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Showing posts from July, 2011

Are You Washed, Santified and Justified? - Study 7/28/11

Are You Washed, Sanctified and Justified? We need to be reminded of who we are and whose we are even in the midst of life problems and issues. It is necessary otherwise we often act strangely when we forget. Some of us have had parents that said things like “Remember you are a Jones (or whatever family name) you may bear. Apostle Paul, like a good father in the faith, reminded the Corinthians of who they are and whose they are in Christ in 1 Corinthians 6. “You were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God …..15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?... Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price”. Did we hear that? We are not our own. We were bought at a price. We are going to study and understand some of these big words used by Paul namely “washed, sanctified, and justified”...

Dragging a Brother to Court - Study 7/21/11

Dragging a brother to Court Some of you may be following the family feud and drama at the Crystal Cathedral, a once mega Church in California started by Dr. Robert H. Schuller. The church organization is in a financial mess as income and membership has significantly dropped. “The longstanding family dispute has only become more acute in view of financial problems of the church, which last year sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. And this year in May, the church decided to sell the building and 40-acre campus for $46 million to an Orange County developer” The Church has declared bankruptcy and the family feud has intensified as Robert H. Schuller is reported to have been ousted from his post by the board. The Schuller sisters, brothers, father, mother and extended family are at each other joggling for positions, power and control. Please pray for this family for this should not be the case in the body of Christ. Pray that the love of Christ will rule their hearts and that the...

The Immoral Liberal Church - Study 7/14/11

The Immoral Liberal Church Here is this BBC Headline news of June 20, 2011. “The Church of England is expected to confirm that openly gay clergy can be made bishops, if they are celibate.” There are plenty of other churches around the world that are home for the so called “homosexual Christians” (an oxymoron). The website, gaychurchdotcom boast about the following entry: “Gay Church is a web site dedicated to ministering to the gay and lesbian Christian community (GLBT) and friends of our community. We feature one of the largest gay and lesbian affirming Christian church directories and bulletin boards in the world. Find a church home near you! Contains the largest gay affirming Christian Church directory in the world with over 6,680 entries! Find a welcoming church near you!” Please note that this is not a promotion or endorsement on my part. However, we are too quick to highlight the GLBTs but what about the straight adulterers and fornicators in our churches? What about the pers...

Who and What Makes You Different? - Study 7/7/11

Who and What Makes you Different? There was a time in America when people of my color could not drink from the same water fountain, use the public restroom or play in the public park or league. They were considered inferior to the other races. There was also a man by name Hitler, who believed his German Race was more superior to all others and went on to put his belief in practice by wiping out 6 million Jews. Discrimination is not limited to the West but widely practiced and observed all over the world. Who can forget about the Tutsis and Hutus where each turned on each other because one felt more superior to the other? In Nigeria, a country of my birth, the Ibos, Yorubas or Hausas each think they are more superior to the other tribe and thus discriminate accordingly. In Asia, the Japanese and the Chinese think the other is less superior. In India, they have the cast system where some are considered under class and are treated with less dignity. The list goes on in the World. Unfor...

Planting and Watering - Study 6/30/11

Planting and Watering? I was delighted last night by the confession of my son, Jonathan who is now five and half years old. Jonathan said, “Daddy, I am afraid. I need God”. The context is that it was bed time and I had turned off the light. After his confessional, he gets up and proceeds to get the children’s bible from the bookshelf in his room and then asks me to read for him. Now, this was a very special moment because I was surprised and touched by the depth of his understanding of the concept of God. I was also surprised because as a parent you never know what your children are learning and taking in. I was delighted because it means that somehow, my wife and I must have planted and watered some seeds that God has caused to grow in Jonathan. To God be the glory. We are all planting and watering in the course of life. The question is what seed are we planting and watering. In our study for today, we learn about planting and watering from the lives of Apostle Paul and Apollos. Pau...

Our Immaturity - Study 6/23/11

Our Immaturity I submit to you that we all have some childishness in us regardless of age. However, when we continuously engage in child like behavior, we are considered immature. There are some good child-like behaviors and there are some bad ones. I just love to see my kids be and act like children. They make me laugh by the things they say and do. Sometimes they can make me angry and I am wondering and saying what are you thinking? How can you do so and so? It is good to be a child when you are really a child chronologically. When you are still a child after the chronological age of childhood, it is definitely considered immaturity and thus a problem. The Corinthian Church was called immature Christians by Apostle Paul. Listen to Paul. “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ” 1Corinthians 3:1). In our study of today, Apostle Paul continues to deal with the problem in the Corinthian church. Keep in mind that the Apos...