The power of words. 1

Death and life are in the power of  the tongue. I bet we've all heard this wise saying of |David like a hundred times and we must have re-echoed it severally in the past.  These words never pierced my heart the way they did sometime ago when something happened in a family in the little town I live in, that re-kindled my consciousness of the words of my lips.

One early morning, a father and his young son had a very intense argument over something I really don't know. I understood that this pair were fond of disturbing the neighborhood with their early morning scuffles.
From the information I gathered, this young boy was a very amiable fellow, always smiling and singing and he went about his affairs, he was dearly loved by his neighbors and all who knew him. I thus wondered, why the frequent fights with his father, some said the man was totally unlovable and controlling.

On that faithful day, the young lad had another heated argument with his dad. In the process, he walked out on his infuriated father towards his bike .As he started the bike, the voice of his furious father echoed behind him  ''you stupid son, you are starting your motorcycle while your father is talking to you, you'll not see the end of today, this motorcycle will kill you today! ''
That afternoon, I was strolling past the accident and emergency unit in a hospital, on my way to my office when I met a wailing crowed. I made enquirers and that was when a  relative of the young lad narrated the above story to me. she said to me with tearful eyes '' Afam is dead, he died on his motorcycle today while trying to avoid a little girl on the road, he was the only victim''
As I peeped through the glass door of the emergency unit in an attempt  to get a glimpse of his badly mangled body, stone dead and already covered with a white cloth, I pondered; Is this a mere coincidence, or really the power of words.

Many lives, friendships, relationships, marriages etc have been ruined by words spoken.Great opportunities in life have equally been lost. |Once wrong words are spoken you cannot take them back, it spreads like wild fire & keeps on causing damage behind you, even long after you have left a scene.
Watch your lips!


Death & Life are in the power of the tongue, ( prov 18: 21)
Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble (prov 21:23|)
whoever guards his mouth preserves his life, he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. ( prov 13: 3)
I tell you, on the day of judgement, people will give account for every careless word they speak.( Mathew 12:36 )
by chioma

Forgiveness, An uneasy virtue.

A Lagos based female evangelist (names witheheld), recently kidnapped and gang raped by her abductors around Ogijo area of Ikorodu Lagos, left everyone speechless when she told two of her abductors arrested by the Lagos State Police command that she had forgiven them for their sins.

The traumatized evangelist who is still trying to come to terms with her nine days despicable experience in the hands of nine kidnappers, even went further to lay her hands on the arrested suspects, advising them to turn new leaves in order to make heaven at the end of their sojourn on earth.

The woman, as gathered, was abducted early this month and kept in the kidnaper’s den; an uncompleted building in Ogijo, Ikorodu, alongside other kidnapped victims, among whom was a Briton. It was gathered that her abductors tore her clothes into shreds and left her in her nude throughout her nine days stay,where they had her in turns and at any given time.

While the dehumanizing act was on, one of the kidnappers reportedly put a call through to the evangelist’s husband, demanding for N20 million ransom. But her husband reportedly dropped the sum of N2 million in an undisclosed location the fourth day but did not have his wife released to him as expected.

On the ninth day, eight members of the kidnap gang drove out in two vehicles to collect a ransom of N25 million, for the release of the Briton , at Caterpillar bus-stop, Ojota, leaving one of them,(Emeka) behind, to guard their victims. Moments later, the armed kidnapper was said to had gone to the exhausted evangelist to ease his sexual urge. But he got more than what he bargained for as the exhausted woman, in what could be described as a miracle, flung him away,and he hit his head on the brick wall.

According to the woman evangelist who initially bluntly refused to speak to anyone , other than the arrested kidnappers and Police, “ I do not know where the strength came from. But as he was about penetrating… I pushed him and he hit his head on the wall and passed out. Without caring whether I was naked or not, or whether I would be shot in the process, I rushed out of the uncompleted building shouting for help. To my surprise, I discovered that the building was even located among residential buildings.”

It was learnt that one of the curious sympathizers who gathered round her, gave her a wrapper to cover her nakedness.

