Fear Of The Unborn Generations

Let me tell you a story. It is a story of a long live people that came to live together. They all form into a society with different perception about life. One thing they hold in common, they all understand the line between good and evil. They live by concepts and strategies of good overpowering evil. They had desires to hide what is bad and live with the good ones. They constantly shut doors against evil. Though good was not perfect but there were lots of souls striving for it. After some years another generation emerged. Revolution began to shake the society. The way things work in the land began to change. Taboos and the forbidden becomes normal. The hidden and covered sins began to spring up. It causes ciaos among the peaceful people. This story is the story of you and me. The generations before us found something sacred until our world was shaken by an evolution. Evolution of sex occupies all and sundry’s mind. Evolution of life style gives work stress a hype thing. Ask your neighbour who is jobless about stress and in a moment he or she will feel bad or down. Job stress is hype as normal. Business stress is now the dreams of every youth. Try to take it from the old man that lives in a corner. He will tell you how surprise he is to live our world. You will surely hear “my past world things was not worse the way it is now.” If our world is now a breeding ground for evil, how will our next generation cope? Success… success is now like a quickie power we can get without God. Our generation want fast cars, fast mansion, fast money, and fast comfort without lifting a pin. What will the fast and immediate success become of the next generation? I can drive you round to the words of scholars and the notables, it will do me and you no good if we don’t hear from the master.

And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Matthew 24:10-12 KJV

He came into the world to warn us that things will always get worse not good. He admonish us that our world will groom evil till It becomes an ancestor. If our world is already shedding tears of the evil we see around, what will happen to the generation coming after?

Almost every movie you see today advices our children to be free to speak back to their parent. To be free to say anything and not feel bad about it. You know what they will eventually say, “Dad or Mom you are too old to understand how life works now, and please let me live my life.” But the bible told us to train our child in the way they will go. I am shock that the children are refusing to be trained by their parent. Entertainment occupies every soul of our youths. It has become their driving source to basic living. Basic living includes male and female living together once they find affection not wedding. Maybe I should add male and male. Basic living means hanging out with friends by gulping enough alcoholic. Basic living says, being sexy means exposing some part of the body. Basic living says, instead of seeking the Holy Spirit for counsel seek a psychologist. Celebrities have become idols, and they show us the way to live. If most of them live for God it would have been easier but they portray what God warn us to run away from. It seems Jesus’ warning did not stick into our heart. Let me rephrase it for you, the evil has arrived than expected.

The troubling matter is not what is happening but what will happen in the future. Whether the next generation will meet any good at all. Will they arrive into an environment of good serenity? An environment where it will be easy to say no to evil. An environment where light will be our driving force not darkness. An environment where love supersede hatred. An environment where fear of shootings, wars, addictions and destructions are overcame by faith and liberation. I believe the help God uses is YOU AND I. You and I can help the unborn to meet a loving environment. It is not just the job of the priest or prophet. It start from our homes. It start from us. It start with us walking with the master everywhere we go. It is putting purpose ahead of position. It laying down our ego and accepting God’s humility. It is not going to be easy I must advice but it is necessary. Please let us gang together and save our unborn generations by taking part in God’s divine assignment.

 

Adedeji Adewunmi

New Year New Resolution

The year has just kick started like a football match. The calendar is still new and fresh. New things has been collected together with the old things. The start of new goals is right in front of you. You have buckled your seat belt like a pilot taking on a plane. Your hopes and desires has reached the sky, all you wait for is fulfilment. I searched my screen to see the news about 2018 and many prophetic words from different clergies splashed on my face. The prophetic words are not the problem but the one to believe. As you planned for another year, did you know that billions of people all around the world did the same last year? We did the same thing as far as I could remember my existence on this planet. Though, I love the flick of hopes that rises in the beginning of the year. It gear me into another opportunity to be better and make my past mistakes right. I cannot say the same for you. Can I?

Nothing keeps people from enjoying their new year than the guilt of the past. Nothing cripples hope than holding onto the bad memory of the past. We all hold onto the past while preparing for the future. We lock it into our mind and allow it to dazzle us around. If you compare your new beginning to the world standard, you will miss the essence of new beginnings. If you think it is the end of a holiday you will crave for more holidays and it will drive your attitude. If you believe it is time to run again, what happen to the race you did last year? We all keep missing the point from year to year. All New Year should start with the one that understands both beginnings and the endings. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, was the word of our messiah according to John in the book of revelation. You are so aware of your past that you miss the helper. You understand the event that took place without asking the best event planner in the universe. We keeping building our future around scholars, experts, and forecasters but God. We come to God with our plans like an errand boy to finish out to do list. God should not be part of our beginning because He is God. He is the beginning because He is also the end.

