Reflections

SATAN MUST BOW

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 10:17-19

A lady brought her daughter to me a few days ago for deliverance. I checked her and discovered that she was not possessed but the mother insisted the young girl saw a Cat and thus she must be possessed. This is one challenge I have dealing with those who think everything happening to them must be a demonic attack; they see demons in everything. If they cannot sleep, demons are responsible; hardship is always associated with evil spirits; the same with sickness, marriage problems, miscarriages, lack of job, etc. There is another extreem which is that all illnesses can be explained and cured medically and psychologically.

I do not buy the idea that every challenge is caused by demons, though there are some challenges that may be caused by evil powers. Satan and his evil spirits can hinder believers with various degrees of bondage due to personal and generational sins and covenants as described in the following scriptural passages:
* In Matthew 15:22, a woman told Jesus about her daughter whom she said was "suffering terribly from demonization.”
* In Mark 5:1-11, a man was psychologically disturbed because of demonic attacks.
* In Mark 17:15, the story of the demon that caused epileptic attacks on a child.
* The evil spirit can cause dumbness or blindness as described in Matthew 9:32 and Matthew 12:22.
* In Luke 13:10-17, scriptures narrated how Jesus encountered a woman who had been bent over for 18 long years while He was teaching in a synagogue. Calling her forward, He said: "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." He then laid hands on her and she immediately straightened up and praised God!

St. Augustine, in his book ‘The City of God,’ reflected upon the creation story, noting that on the first day God separated the light from the darkness. He saw the possibility that perhaps God was doing more than separating day from night. Perhaps God was separating the angels, those of the light, from the demons, those of the darkness. It should be noted that demons are powerless in the presence of God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 409, reminds us that "we were born into a world at war. But, never fear. The victory has already been won. Christ prevails. We stand in that victory."

In our prayer today, we need to use the authority we were given as believers in Mark 16:17, to cast out any satanic influence on our families, home, business, finances, health, environment,etc. It is important to identify what is causing barreness, rising and falling, death of our children, limitations, afflictions, etc and cast them out. We do not need to struggle with those demonic powers, we just give a command and they will obey us.

May God help us in Jesus Name...

OVERCOMING DISASTERS

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 21:5-11

One question that runs through the mind of believers is why or how can they suffer? Other related questions include, why do they struggle? become stagnant? fail/get sick? die? divorced? suffer disappointment? experience near success, etc.

This line of thought is predicted by the fact that believers should be immune from suffering. The reality of life is that believers and non believers experience the effect of the falling world. Matthew 5:45 says, "He (God) causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Also in Luke 21:5-6 scripture says, "When some were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, Jesus said, ‘All these things you are staring at now – the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.’

There are many reasons why people struggle or suffer; there are natural causes, supernatural issues, personal mistakes, etc. Disasters can be caused by natural, man-made and technological hazards, as well as various factors that influence the exposure and vulnerability of our world today. Theologians teach that people suffer because they are living in a broken world. After the fall in Genesis 3, suffering entered the world. Suffering is therefore a product of the fall, a consequence of human sin against God (Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21).

Disasters can be caused by natural, man-made, and technological hazards, as well as various factors that influence the exposure and vulnerability of a community. Jesus referred to natural disaster in Luke 21:11 when He said, "And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven,”(par. Matthew 24:7; Mark 13:8). The Book of Revelation foretells a level of natural disaster and catastrophe that is almost unimaginable in Revelation 16.

There are also spiritual reasons for suffering and disasters. This is where curses, demonic attacks, Satan's Manifestations, unexplainable events, etc. come in. The book of Job gives an insight into the suffering of Man.

Our prayer today is that God should destroy any unnecessary suffering and grant us the grace to survive difficult times in Jesus Name…

CHANGING TO A NEW SONG

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Revelation 14:1-5

It is sad to say that some believers do not experience new things; it is always the old story. There are some people who have been trying to make money and be rich, but it is the same old story of debt, no contract, business failure, no savings, borrowing without repaying, no job etc. There are some people who are doing the same thing over and over again yet no promotion or increase. A new song will be like that of a man who was a cleaner in an establishment where no one recognised him or regarded him as somebody coming to give a speech and everyone listened with full attention.

God promised in Isaiah 43:19, “Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” God gives people who are going through hard times, experiencing difficulties, oppression, oppositions, and turmoil like David, a new song as revealed in Psalm 40:1-3, “I waited patiently for the Lord and He inclined unto me and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God; many shall see it and fear and shall trust in the Lord.”

In Isaiah 43:18-21, the prophet prophesied to the Israelites that God will bring about a new dawn even in their captivity. Eventually, God brought about their liberation. In 2 kings 4:1-7, God gave a woman whose husband owed debt and died without paying his creditor who came to take her two boys as his slaves. God gave her a new song when she was instructed to borrow vessels and pour the little oil she had in the house into them.