Back inside the uncompleted building, the kidnapper,on regaining consciousness, reportedly scaled the fence and fled,abandoning his AK 47 riffle, apparently afraid that his escapee could have blown the lid. An irate mob stormed the building later, where the Briton was rescued and the duo taken to the Area N Command,Ijede.

Meanwhile, the rest members of the gang who had earlier gone to collect the ransom for the release of the Briton at Ojota, met their waterloo at the designated point of receipt.

Unknown to them, operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, who got wind of their escapades, intercepted them, resulting in a gun duel which forced the kidnappers to abandon their loot and escaped.

One of them identified as Emeka was, however, arrested and he took the operatives to their hideout from where their victims were discovered to have been taken to Area N Command, Ijede. Police sources told Crime Guard that Emeka’s confessional statement led to the arrest of another suspected member of the gang known as Ikechukwu Ibe.

In his confessional statement, Emeka exonerated him self from the gang rape,saying: “ I could not do it because she kept shouting the name Jesus! Besides, when I discovered she was married, I refused to take part. I even told my colleagues to let her be, since her husband had already paid N2 Million. It was Sam, Innocent, Ikechukwu,Ugo and the rest that raped her . She was kept permanently naked to allow them easy access.

Sam is our leader while Ikechukwu is his deputy. Ugo is the messenger and ‘pointer’. What he does is to identify our victim after which we would intercept the vehicle. My job is to alight from our operational vehicle, get the victim inside before zooming off. At times, we kidnap our victims through information from their drivers,” he said.
One AK 47 and one pump action rifle were reportedly recovered by the policemen at the kidnapper's den.
I'll say she has a golden heart, I wonder if I can do such. One thing i'm sure of is that God'll give her total healing & peace.

The story of Bishop Oyedepo & His wife + 20 things you didn't know about their marriage.

1. She met him at a Motor Park.

2. She was a university student – GREAT IFE while he was only a Polytechnic student in Kwara poly (Remember the discrimination) – she could have snubbed him – but she responded.

3. His friends complained that he was carrying Christianity too zealously as if he was the only Christian – she became zealous too.

4. He took her to church in 1976 and made her sign an agreement (SAILING UNDER SEALED ORDERS) to marry and follow him whether he becomes blind, lame or handicapped… she signed.

5. Just before he married her, he told her God had sent him to LIBERATE THE WORLD (while he was still hopping between jobs) and went on to resign his job; his elder brother lambasted him, she stuck to him.

6. He told her God had shown him the key to prosperity – she believed.

7. He told her they would build a 50,000 capacity tent and preach the gospel from private jets-she believed her dreamer lover.

8. He was too ‘buoyant’ to afford a hotel room on his wedding eve, he slept in his rickety Volkswagen Beetle – she married him.

9. During a moment of insane faith, he ordered a mad man to be put in his car alone with her while she was pregnant; she remained.

10. She saw she was dripping blood while pregnant and explained to him that she had a miscarriage, he shouted “It CANNOT Happen, Can I have my food please” – she served him food.

11. She just had their first baby and there was no food or money at home. He refused to borrow or ask or take church money and they were drinking/eating “CERELAC Baby food’ for 3 days – she ate with him.

12. She came to church one day and saw him so excited with few members while waiting for service to start; he explained to her that service was actually over – she laughed.

13. People kept praying for her and her husband as they seemed to be crazy and needed deliverance-she kept faith.
14. He announced a new Bible school and she knew there was no facility; she asked him and he replied “Is it your school”? She kept quiet. IT DOESN’T END THERE!

15. She didn't know they were going to be flying in customized jets round the world.

16. She didn't know he will pastor and she, co-pastor the largest church auditorium in the world.

17. She didn't know he will be a father to millions all over the world.

18. She didn't know he will be hosted by Presidents and Heads of States of nations.

19. She didn't know he will be a Chancellor and Pioneer of one of the best Private-owned Universities in the world…..and six others.

20. She woke up one day on her sick bed in the USA and unexpectedly saw her hubby who had flown in quietly from Nigeria and had refused to wake her up. he was kneeling on the floor by her legs and crying ‘Lord, heal her and prove that you sent me”- She got healed miraculously… …TWICE!. She didn’t know. #All she saw was a Man with A BIG GOD inside him. Her name is “FAITH”!