No other person can explain this to us than Abraham. On a cool day, Abram whom we know Abraham has not gotten a new name when this event happen. He just finished offering some animals to God as he was instructed. It was a norm then to place dead animals before God has a means of offering. God was elated about his style of worship and He visited Abram in a dream. He told him what will happen in the next 400 years. “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. ¹⁴ But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. ¹⁵ (As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) ¹⁶ After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.” Genesis 15:13 – 16 NLT). At the time Abram heard this, He was a husband not a father. He was still begging God for one child. But God was telling him about millions of children to be held captive in Egypt. The word of God don’t make meaning so we look for experts and scholars to give us word with meaning. God’s word is beyond our comprehension so we try to compress it in a man’s language. It is fine not to make meaning because it is His plan, His way and His execution. God does not need you to create a plan for Him. He want to you to follow His plan for this year. God’s word for Abraham came to pass (Exodus 1). This is why His word is sure and guarantee. Instead of struggling with your plan like previous years, why not meet Him for His plan this year. Meet with God and have a plan from Him. No matter the plan, goal, aspirations and desires, without God it is just another calendar.

 

 

Adedeji Adewunmi

Moments We Failed to Capture

 

As odd has it seems Donald Trump mount the seat of U.S president, Martin Luther King junior was assassinated a hero and John Maxwell is still thrilling his audience. Cristiano Ronaldo still having millions watching him. The famous and great personality is always admire by us that aspire to be in their shoes. I remember when Nelson Mandela left this earth, the whole world celebrated him and the life he lived. One of my friend saw the honour that was showered on this black man by the whole world, he blorted out “I want to die like Nelson Mandela.” Some celebrities have made some of us cry and others enjoys their presence. Within the mind of most teenage guys, growing to become like their idols is their meaning of life. If I were to tell you that Nelson Mandela never enjoy comforts until he was 50 years. Donald Trump at one time fail as a business man. Martin Luther King was fearful amidst the boldness speech. John Maxwell forgot his passport at home while travelling for a speaking engagement. Cristiano Ronaldo was once nobody in the game of football. Every idols we all see today has moments we know nothing about. These moments are not the beautiful ones. It comes with terror and pain.

It pinches the souls of our idols and most time taking picture of those moment does not comes to mind. It is easy to post your vacation trip on Facebook. Telling your twitter friends about your wedding is never a big deal. Instagram will hold pictures of your celebrations. People sits in front of their TV with food in their hands wishing they become their world’s greatest idols. Everyone enjoys what they have seen, so far it is beautiful. We care less about what made it beautiful. We don’t understand the pain and agony behind the smiles and the waving of hands. We forgot that humans on earth don’t have it all. No matter how good the skin is with the attire it cannot shade away our imperfect world. Don’t just see the beautiful things and flatter. Try and know what makes it beautiful. What distinguish the successful from the failure is the question they ask on the way. The view might be beautiful but how did it come to the beauty. Most people visit parks and places to enjoy weekend and holidays. Some of us become astonished with the beauty and care less about the ugly behind it. The heroes we cherish now once deferred comfort and face realities. Most of the struggles they engage in was not planned or presumed. Some was not even prepared for, but they took the lonely and hard road. They were once in the dark and know nothing of what tomorrow will be. There was no crowd to cheer them or someone to snap with their statues. The unspoken moments is the one we failed to recognised.

Capturing this moment is not what make us sane. Success rate will not reproduce if we decide to walk in the uncaptured moments. We will need it as reminder for our dark moments. Everyone has it. We need it to push ourselves when all hell loose on us. It is what makes us strong to know that someone somewhere was once a victim. I enjoy reading about heroes because I see my pain in their pain. I found my mistakes in theirs. I have failed in many things, I should have quit but the story of Thomas Edison kept me going. He has failed more than nine hundred times on one thing. These stories do well to our mind like what our delicacy do to our stomach. I cannot erase the heroes I have read in the Bible. When I think of my sins, I see grace when I go into the pages of Paul the Apostle. When I am down with no money in my pocket, I see David in the wilderness becoming a king. When sickness struck me like lighting, I hear the echoes of Jesus healing the sick. Reading the bible as well as other books is not just a story to me but my heroes that helps in my dark moments.

Adedeji Adewunmi

The Code Name Called: Grace

 

Grace is a word that its uniqueness cannot be depreciated. Over the years, couple of English words has been changed or reuse for another word. I remember when I was growing up reply for “thank you” used to be “don’t mention”, “it is OK” and “it is fine”. English scholars said those terms is obsolete we should say “you are welcome”. The King James Bible I read years ago, to my greatest surprise has a newly published version called New King James version. The word Grace has been consistent throughout the production of new versions. The word Grace has much to offer than what the letters have. My name is Grace… the next thing we will be looking out for in the person is love, acceptance, meekness, endurance and mercy. There is a desire that she will be the Grace she bears. Africans believes that our name is the light into our behavior, “no wonder! you behaves like that because it is your name”. Almighty Bruce is a movie that portrays the code name. Bruce wanted to be God, and he finds out the job cannot be achieved by a man. He turned the whole earth upside down. After Bruce has messed up and has done the impossible, he lost his most precious jewel, her name is Grace. Bruce was lying in the hospital bed due to a terrible accident. The least person he was expecting shows up when he least expected. Grace was standing at the door smiling at Bruce. Grace came to see Bruce not when healthy but sick and lost in hospital bed. Grace is in the world to do the same if we let her. We cannot exert what the name Grace implies, it is more than just the name but the true effect of gift and offer we cannot pay.