The Psalmist says in Psalm 89:1, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord with my mouth will I make known thy Faithfulness to all generations.” There are situations where our struggles seems useless until God changes our Fortune. In Luke 5:1-5, Peter and his companion failed to catchfish after working the whole night. In the morning, Jesus used their boat. Verses 5-7 says, "When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink."

As we put in a little effort today, may it win a great harvest like the widow in Luke 21:1-4 who won God's favour by putting in two small coins. May God grant us favour in Jesus Name…

CONTESTING THE TITLE

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

John 19:19-22

One of the most controversial pastor in Nigeria history was T. B Joshua. This controversy ranges from other Pentecostal pastors claiming he used demonic powers to operate when he heals all sorts of incurable diseases, including HIV/Aids and cancer. A major stain in Joshua’s career as a spiritual leader was the September 12, 2014 collapse of a sprawling guesthouse being constructed within his synagogue that killed 116 people, most of them South Africans. Despite allegations there were some who testified to the potency of his healing power. I am not for or against but using this as an illustration.

Scripture says that Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Revelation 19:16. This is what we proclaim today on the Feast of Christ the King. However, the feast does not remove the controversy surrounding Jesus; there were some who believed in the potency of His power and worship Him.

On the other hand, some mocked Jesus and declared Him fake. In Matthew 12:22-24, He was said to use the power of Satan to cast out satan. Then one possessed with a demon was brought to Him, blind and mute, and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. All the people were amazed and said, “Is He not the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This Man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebub the ruler of the demons.”

In 2 Samuel 5:1-3, the elders believed in David and came to anoint him as king. After the anointing, verses 6-7 says, “The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion which is the City of David."

The controversy of the Kingly power of Jesus was questioned in Luke 23:35-37, “The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at Him. They said, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” The soldiers also came up and mocked Him. They offered Him wine vinegar and said, “If You are the king of the Jews, save Yourself.”

There was a written notice above Him, which read: this is the king of the jews." There was a thief who was also crucified with Him who joined the Pharisees but the good thief praised Jesus despite what others said. In verses 40-42 scripture says, "But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in paradise.”

In John 19:19-22, the elders contested the title, “Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews." Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

May God grant us grace to proclaim Jesus as King in Jesus Name...

A WICKED PROBLEM

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Revelation 5:1-5

The world we live in is filled with complex problems that defies all known solutions. These problems can be refered to as difficult, wicked or chaotic problems. Difficult in the sense of a Tricky situation or predicament; wicked in the sense of difficult or impossible to solve; chaotic because you have no idea of its cause or effect.

Wikipedia puts it succinctly, “In planning and policy, a wicked problem is a problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize. It refers to an idea or problem that cannot be fixed, where there is no single solution to the problem; and "wicked" denotes resistance to resolution, rather than evil.

Another definition is "a problem whose social complexity means that it has no determinable stopping point.” Moreover, because of complex interdependencies, the effort to solve one aspect of a wicked problem may reveal or create other problems. Due to their complexity, wicked problems are often characterized by organized irresponsibility....Therefore, many standard examples of wicked problems come from the areas of public planning and policy. These include global climate change, natural hazards, healthcare, the AIDS epidemic, pandemic influenza, international drug trafficking, nuclear weapons, homelessness, and social injustice."

Chaotic problem: The Cynefin Framework describes a chaotic system as a system where cause and effect cannot be determined. For problems this means a problem where you don’t know cause and effect and they cannot be determined because there is no time or no possibility to determine them.

The real challenge here is that this problems is a nagging one and defies all solutions. The problem seems to be out of control. This is what we call "at your wit's end,” as described in Psalms 107:27. This is when one seem helpless in trying to overcome challenges like, addictions,sins, a broken heart, financial stronghold, severe illness, depression or demonic attack. St. John had the same challenge in Revelation 5:2-4, "And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.”

Wicked problems have given rise to different approaches like an online course called Wicked Problem Solving. We are engaging in a nine day prayer to resolve irresolvable problems. Revelation 5:5 says, God is able to resolve all problems. Dunsin Oyekan sang a song about the power of God to solve all problems,
What you cannot fix
What you cannot do
What you cannot solve does not exist...

God is the panacea who can resolve any difficult problem. May God help us to resolve all our problems in Jesus Name...

BITTERSWEET

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Revelation 10: 8-11

As a young farmer, I went to the farm and suddenly experienced the drippings from the honeycomb sweet honey. I showed my brother and there and there we made up our minds to harvest it. We set out that evening to get the honeycomb but we were stung by the bees as we tried to get it. We managed to get the comb with some honey. I call that experience, a Bitter Sweet experience.