It is sad to see that many ladies of these days can’t stand by a man with purpose and vision like this today. Most ladies want a man that has ‘arrived’ but forget that most men that walk with God need to grow in Himeven as they (The ladies) grow with him (The husband).
Some of our mothers married our fathers when they had nothing to their names and together they grew to where they got to. Sadly, some of those parents will not accept a spouse that doesn’t have much to his or her name when their child wants to be joined with one.
Who upturned our values? Who said you need to ‘arrive’ before taking a helping hand and obtaining blessings from God?Hey, marriage is not an achievement like one of ur degrees or acquisition like a car or landed property.
Some marriages bring the completeness a man or woman needs. Let’s get our priorities right.
Thanks mama Oyedepo for not forming #Tushgirl now we all see the #TushQueen you have become to that king – Bishop David Oyedepo.
Written by Leke Beecroft

Incredible! That's what praise can do.

A 10-year-old boy managed to escape the clutches of a kidnapper by singing a gospel song until the suspect couldn't stand it anymore and let him free.
Police say Willie Myrick was abducted by a man from his Atlanta, Georgia driveway, on March 3 .The suspect allegedly lured him with cash and then, when he was close enough, grabbed him and pulled him into his car.Saved:

 Willie Myrick, pictured, managed to escape the clutches of a kidnapper by singing a gospel song until the suspect couldn't stand it anymore and let him free They then drove around for three hours before the man dropped Willie off unharmed in East Point.But Willie's actions during that terrifying time probably saved his life.
Willie said he sang the gospel song 'Every Praise' repeatedly until the man told him to get out of the car.Willie said while he was singing, the man kept cursing and telling him to shut up before eventually kicking him out.Sketch: Police have not yet tracked down the man who abducted Willie, but they have released a sketch, pictured, of the suspect and are appealing to the community for leads'He opened the door and threw me out,' Willie told WXIA-TV. 'He told me not to tell anyone.'

On Thursday, community leaders came together to warn other parents and children about the kidnapping and celebrate the little boy's bravery and quick thinking.The man who wrote the song - Grammy Award-winning gospel singer Hezekiah Walker - even traveled from New York to congratulate Willie in person.'It's just emotional to me because you never know who you're going to touch,' Walker told 11Alive.He said after hearing the moving story and how his song had potentially saved a life,  he wanted to meet Willie.'I just wanted to hug him and tell him I love him,' Walker said.Tears streamed down Willie's face as Walker hugged him.
Walker then led the church, and Willie, in singing 'Every Praise.''I really believe that God spoke through me to save that young man's life,' Walker said.Police have not yet tracked down the man who abducted Willie, but they have released a sketch of the suspect and are appealing to the community for leads.

- See more at: http://couplesandco.blogspot.com/2014/04/incrediblekidnapped-boy-10-sings-gospel.html#sthash.oyacyBPb.dpuf

The Free Cheese is in the Mouse Trap.

As a kid back then, I was addicted to watching cartoons especially Tom & Jerry. Even as a grown up, I would sometimes watch them in the office and my colleagues would often tease me calling me a baby. But seriously, I watch them not just because they are hillarious and entertaining, but also educative. It is from cartoons that I got to learn about catching a rat with a bait in a mouse trap. It was really amusing because the mouse always succeded in taking out the cheese without getting hurt. The trap would then end up catching or hurting the fingers of the cat who would set the trap and almost always forgets about it.
The devil uses the same means to trick us into sin.
I used to think that all these mouse and cheese stuff was all stories made up for kids until I did some little research. I realised that rats really do adore cheese and would do almost anything to have it, even the ones in a mouse trap. But you see, cheese isn't really good for the intestines of the mouse due to its high fat content. . Rats are lactose intolerant. (The rat wouldn't know that anyway...hahaha)
I was pondering on this rat and cheese connection and I came to some realisations.

