzling smile of his
Anchored by his dimples
The memories so sweet to know
The coolness of the room with his cologne,
Enhancing the tension
All for too much unknown excitement
That was too costly for me to purchase
Little did I know I was dying
Dying from a celebrated union
He blossomed while I withered
As he took away all that made me beautiful
How long did he think I’d remain fearful?
How long did he think I’d wallow in darkness?
How long did he expect me to be blind?
Yeah! Love they say is blind, but well mine sees now
Because I have become the architect of my own existence
The shackles of your love I still have on
But in no time you’d be history inked on paper
And incase you’ve forgotten, let me remind you again of who I am
I am Africa
The Mother of the color Black
I am Bold
I am Undaunted and I am Beautiful,
Strong, Full and yet Tender
Hateful I might have been
But faithful I have become
I will survive and I will overcome
For the giant has awakened, and nothing,
I mean not even you Mr. AIDS, with all your flattery and sweet talk can HOLD ME DOWN!!!
‘Twas my pleasure Mr. AIDS
Sexual Perversion in the Church
The video below is in response to Bishop Eddie Long‘s response to the homosexual allegations against him. I’d love to hear from you. share your comments. Thanks
For The accusation and his response, check out CNN for more
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Tithes, Offerings and Taxes: Giving to GOD for the sake of Tax Returns
The issue of the right way to give in the Church is one that cannot be over-emphasized. There are so many perspectives and opinions as to the right way to give or who to give to, but as a Christian, it is necessary that we back our positions and practices with the Word of God.
The video below is my position on a certain practice observed by many Congregations (Giving offerings and Tithing for the sake of one’s tax returns) , which I do not think is healthy for Christians and their blessings/rewards as pertains to giving to GOD genuinely. Isn’t it ironic that yearly, the most charitable donations are received within the months of Jan – April, just in time to meet the Tax Returns filing deadline?
I will appreciate other points of view, so please express yourself freely, but back it up with the Scriptures. Thanks
The Suicide of Tyler Clementi and its Challenging Lessons for All
What is Wrong with Our World Today? WHAT has happened to Love, care and concern for each other in our communities. We have abandoned the ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ mantra that helped create balance in the lives of our children, and ours, in pursuit of self-centeredness and individualism. This is costing our society the well-being of its constituents, especially, the younger ones, who do not know how well to handle the loneliness, rejection, rejection and the sorts that plague them periodically. The story of Tyler Clementi, should be a wake-up call for us to re-institute the communal practices we once had in order to save our generations, and preserve the sanctity of life. Please uphold the family of Tyler Clementi’s in your prayers during this trying times.
Meg Whitman Housekeeper Scandal: An Illegal Immigration Double Standard or A Case for Tolerance?
Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay has in recent days caught fire for allegedly maltreating and firing her undocumented Mexican housekeeper right before her gubernatorial run in California. this upending issue has once again brought to limelight the need for comprehensive immigration reform. In the attached video, I discuss the lessons in this case, as well as talk about how necessary it has become to wisely treat people, because you do not know how your actions will indirectly affect you.
Being an avid supporter and ambassador of almost inconsiderate and strict immigration reform rules, Meg Whitman’s housekeeper’s claim, has not only proved to jeopardize her success with Latino voters (who she has so judiciously courted throughout her campaign), but has played out the need to be tolerant and wise in our dealings and interactions with other people. In other words, the person you think you don’t need today, might turn out to be an agent of your salvation tomorrow.
So in a world filled with hate crimes, intolerance and injustice, it is necessary to remember that the thoughts, words and deeds you SOW today, whether good or bad, will determine those you REAP tomorrow. So THINK about your tomorrow before you SOW your seeds today.
Like this:
Wealth Acquisition Vs Holiness: Has Prosperity Messages Shifted the Central Theme of The Christian Faith?
- Disenfranchising believers who believe that they are not prospering according to the messages they hear, regardless of what they do
- Shifting the Central theme of the Christian Life of Love and Holiness to that of prosperity
- Ascribing earthly wealth as a yardstick for Measuring God‘s blessings
- Fueling misconceptions about the Church of God becoming the business of wealth mongers
- Prompting unqualified and un-anointed people to establish Churches with the intention of acquiring wealth
- and much more.
- How much Wealth should we acquire as Christians?
- How do you balance ‘an honest desire to prosper and the love of money’?
- Can you prosper without loving money?
Like this:
#thoughts
#thoughts….
I have an itch in my heart for the future of my DREAMS,
A longing for the fulfillment of its aspirations.
I crave the acme of the Final Masterpiece,
A tediously sculpted expression of my every second; minute; hour; – Time culminated into the reality of work Consummatum;
Enticing the ‘clamorings’ of loquacious minds itching to lavish their unsought approvals,
And igniting the disdainful babble of Creativity’s Laity; commoners seeking to dismantle ‘Uniquity‘.
Unperturbed I exist, undoubtedly believing in my DREAMS,
as THEY remain incarcerated by the limits of freedom.
I AM because I DREAM
March 2011: Book of Ephesians
I’d be reading the Book of Ephesians for the Month of March and will share daily verses for those who want to read with me. Well since today is the 2nd day of March, Id post the verses for yesterday and today. (I’d be posting from the New International Version)
March 1st: Eph 1: 1-5
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—INSIGHT: I love the Bible, but sometimes it presents us with questions that only The Holy Spirit can clarify.
For instance, the fact that verses 4 and 5 say that we were ‘predestined for adoption into sonship through Jesus Christ, before the creation of the world’, made me ponder and ask if some people were already marked for Heaven, and in turn others for Hell before we were even created. It also reminds me of Jeremiah 1, where The Lord told Jeremiah that He knew him before he was created and ordained him a prophet before he was conceived by his mother (Jer 1).
However, I cannot forget the ever reassuring verse that we all know (John 3:16), that God sacrificed His beloved Son that We ALL might be saved.
The question now is: Was mankind all predestined for salvation, and if yes, why do we have the free will to indulge and die in SIN?
The key thing about this predestination that many of us miss as Christians, is that the entire HUMANITY was chosen before the creation of the world to be HOLY and BLAMELESS before GOD. However, according to Phil 2:12, ‘we must continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling’.
Are We HOLY and BLAMELESS? Or have we distanced ourselves from God’s desire that ALL become Sons for His pleasure and will, because of our ungodliness and iniquity.
Prayer: LORD make me pure in heart that I might enjoy your Grace, Peace, and all the spiritual blessings in Christ, for which we were created. In Jesus’ Name. Amen
God bless you richly according to His WORD.
Occupied With Inequality
Occupied With Inequality. A dissection of The Occupy Wall Street Movement