The above experience can be compare to food and drink that looks great when we eat them, however, causes pain and discomfort afterwards. There was a man who loved drinking but whenever he was drunk, he found himself misbehaving. The drink was sweet to his taste but bitter in his stomach. There are some food we eat and at first, it taste great but then made us sick. God’s Word is often compared to food:

• Bread in Matthew 4:4
• Milk in 1 Peter 2:2
• Meat in 1 Corinthians 3:1-2 and
• Honey in Psalm 119:103.
An ice cream sundae is sweet in the mouth, but sometimes bitter in the stomach (especially if you’re lactose intolerant). This was John’s experience with the “little scroll.” This is the picture the book of Revelation paints for us in Chapter 10:8-11; God calls John to take the small scroll that has been unrolled from the great angel. And what is he to do with it? Eat it! It first tasted great and then it did not, and it made John sick. The passage goes thus, “Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’ I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.”

The word of God can be sweet to read but bitter when it is applied to us. Jeremiah in chapter 15 and verse 16, says, “Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.” Ezekiel 2:9-10 says, "Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe."

The universe in which we live in is both sweet and bitter; it contain both sufferings and days of joy; it is both bad and good news. The fact is what is sweet suddenly turns bitter. There are somethings we experience today that turns soar at the end. Proverbs 14:12 says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death."

May God give us knowledge to follow the right way in Jesus Name...

INTENSE DISPROPORTION BETWEEN DESIRES AND ATTAINMENTS

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Revelation 5:1-10

People tear up for different reasons: it may be during sad or happy moments. There are people who tear up when they feel empathy, compassion, physical pain, or when their enrnest desires are being frustrated. Ad Vingerhoets wrote, "people cry in response to a wide range of emotional triggers – what are the most common reasons? We are most likely to cry in response to feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. Crying is a social trigger for empathy – a communication system that signals to others ‘I need your help and support’. There may be an element of sadness along with the feelings of helplessness – indeed the loss of or separation from loved ones, such as through death and divorce or in homesickness, are among the strongest triggers of crying."

The crying increases when we have a feeling of impossibility, disappointment, or when your efforts are being thwarted. The thought that no one can help is a trigger of tears. This was the reason the Apostle cried in Revelation 5:1-5, "Then I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside."

Barnes' Note on the Bible has this to say, “The weeping of the apostle may be regarded as an instance of the deep grief which people often experience when all efforts to penetrate the future fail, and they feel that after all they are left completely in the dark. Often is the soul overpowered with grief, and often are the eyes filled with sadness at the reflection that there is an absolute limit to the human powers; that all that man can arrive at by his own efforts is uncertain conjecture, and that there is no way possible by which he can make nature speak out and disclose what is to come. Nowhere does man find himself more fettered and limited in his powers than here; nowhere does he feel that there is such an intense disproportion between his desires and his attainments. In nothing do we feel that we are more absolutely in need of divine help than in our attempts to unveil the future; and were it not for revelation man might weep in despair."

The uncontrollable weeping did not stop until John was told not to weep again in Revelation 5:5, “Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” There are things that may make us cry today, but God will resolve it in our favour in Jesus Name. Psalms 30:5 says, “weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."

May God wipe away every tears from our eyes in Jesus Name…

THE ATTRACTIVE PICTURE OF HEAVEN

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Revelation 4:1-11

A good film maker is very conscious of the fact that in our world today, there are a lot of distractions and that is why they make the opening scene of any screenplay captivating enough to make the audience leave whatever they are doing and watch the film. If the opening scene does not grab the attention of the audience, they may not continue with the rest of the film because they do not have any reason to continue with it. A good opening scene will make it hard for your audience to put down your script and go on doing something else.

The opening scene in a screenplay is often referred to as the “intro” or “establishing scene.” This is usually about the Psychology of people. Lev Kuleshov introduced what is called The Kuleshov Effect to achieve this effect. This film editing technique creates an emotional response in the viewer as they are left to imagine what has happened between these two shots. The effect is created when the audience sees two images sequentially, and then one of them disappears while the other remains on screen. This creates an emotional response in the viewer as they are left to imagine what has happened between these two shots. He was the first to discover that editing could have an emotional effect on viewers by juxtaposing shots of people’s faces with other images, such as food. For example, if you show a shot of someone eating soup followed by a shot of someone looking sad, audiences would feel sorry for them because they associate the sadness with the soup they just ate. What he found out is now called the “Kuleshov Effect.”

The mechanisms underlying the functioning of the mind was also studied by Psychologists; they found out that moving stimuli attracted human interest. This was part of a study of psychological aesthetics founded by Gustav Fechner and Wilhelm Wundt. The publication of The Photoplay: A Psychological Study marked the beginning of the psychology of the film.