A trap is set to catch a prey. Have you ever gone fishing? The fish doesn't just cling to your hook and say ''Hey, i'm here! and i'll just love to be your dinner''. No, you have to put a bait on the hook, something that the fish would love to eat.
The rat is never a welcomed inhabitant in our houses, and the cats and we humans would constantly prey on them.
Man also has a constant enemy, the devil. he's everywhere with his agents, always looking for people to destroy. He creates horrible situations, circumstances and storms to pull us down. He tempts and lures us with our hearts desires, beautiful things and the pleasures of life, baits. If we fall into satan's traps, it will take only God to effectuate our deliverance.

''Be sober,  be vigilant, because the devil your adversary as a roaring lion walked about seeking whom he made destroy "  (1 Peter 5: 8 ) 
The devil never comes to you as that beast with horns,a tail and a pitch fork in his hand.

He'll come to you as that handsome man, those pretty ladies, some super hero who'll make you believe that your success, future, or life is in his/her hands. He could present as a stranger, a friend, or an aquintance with a ridiculously lucrative business proposal.
I had some interesting observations about this prey & trap things.
- The bait is always free,
- like the cheese, it is always sweet and attractive, nice aroma
- The preys doesn't usually deserve the bait (never worked for it)
- Traps are laid in secret, are set so they can't be seen (Ps 142: 3) (64: 5)

It's common among men to desire free things, want free quick money, free food, free house, free sex, free enjoyment, free and quick promotions, raise or appointments that you never really deserved.
Actually, there's nothing really wrong with recieving free gifts, that's if there are no sinful or wicked motives behind the giving and recieving. God gives free gifts and every one likes gifts, even me.
But God also wants us to work for the things we want.
The problem with many so called ''free things'' these days is that they come with hidden conditions, they are concealed traps. I read horrible stories of young people lured to their death with free offers.
Whenever I get weired offers or even seemingly normal ones, I don't just jump at it like ''hurray! God has just made a way for me!'' No, I ask questions. I also ask my self some questions too like; what does the word of God say about that particular thing?, do I deserve it? is it normal? could there be any hidden intentions behnd this offer? Are there any repercussions/detriments involved, etc. For me,these questions go before the question ''so, what is in it for me?''
Ok, its not like I have all I need in life, far from it. Neither am I trying to sound like a saint. I just like being careful. I cannot begin to count all the dangerous traps the devil has set for me, litttle traps here and there, but God is faithful.
The devil never rests until he sees people fallen and caged. The higher and stronger one gets in life, the more careful one should be.
Satan doesn't give gifts. If at all you get things from him, you pay with your tears, your life and your soul.

Every good and perfect gift is from God.

by Chioma

Woman, Where Are They?

She was somewhere in a secret corner hidden from the sight of her husband and loved ones, enjoying the forbidden embraces, consumed by passion and lost in the pleasure of the moment right in the arms of another man. It might have been her first time or maybe not, but that faithful morning was an unfortunate one for her.
suddenly, the door bursted and a group of furious young men rushed in and dragged her out, maybe half dressed or even naked, nothing was said of her partner in sin. Terrified, and with tears in her eyes, she must have pleaded for mercy but her plea fell on deaf ears as they dragged her out and lead her into the streets leading to the temple court.
As they dragged her through the streets, heads poked out of the windows in curiousity and eyes stirred at her in dissappointment, friends, relatives and family. She was a wife, a mother, how could she have stooped so low.

I wonder what must have been going on in her mind as she shamefully went along with her accusers. Was she thinking of her lost reputation and the shameful death that would soon be her lot, or about her family, her husband whose name she had dragged into the mud and her children whom she had failed and would soon be left motherless. what could she do? her fate wasn't in her hands now. If she ever goes through this, her life would never be the same. She would forever be tagged a whore.

 It was very early in the morning and a crowd had just gathered in the temple courts to listen to the teachings of the great teacher Jesus. The scribes and the pharisees (religious leaders) brought in the adultrous woman. They made her stand in the middle of the temple amidst all the curious eyes, eyes filled with contempt and condemnation. Fright, shame and disgrace was all hers.

The religious leaders said to Jesus ''teacher, this woman was caught in adultry. In the law, moses commanded us to stone such a woman to death, now what do you say?''
Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his fingers. At this point, the woman must have realised that she was just a bait, her lips sealed as she awaited her judgement.