When the name popped up in the New Testament I could not but comprehend that it is the highest gift that we cannot pay for. The bible talks about a man name Paul who before was Saul. Persecutor of the church and killer of saints was Paul’s daily job, which he did with passion. The persecutor, after some chapters wrote two third of New Testament. I ask like any other being on earth, why will God use Paul to preach his doctrine to me? Why will it be Paul that will travel all over Europe to preach the gospel? This is a question I found hard to answer but Grace gave a glimpse of what the answer might look like. Let us look at it in the context of what is happening in African, Nigeria precisely. Terrorist group called Boko Haram kills innocent people and persecute the church. Imagine their leader should come out to tell the Church “God has called him to preach the gospel”. Where will that place my lost friends in their attack? What of the parent that lost their sons and daughters in Maiduguri? What of the churches that was set ablaze leaving hundreds of people dead? Yet grace will beckon on that same person has the one to rescue the ungodly.

We should look at Grace from the point of the kingdom Jesus talked about in his early preaching. Jesus emphasis was not what we will achieve on this earth but the reward in heaven. “Lay up your treasure in heaven where moth and thieves will not invade…” Jesus said this in one of his teachings. Grace find a way of coming to us when we least deserve it. Grace is the only thing that helps us store those riches in heaven where we cannot reach. If we received Grace and not share it, our treasures lay bare on earth. You cannot find grace in the beautiful place of the world; neither will you find it in a good man, because it is the worst of man that can express true meaning of Grace.  God will choose the foolish things of this world to bring his grace into existence. We must be foolish enough to share Grace to the undeserving. Jesus told us to be perfect as God, last verse in Matthew 15, reading previous verse of the same chapter he told us to love not only those who love us but also our enemy. God’s grace is not only to be received by us but to share it with the worst kind of people you might think of. When I read the account of Paul, I realize why Paul shared the gospel; he is the only one that can speak better of Grace because he is a product of Grace. It is only those who have step into grace that can tell about it. I ponder these questions in my heart when I was writing this article; does it mean that our perfect saints in the world will not share Grace? Does it mean the leaders of terrorist groups in the world will be the one to share Grace? Does it mean the saints are devoured to share the gospel? This question gave me a deeper insight of Grace; it is not the terrorist that is the worst people but the saints that live their life holy in the open but sinners in their closet, the saints who find it hard to accept God’s forgiveness and mercy. God did not save Paul for Grace but God saved him for the saints whose hope has lost, to believe they can be saved by the same Grace.

Misconception of Time and Its Pitfall

 

Time is a different commodity to different people. What time means to each of us differs. Time seems to be the act of space or the variables that coordinate our daily activities. One of the problems about time in this world is that, time does not expire neither can it be retain. It flies away and time seems to resurface again to us in another cool day. Time changes into season and moments, and it affects everything around us. We grow old every day and we are a day closer to our grave. We become closer to be in eternity. Our body grows into shapes and sizes but to later fall in decompose. Most of us miss our love ones that died but we don’t want to spend another moment with their dead bodies because it stinks.

Time appear to be on and on but not for everyone. A man in his late 80s has different meaning to time compare to a boy at his early teens. The time for a lady to start praying for the rightful man is different to a girl that just finished her third grades. Time is not what we can compare with one another. Time is not about the months or days we were born. Our time is not the same with our colleagues at work. Time means different things for two graduates that finished school together. Time is not the same with all of us.

Marriage is a very wonderful thing; it brings the time of two people and makes it one. It bonds two people’s timing together and drag it into commitment. This is the reason why we have issues springing up in our marriage. Two different people with two different timing decided to merge their life together. It will always bring issues because two timing cannot exist in the same location. We need to understand our time is different  from other people.

Your 9.am on Monday morning is different from your neighbor’s timing. You cannot drive on the road and expect your 10.am on Friday to be the same with everyone on the road. The reason why our timing is different is because we have different agenda. We all have different goals and purpose we want to achieve. A business person’s goal will be different from a career person. Timing of a priest will be different from the ordinary man walking on the street. We all have different agenda to pursue in this world. Our timing will never be the same including the person we share the same roof with every day.

The time that we spent with what we don’t want ruin us more than the time wasted on the things we want. We spend our life studying someone else’s life when our time is ticking. A lot of people get depress for the wrong reason. We spend our life thinking of what to become and what the other person has become. One day we will close our eyes and never be here again. but what we have done with our time will speak for us.

Adedeji Adewunmi

Lagos, Nigeria