John in Revelation 4 gave us a picture of heaven. In verses 2-6, he said, "At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal." Verse 8 added, “Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:“‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”

This was the image Reginald Heber used when he composed the hymn “Holy, holy, holy.” The hymn declares some of the attributes of the Triune God, verse one says:
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!”
He used Isaiah 6:1-3 and Revelation 4:8-11 as the basis for this great hymn of the church.
The challenge is, does the picture of heaven attract you to the extent that you want to go? If heaven is not attractive, then you need another picture that will make it an interesting place people want to leave every other thing to go. May God help us in Jesus Name…

IN THE SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Revelation 2:9-10

In the early 80s, there were very few Freezers in the community I grew up in and that made preservation of cooked food difficult. It was a great joy when my father bought one; we were encouraged to preserve our food in the Freezer. The first experience I had was defrosting the soup I wanted to eat on a particular morning to school. I was in a hurry to leave for school for the fear of being flogged for coming late to school. I quickly put the soup in a pot and when I discovered that the soup was boiling, I served it on a plate and started eating. The soup was hot and I decided to eat the meat, the first bite I took, I quickly threw it out of my mouth because it was dead cold. I was wondering how the food can be both hot and cold at the same time. It was hot on the outside but cold on the inside.

This is what it means when something is pretending to be good but infact bad. This was the remark that was made to the church in Sardis in Revelation 3:1-3, "These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you."

Reference was made of people pretending to be one thing and they are another in Revelation 2:9 and Revelation 3:9. These persons were said to be in the Synagogue of Satan The church in Smyrna and Philadephia were accused of this. The term, Synagogue of Satan was used for those who were claiming to be Jews but were not, or those claiming to be faithful but they are not. Revelation 2:9-10 says, "I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.”

Revelation 3:9 says, "I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you."

One of the hallmarks of Satan is deception, particularly counterfeiting the things of God, “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness,” II Corinthians 11:14-15.

There are some persons who are pretending to be happy but they are not. There are who are smiling but all is not well in their marriages, job, finances, spiritual life, health, family, etc. There are some that are about to resign or quit but are encouraged to keep moving on. I read this story, "Once a great military general was asked to reveal the three greatest things he learned throughout his military carrier. He became silent, looked at the men in the room and replied, "Never quit; never, never give up." He paused then repeated, "Never quit; never, never give up." He waited a moment and stated for the third and final time, "Never quit; never, never give up."

You may be in the Syanagogue of Satan and pretending to be what you desire to become, but have not gotten it; you may have prayed and fasted and no resul yet, there is need to keep moving on with the hope that you shall excape from the Synagogue of Satan someday. Saint Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 says, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."

We shall live above the expectations of men. May God help us in Jesus Name...

SPIRITUAL FILTER

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

2 Corinthians 7:1

There are different stages in the processing of garri; it begins with uprooting the cassava, grinding it, drying, and fryiing it before sieving it. As a young boy, I used the woven mesh to separate the wanted elements from the unwanted materials. The sieving was necessary because the end product comes in different sizes and in order to separate the smaller particles that is required, there is need to sieve. I remember calling that woven mesh a Filter until much later.

A Filter works using the same principle but it does more than sieve; it prevents dangerous or unwanted materials from passing to through the machine or device called Filter. It is used to purify water, air, engine, fuel, information, sound, etc.

Britannica dictionary defines a FILTER as:
1: A device that is used to remove something unwanted from a liquid or gas that passes through it? She smokes cigarettes with filters. A water filter.
2: A device that prevents some kinds of light, sound, electronic noises, etc., from passing through? He placed a red filter on the camera lens. digital filters that stop high-frequency sounds.
3: Computers: software that prevents someone from looking at or receiving particular kinds of material through the Internet; a spam filter [=a program that keeps you from seeing spam or unwanted e-mail].
Collins dictionary defines it thus: VERB
To filter a substance means to pass it through a device which is designed to remove certain particles contained in it. The best prevention for cholera is to boil or filter water, and eat only well-cooked food. [VERB noun] Synonyms: purify, treat, strain, refine More Synonyms of filter.

Filter basically removes redundant or unwanted things or information. There are some people who do not have any filter in place in their lives. Steve Ely remarked, "filters are an important and essential part of life. So, filters when used incorrectly can cause issues. The only think worse than using filters incorrectly is not having a filter at all! We have lost some essential filters in our life that were designed to catch impurities, to help us look and act more like Jesus and to protect us. We need to check our filters!"

In the recent times, I have seen many different means and method for removing toxins from the human body, but there is no spiritual filters, the ones we have are dirty. In Matthew 13:28-30, we see how the devil can sow evil seed in us that needs to be removed. Verses 27-29 says, "The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. So the servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them.…"

Matthew 15:13 says, "But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots. Paul encourage us to purify ourselves regularly in 2 Corinthians 7:1, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

The filter some people are using are dirty already and needs to be changed. The car, water, or the A/C filters are changed regularly because they become dirty and the machine does not function properly. This is how believers need to change the filter of their beliefs, faith or spiritual life. We can Change it by meditating on the word of God and prayers.