Her accusers persisted and continued to question Jesus in anticipation of a response  Jesus sat up, and said ''If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her''
He continues writing on the floor, there was silence.
The accusers began to depart one after the other from the eldest to the youngest, until only Jesus was left with the woman.
Jesus sits up and asks her ''woman, where are they, has no one condemned you?''
At that momment, she looks up and  finds out that her accusers are gone, unbelievable!
''No one sir, she responds''
''Then neither do I condemn you, go now and sin no more'' Jesus said
Amazing grace!

Stoning to death, was a brutal form of execution in those days . The first stones had to be thrown by the witnesses to the adultry, after that each member of the community in which the two adulterers lived had to come foward and throw a stone. The thinking behind that is that since every person in the community threw stones, no one person could be held responbsible for the death of the pair. This was so, in a society that practised vandetta, and where payback would happen if a killing occuered.
The adultrous woman was brought as a bait to trap Jesus. The religious leaders wanted to know if Jesus would spare her life by condemming the law of moses, or if he would contradict His message of mercy and grace by condemning her to death by stoning.

Jesus reflected the merciful nature of God. He doesn't support sin in any way, he forgives on the condition that we sin no more. We  must not take his grace and mercy for granted.

We have all failed God in one way or the other in the past. There could be things you did in the past that you haven't gotten over or forgiven yourself for, or even forgiven others for. Sometimes you may look at your situation  and feel like there's no hope for you, or you feel so so horrible and dirty.

Jesus is asking you the same question now, ''where are they that accuse you or point fingers ?''

He wants you to open your eyes and see that there's no one there. It's just the devil himself, the accuser of the brethren who enjoys enslaving people, holding them down with the past, and far away from the saving hands of Jesus. devil always reminds us of our past failures.

Grab the amazing grace of God, while you still can, no one knows tomorrow. The grace of God abounds today.

by Chioma Morah

Those Loop Holes.

Talking about rats again, a couple of months just after I moved into my new apartment, I was thrown into a state of misery, mild depression and sleeplessness by rats. They were very bold, heartless and merciless, they roamed around my appartment even in broad daylight. They scattered my things, not only did they bite into every stored food item causing enormous wastage, but they also pooed into everything they saw, even my pot of food!
At nights, it was dreadful because they would scream and screech endlessly. Most disturbing was the sound of them pecking and biting into my window frames and wooden fixtures or trying to drill more holes for their easy movement. It was pretty embarrasing each time I had visitors and one or two rats would come around to say 'hi'
Day and night I pondered on what to do with them rats and how to eradicate them.I bought all sorts of rat traps and yes, it did catch me a couple of rats, but they kept on coming around.

One morning, my next door neighbour came visiting and I complained about the rodents. I was suprised he had never seen any in his flat because our apartments shared the same wall and he lived on the other side of the wall. My neighbour was of the opinion that the rats could be coming from inside my walls not from outside, they could be breeding inside dark isolated holes, and so he suggested that I search for holes and cracks in my walls and seal them up.
I decided to spy on the rats especially at nights. I was shocked to discover so many deep holes on my walls, close to the ceiling, and most of them were inter connected. I watched the rats at night move in and out of the holes  and was also able to detect the main entrance to the breeding ground.
 The next day, I got me some cements, mixed it with sand and began to seal every single hole. Guess what, the night came and my problem was solved. As I lay down on my bed anticipating a sweet peaceful sleep and the dawn of a new rat free day, I could hear them rats biting hard and screeching from inside the walls, they were trapped!  I settled down peacefully to enjoy my appartment.

Every experience I have in Life teaches me something. Thinking about this experience, I learnt something very vital. Like the rats, there are so many unwanted people, things, and reccurent incidents in our lives. There are problems we repeteadly encounter and each time we fight them, we forget to tackle the sources of the problems first.
All that rat poison and rat traps didn't do much for me, until I discovered and destroyed the breeding ground within. I sealed up all those loop holes through which they penetrated my appartment.

