Dearly Beloved,

WANTED: A DILIGENT WORKER!

"One night Eli… was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down…. Then the LORD called Samuel" (1 Samuel 3:2-4 NIV).

"Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men" (Proverbs 22:29 NIV).

The boy Samuel was ministering in the tabernacle at Shiloh when he suddenly heard somebody calling his name. He thought it was Eli…

Dearly Beloved,

WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19 NIV).

"`So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?' The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this" (1 Kings…

Dearly Beloved,

NOT WITH GOD

"Jesus looked at them and said, `With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God'" (Mark 10:27 NIV).

Our God is the God of all possibilities. Nothing is impossible with Him, with the exception of things that are contrary to His divine attributes (see Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; 2 Timothy 2:13; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18). God is the infinite God. He can do all things. He knows all things. He is above all…

Dearly Beloved,

EBOLA SHOULD BE DISCUSSED IN THE CHURCH!

“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well” (3 John 2 NIV).

Since the outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in some parts of Africa and its dramatic entrance into Nigeria about a month ago, many facts, rumours, and even jokes have emerged about the epidemic. One of my friends on Facebook recently posted this message on his wall: “IF…

Dearly Beloved,

DO YOU TAKE PLEASURE IN THEM?

"Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them" (Romans 1:32 NIV).

There is a Yoruba proverb that goes thus: "He who does not eat rat should not use his teeth to divide it for the children." The proverb amused me. However as I pondered on it further, I realized that many Christians are like that…

Dearly Beloved,

CAN THESE BONES LIVE?

“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ I said, ‘O Sovereign Lord, you alone know’” (Ezekiel 37:1-3 NIV).

I am not happy with the level of corruption in my country,…

Dearly Beloved,

HOW CAN GOD HAVE HIS WAY?

"Father, if you are willing, please don't make me drink from this cup. But do what you want, not what I want" (Luke 22:42 ERV).

“But, Lord, you are our father. We are like clay, and you are the potter. Your hands made us all” (Isaiah 64:8 ERV).

Occasionally, I use the lyrics of the hymns I post daily in the “Ministering through Daily Hymns” aspect of my Internet ministry to pray for people in the “Prayer Wishes” aspect of…

Dearly Beloved,

SOME HAVE FOOD, BUT...

“These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng” (Psalm 42:4 NIV).

One of the songs we used to sing when I was in elementary school is, “Some have food, but cannot eat; some can eat, but have no food. We have food and we can eat. Glory be to You, O Lord!” Honestly, like many of my…

Dearly Beloved,

THERE WILL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING

"I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing" (Ezekiel 34:26 NIV).

A shepherd in the Old Testament symbolized a royal caretaker of the people of God. This is the reason why the Old Testament great men are referred to as shepherd (Jeremiah 23: 1ff; Ezekiel 34:1ff). Even God was called the shepherd of Israel in Psalm 80:1 (cf. Psalm 23; Ezekiel…

Dearly Beloved,

YOU WILL COMPLETE IT!

"Then the word of the LORD came to me: 'The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you'" (Zechariah 4:8-9 NIV).

The people of Israel were returning from the exile. They were picking up the crumbs of their nationhood under the leadership of Zerubbabel. One of such crumbs was the rebuilding of the temple of God in Jerusalem.…

Dearly Beloved,

WHAT KIND OF COMFORTER ARE YOU?

"I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all!" (Job 16:2 NIV).

I always pity the man Job whenever I read the book of the Bible that bears his name. Here is a man that lost everything he had in a single day. He was afflicted with a disease, and his wife advised him to curse God and die. To compound his problems, his so-called friends that came to console him turned out to be "miserable comforters." They…

Dearly Beloved,

IN-LAWS: BLESSING OR CURSE?

“When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah” (Genesis 26:34-35 NIV).

I was in a wedding reception some time ago when I overheard a woman sharing with another woman about her sweet experience with the sisters of her husband. According to her, her husband’s sisters are so nice to her and her son…

Dearly Beloved,

IT IS NOT OVER...

“Sarah said, ‘God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.’ And she added, ‘Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age’” (Genesis 21:6-7 NIV).

The final of the year 2014 UEFA Champions League has come and gone, but it has one major lesson: It is not over until it is over. I did not have the opportunity of watching the epic football match…

Dearly Beloved,

WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF YOUR WEALTH?

"The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it" (Proverbs 10:22 NIV).

When one is talking about wealth, one's mind quickly goes to the popular definition of the word "wealth" which a dictionary gives as "(possession of a) large amount of money, property, etc." Another meaning by an encyclopedia is "an accumulation of goods having economic value." It is simply referred to as "riches." However, this…

Dearly Beloved,

DO YOUR OWN PART!

"So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered.... As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up... so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword"…

Dearly Beloved,

I SALUTE MOTHERS

"Village life in Israel ceased, ceased until I, Deborah, arose, arose a mother in Israel" (Judges 5:7 NIV).

I always admire women especially mothers for their extraordinary caring attitude. In fact, I salute them. The prevailing issue of the abducted school girls in Chibok (a town in the northeastern Nigeria) by the extreme Islamic militants popularly known as Boko Haram again brings out the caring attitude of women. While many men are…

Dearly Beloved,

WHAT WOULD BE YOUR TESTIMONIAL?

"Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. ...Greet Apelles, tested and approved in Christ?" (Romans 16:7, 10 NIV).

As Paul concluded his epistle to the Christians in the imperial city of Rome, he listed, in Romans 16, a catalogue of people that had influenced his life and ministry in one way or the other. As he…

Dearly Beloved,

CAN FALSEHOOD BE USED TO PROMOTE THE TRUTH?

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32 NKJV).

The above quoted verse should indeed be a fact that will make many Christians free of any kind of bondage, but it is unfortunate that some Christians still knowingly or unknowingly keep themselves in bondage of fear based on falsehood of the devil and his cohorts. Interestingly, some of these Christians that knowingly keep…