May God help us in Jesus Name…

CLEANSING USING THE TEMPLE WATER

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ezekiel 47:7-12

The old method of removing stubborn stains whether caused by soap scum, hard water stains, rust, and many more nasty marks that can embed themselves in toilet bowl, shower glass, carpet, oven glass, stubborn grout, tile grout, whiteboard, etc., was to apply detergent to a sponge and scrub hard. The disavantage of this method is that it can destroy the materials in the process. This has lead to the production of cleansers specially formulated for these different stains. There are also natural cleaning methods; using white vinegar can be one of them. This is the step one may follow,

Fill a spray bottle with a half-and-half solution of vinegar and warm water.
Spray the tub surface and let the solution stand for 15 minutes
Wipe with a microfiber cloth or sponge
Rinse with clean water and wipe again.


Scripture gave us an example of how Jesus cleansed the Temple in John 2:13-17, "The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple, He found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And He poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And He told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make My Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

The prophet Malachi prophesied how the Temple will be cleansed in Malachi 3:1–3, “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, He is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of His coming, and who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord."

Ezekiel 47:7-12 described a cleansing method using the water from the temple. Verses 8-9 says, He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live.

Verse 12 added, “Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing."

There are some stubborn infirmities, sickness, evil, demons, that we struggle to chase out, we can apply the water from the Temple to flow through it and we shall be cleansed. May God help us in Jesus Name...

LONGING FOR BETTER DAYS

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 17:22-24

The wistful sentiment of the past, lovely relationships, of the good people we have met, a wonderful place we enjoyed, wealth, health, or thinking about romantic passions can either cause pains or bring hapinness to a person. The thought about the old good days is what Psychologist call Nostalgia. It is a constant anticipation of those lovely exprience coming to pass again.

According to Krystine Batcho, Nostalgia is a bittersweet yearning for the past. It’s sweet because it allows us to momentarily relive good times; it’s bitter because we recognize that those times can never return. Longing for our own past is referred to as personal nostalgia, and preferring a distant era is termed historical nostalgia."

Longing for the past can fuel dissatisfaction with the present; it can cause depression, that drives one towards hopelessness or despair. Wikipedia defines Nostalgia as a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word nostalgia is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of νόστος (nóstos), meaning "homecoming", a Homeric word, and ἄλγος (álgos), meaning "sorrow" or "despair", and was coined by a 17th-century medical student to describe the anxieties displayed by Swiss mercenaries fighting away from home. Described as a medical condition—a form of melancholy—in the Early Modern period, it became an important trope in Romanticism.

Nostalgia is associated with a longing for the past, its personalities, possibilities, and events, especially the "good ol' days" or a "warm childhood". Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.

Jesus talked about this longing in Luke 17:22-24 when He said, "The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the son of man, but you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them. For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.”

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers says, "The words express both the backward glance of regret, and the forward look of yearning expectation." It is important to note that Satan takes advantage of this longing to deceive people. This is why Jesus warned His disciples to be careful. Longing for better days may interfere with the enjoyment of today and the expectation of a better future.”

“When people talk about the good old days, I say to people, ‘It’s not the days that are old, it’s you that’s old.’ I hate the good old days. What is important is that today is good.” ― Karl Lagerfeld.

One reason Israel did not enjoy the manna was because of the longing for the past. Numbers 11:4-6 says, "The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”

We must excape the depression of nostalgia and enjoy the present. May God grant us the grace to enjoy today in Jesus Name.…

PRAY THAT NONE WILL BE LOST

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 17:30-35

Snakes are easily killed because they decide to walk on their own; this is a proverb in my place that spells out the importance of agreement or cooperation. The prayer of agreement is a concrete way of showing cooperation. Married Couples need this prayer, families ought to pray it, we need it in our work place, career, or any challenge we face. In the Corperate world, it is called partnership.

In Matthew 18:19, Jesus taught about the enormous power that exists when believers are in agreement with each other. He said, “… If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven.”

To ‘Agree’ means to be harmonious; to agree together; to agree with. Prayer of Agreement simply means agreeing together with someone concerning any matter in prayer. Agreement is synergy.