Some storms and calamities are not natural. Many atimes, we unconciously leave lots of loop holes for satan to come in and bug our lives and then we keep on wondering what is happening, despite all our prayers, fasting and commitments to God.
According to Rev O.A. Areogun of Life Oasis International Church, Nigeria. ''The devil can't do anything against you until he sees  a loop hole in your life from where he can touch you. Meaning Satan really has no place in your life except the one you give to him''
Loop holes are majorly sin; lies, degeption, all forms of rebellion and disobedience to God, Ignorance and incomplete knowledge of God's word

Screaming, yelling and stumping are not what's required to defeat satan. They will accomplish nothing if you are not living a consecrated life. Negligence in dealing with one's sinful life, secret sins, and weaknesses will continually give your enemies and satan himself the very loop holes he needs to ochestrate your defeat.
Spiritual warfare is serious business 

By Chioma

By Their Fruits you shall know; part 2

A pastor was fighting for his life in early June last year after he was beaten into a coma when condoms fell out of his bible during a preaching session in a bus in lagos, Nigeria. While preaching to the passengers, he was uttering statements such as ''If you wear trousers, you'll go to hell! Make-ups and weavons are from the marine kingdom! If you have pre-marital sex, you will burn in hell!''  While he was preaching and laying hands on passengers (Usual practice of Nigerian bus preachers), two Durex Condoms fell out of his bible.
The angry men in the bus who had been feeling guilty due to the preachings against fornication, suddenly got mad and pounced on him. While they were battering him he started shouting, ''I also preach safe sex, safe sex is good!''  He was beaten into unconciousness before the police arrived.

(Curled from our daily manna, by Dr Chris kwakpovwe.)

After reading this story, I had a good laugh. On the other hand, I gave a serious thought to the story and the different possibilities. That a condom was found in his bible didn't necessarily mean he was commiting adultry or fornication. what if it was meant for his wife? what if he wasn't aware that it was inside his bible, or what if it was a set up. I also pondered on his response when he was being beaten  ''I also preach safe sex! ridiculous! Did he really mean that? or did he just say that out of fear of being beaten to death.
Well, whatever the case is, I grabbed two important lessons here;
First,
 Nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest,  neither is anything hidden that will not be made known (Luke  8: 17) 
Secondly,

God knows them that  are  His, those thst name the name of the lord or profess Jesus must stay away from evil or whatever resembles evil "  (11 Tim 2: 19)

Believers are targets of the devil who always wants to oppose God and make God look like a like a liar.

There's a nursery rhyme that says ''He that is down needs fear no fall.....I cant remember the complete lyrics but I remember that song each time I face huge temptation that can make me fall or can lead to my disgrace/shame if not properly handled.
As a believer, It helps to bear in mind that there are lots of things unbelievers can do and get away with it, nasty stuff that they do and no one would raise an eye brow or talk about it, but you cannot dare the same as a child of God. Infact, the very first time you attempt same thing, the devil will not only plot your downfall but will so disgrace you that you'lld not be able to forgive yourself for what you did.

I remember having this discussion with a friend who was upset with her boss. She said to me ''Chi, why is it that everyone in the office does this and gets away with it? why must my own case be different? why does my boss have to confront me and place me on surveillance, even after I've explained  my situation to her?.''
I said to her, ''dont complain my dear, it's because you are different'' I could easily connect with her because I've had similar experiences. I therefore try to follow the right routes and protocols to almost everything I do, why? because the devil knows that I'm different.
When the bible said we should count it all joy when we pass through trials and tribulations, I'm sure it wasn't refering to the mess we find our selves in due to our sin. There's absolutely no joy in paying for one's own sin or mistakes.

 For instance, It definitely would have made a big difference if the preacher was beaten because he said some truths that offended people in the bus, or for preaching Jesus (as happens in some islamic countries) instead of for Condoms!

We know that as humans, we have flaws and weaknesses that struggle to have control over our lives all day long. We are the devil's target every second we breathe, and he fights to ensure we dont bear the fruit of God in us.
Every morning when we wake up, we need to ask God for the grace to overcome the temptations the day will blow our way.

by Chioma