The Greek word for “agree” in this verse is sumphoneo. It means to agree together, to make a bargain, or to come to an agreement. It is the Greek word from which the word “symphony” is derived. A symphony orchestra combines many diverse instruments under the direction of a skilled conductor to produce a beautiful, musical masterpiece, and its impact extends far beyond what any one instrument could achieve on its own. God comes to us if we agree as Jesus said in Mathew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there Am I in the midst of them.”Psalm 133:1 says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”

The devil knows the power in praying together that is why, he causes division, friction, and disagreement in families, among co-workers, between married couples, believers, etc. Deuteronomy says of God’s army that ‘one man (could) chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight’ (32:30). There is a multiplied effect in being together before God. It was the corporate prayer of Acts 1:14 that produced the corporate power of Acts 2:42-47. Corporate prayer brings corporate power (Acts 4:14-31). The scripture tells us in Acts 4:31-32 how believers fought the challenges of persecution together and they defeated it.

The Lord Jesus warned us against not dwelling in unity. One may survive and the other may be destroyed. This is made clear in Luke 17: 30-35, “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”

That means, some persons may survive the challenges, others may not because they were not in union with the ones that have God. We must make effort to bring everyone together. May God help us in Jesus Name...

ADVANCING OR HINDERING PROGRESS

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

3 John 1-8

One desire of a pregnant woman is to have a successful delivery. This process begins with what is technically called Dilation; it is the widening of the cervical opening since the child is usually bigger than the cervix. Dilation of the cervix is one sign that a pregnant woman is going into labor. It has been discovered that there are something that can induce labor and some other things can hinder dilation. Keeping the body relaxed and loose can aid dilation; on the other hand, Stress and muscle tension can delay labor by making it harder for the cervix to dilate.

A pregnant woman can get her body relaxed and loosed by getting up and moving around because it will increase blood flow and increase dilation. Some women do it by swaying or dancing to a calm music. There are other methods which include using an exercise ball, practicing breathing exercises or meditaion, laughing , joking around or distracting the woman may be helpful. There are times Oxytocin injection is given to induce labor or to increase contractions.

There are two types of people described in 3 John; those who hinder the gospel and those who help to advance the gospel. A missionary Gaius was introduced to a man named Demetrius by John who welcomed him and assisted him. 3 John 1-8 says, “To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in truth. Dear friend, I pray that you may prosper in every way and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. For I was very glad when some brothers came and testified to your faithfulness to the truth—how you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Dear friend, you are showing your faith by whatever you do for the brothers, and this you are doing for strangers; they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God, since they set out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from pagans. Therefore, we ought to support such men, so that we can be co-workers with the truth.”

There was another character named Diatrephes, who was a bad example hindering the gospel. He is described in verses 9-10. as one who is evil and loves to be the first. John said, "I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church."

We must imitate good people by showing hospitality and refrain from hindering progress. May God help us in Jesus Name…

THE DIFFERENCE IS CLEAR

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Malachi 3:7-19

At birth, we know whether a child is a male or female; however, the child does not become conscious of this fact until later in life. This is what the Psychologists call 'Gender identity.’ It refers to an internal sense people have of who they are that comes from an interaction of biological traits, developmental influences, and environmental conditions.

Self-recognition develop in stages,
Around age two: Children become conscious of the physical differences between boys and girls.
Before their third birthday: Most children can easily label themselves as either a boy or a girl.
By age four: Most children have a stable sense of their gender identity.
According to Jason Rafferty, "The point is that all children tend to develop a clearer view of themselves and their gender over time." The recognize that there is a difference between a boy and a girl.
This confusion is what some believers go through in their christian journey; they do not know the difference between those who serve God and those who do not. In Malachi 3:14-15, the people were complaining, "It is vain to serve God. What is the good of our keeping His charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? Henceforth, we deem the arrogant blessed; evildoers not only prosper but when they put God to the test they escape.” They encouraged the people to be faithful because a time will come when the difference will be clear.

In verse 16-18, God says the book of rememberance will be opened, and those who fear God and thought on His name, “They shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, My special possession on the day when I act, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him."

I read a story from Charles R. Swindoll: A young man had been promoted to an important position in his company. He’d never dreamed he’d be in such a position, much less at such a young age. So he went to see the venerable old timer in the company, and said, "Sir, I was wondering if you could give me some ADVICE." The old timer came back with just two words: "Right decisions!" The young man had hoped for a bit more than this, so he said, "Thank you, that’s really helpful, and I appreciate it, but could you be a little more SPECIFIC? HOW do I make right decisions?"

The old man responded: "Experience." The young man said, "Well, that’s just the point of my being here. I don’t have the kind of experience I need. How do I GET it?" The old man replied: "WRONG decisions!"

The wrong decision pointed out in Malachi 3 is that of the people not keeping God's commandments. God admonished them to keep His commandment. One of such commandment is on robbing God. Verses 7-8, revealed the fact that the people robbed God in their tithes and offerings and that brought a curse on them and a devourer entered their lives. God then promised them in verses 10-11, "Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house; and thereby put Me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil; and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts."

This difference is what the Church draws our attention to today. We must remember there is a end and God will reward each person according to their deeds. May God help us in Jesus Name.

TWIST OF FATE

BY. REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Revelation 2:1-5

The word Fate is usually associated with destiny or anything that must happen. Merriam Dictionary defines it as,
1. "The will or principle or determining cause by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as they do: Destiny. 2. An inevitable and often adverse outcome, condition, or end.
Dictionary.com defines it as follows,
"Something that unavoidably befalls a person; fortune; lot: It is always his fate to be left behind.
The universal principle or ultimate agency by which the order of things is presumably prescribed; the decreed cause of events; time:
Fate decreed that they would never meet again.
That which is inevitably predetermined; destiny: Death is our ineluctable fate.
a prophetic declaration of what must be: The oracle pronounced their fate.
death, destruction, or ruin."
The word fate according to Vocabulary.com “traces back to the Latin word fatum, meaning “that which has been spoken,” and something that's your fate is a done deal, not open to revision. If you feel like something is your fate, you feel it's beyond your control. Fate is often referred to directly, as if it were a supernatural power: “fate tore us apart." It can also describe your lot in life, like if it's your fate to take over the family farm."

The word Twist when used with Fate changes the meaning. That means, an unpredicted event that changed what is believed to be fate. Your Dictionary defines it thus, “idiomatic) An unfortunate turn of events. According to Collins Dictionary, "If something happens by a twist of fate, it happens by chance, and it is strange, interesting, or unfortunate in some way."

The idioms.com remarked while tracing the origin of the word, "The phrase is speculated to have come from medieval England when the church was in power and people had a strong belief in God and faith in the virtue of destiny. A change in the circumstances of a person would directly be given credit as a twist in fate rather than apportioning anything to hard work or perseverance of the person himself." It simply means a change of circumstances or turn of events.

The Book of Revelations 2:2-4 described how one can loose his first love. The word is full of mysteries. Great lovers today can become great enemies tomorrow. The scripture says, " I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for My name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first."

In Luke 18:35-43, the Bible describe how the fate of the two blind men were change when they encountered the Lord Jesus.
It is my prayers that there will be a twist of Fate in your favour in Jesus Name...

NO STUMBLING

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 17:1-2

It is common to find people who stumble while running or walking; the likely thing is that some will fall while others will survive it. Taking precautions to prevent falling after a stroke can help save a life. The stroke can cause difficulty with balance, especially if the legs are affected; it can lead to complications, reduction of independence of activities such as eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, and transferring in patients. The risk of fracture is high too.

Athletics can fall easily since their balance is compromised when on speed. I read the following story from J.W. ORG, “FROM her early teens, Mary Decker was renowned as a world-class runner. She was the favorite to win the gold medal in the 3,000-meter final at the 1984 Summer Olympics. However, her track shoes never crossed the finish line. She tripped on the leg of another runner and fell headlong off the course. Injured and in tears, she had to be carried off the track. Mary was no quitter, though. In less than a year, she was back in racing form and set a new world record for the women’s mile in 1985."

To stumble according to Word Reference dictionary is stum•ble /ˈstʌmbəl/ v., -bled, -bling, n. v. [no object] To strike the foot against something, as in running, so as to trip or fall: He hit a rock and stumbled. To walk or go unsteadily: The drunk stumbled down the street. To make a slip, mistake, or blunder; to proceed in a hesitating manner, as in action or speech: The scientists were stumbling along, looking for a cure. To discover, come upon, or meet with accidentally or unexpectedly:

Jesus told His disciples in Luke 17:1, "It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!" The word "Impossible" here means it is inevitable that people will stumble but a fall is not always the case. Jesus identified obstacles that can lead to a fall which can be physical or spiritual. Scripture in Leviticus 19:14 says, "Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I Am the LORD."

Paul in Romans 13:14 says, "Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister."

You are free to stumble, but do not fall. May no obstacles cause you to fall in Jesus Name...

FAILED

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 20:27-38

It is common to find people who are being ridiculed for their beliefs, faith, and trust in God. One of the reason they suffer humiliation is because, the people do not see beyond the present. The church encourages us to look beyond our present situation, this life, to what awaits us in the future. This should be our hope.

The frustration of many is cause by failed attempt to get what they want. Vdict.Pro defines failed attempt as, highly unsuccessful experiment, experience that did not work out as planned." We must persevere until we get what we want. There is no obstacle big enough to stop us from attaining what we desire. This is the message the story of the seven brothers attempts to teach us in 2 Maccabees 7:1-41, their mother encouraged them not to give up on their failth but keep looking up to heaven. They despised the ridicle of Antiochus IV Epiphanes who tried to distract the seven brothers with tortue and death, but they kept encouraging themselves to focus on heaven and the future and believe that the end will be glorious and great. Each of the brothers kept affirming this belief while their mothers was encouraging them to continues in the faith of their ancestors.

After killing six of the brothers, Antiochus tried to persuade the last boy's mother to talk to her son and this was what she said in 2 Maccabees 7: 27-29, "My son, have pity on me. Remember that I carried you in my womb for nine months and nursed you for three years. I have taken care of you and looked after all your needs up to the present day. So I urge you, my child, to look at the sky and the earth. Consider everything you see there, and realize that God made it all from nothing, just as he made the human race. Don't be afraid of this butcher. Give up your life willingly and prove yourself worthy of your brothers, so that by God's mercy I may receive you back with them at the resurrection."

The Sadducees attempted an argument with Jesus which displayed that they do not look beyond the present. This was the reason they proposed the case of the man who attempted to get a child from a woman but did not succeed. The brothers also tried, but it was also a failed attempt. Jesus explained that their future was a glorious one. Verses 24-27 puts it thus, "Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection."

The strory of the seven brothers can be liken to the case of Hannah in 1 Samuel who attempted to get a child and after many trial, she succeeded. She would sing in 1 Samuel 2:5, "Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away."

Failed attempt causes fear that may discourage further attempt. This was the case of Sarah in Tobit 3 who lost seven husbands before the marriage could be consummated. She was riddicled by her father's servants in Tobit 3:7, "You husband killer! Look at you! You've already had seven husbands, but not one of them lived long enough to give you a son. Why should you take it out on us? Why don't you go and join your dead husbands? I hope we never see a child of yours!"

The fear of another hurt almost made her to lose Tobias who married her. Her parents were afraid that Tobit would die like the other men but this was not the case. At the end, Asmodeus was destroyed and the glorious future emerged.

May every failed attempt before now succeed this time in Jesus Name...

THE SPIRIT OF CONTENTMENT

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Philippians 4:11-13

Critically looking at our society, you will uncover that many people are not content. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., calls it "inextinguishable discontent." There is the quest for more money, better jobs, better relationships, etc. We are never satisfied, never content, and envious of those who have what we have not attained or accumulated. I read this write up, ‘Discontent is Everywhere:’

In this tragic world, we are surrounded by discontented people. Every minute of the day, it is possible to see evidence of this restless discontentment in the way people respond to circumstances. People show their discontent while driving, because the traffic is too slow. Or perhaps the weather is too hot, too rainy, or too humid. Or in their jobs people aren’t making enough money or receiving enough credit for the hard work they are putting in. Or they can’t stand their coworkers. People feel deeply disappointed with their marriage or with how their children are turning out. Their bodies are too fat or not beautiful enough. Mired in their discontent, people often buy things they don’t really need to improve their outlook on life.

People try to find their way into happiness by seeking healing from counselors for their dysfunctional childhoods. Discontent with the love they haven’t found shows up in lustfully roving eyes at office parties. Their outlooks darken as they take the commuter rail to another day at the same jobs that have imprisoned them for years. Andrew M Davis, The Power of Christian Contentment, Baker Publishing Group, 2019, p.14.

Ravi Zacharias told a story about a French author named Maupassant, who was the envy of the people of his day. He was so successful, this creative genius. His material possessions spoke a life of affluence; he had a yacht in the Mediterranean, he had a large home on the Norman coast, he had a luxurious flat in Paris. It was said of him that the critics praised him, the men admired him, and the women worshipped him. But at the height of his fame, he lost his stability. He went insane, tried to commit suicide, and spent weeks and months in mindless utterances, debilitating pain, dying at the age of 42.

After his death, a sentence was found written in his diary that became the epitaph of his life. He said, “I have coveted everything, taken pleasure in nothing.”John

Paul gave the secret of contentment in Philippians 4:11-13, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength."

The joy we experience in life is not about the properties we have, but the ability to master good times and bad times. May God help us in Jesus Name…

THE MODEL WE IMITATE

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Philippians 3:17-21

The model one imitates determines where he or she may likely end; as the proverb goes, "The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Free Dictionary explains the proverbs as follows, "the apple does not fall far from the tree Said when someone is displaying traits or behaving in the same way as their relatives (especially parents)." This means the model we follow will determine the kind of person we become.

Dictionary.Com defines model thus, "noun A standard or example for imitation or comparison. A representation, generally in miniature, to show the construction or appearance of something. SEE MORE adjective Serving as an example or model: a model home open to prospective buyers. Worthy to serve as a model; exemplary: a model student. SEE MORE Verb (used with object), mod·eled, mod·el·ing or (especially British) mod·elled, mod·el·ling. To form or plan according to a model. To give shape or form to; fashion.

People generally imitate bad models rather than good ones because they are more attractive. Saint Paul compare the two models in Philippians 3:17-21. He emphasized that we should only imitate those who are following the right way of life. Verses 17-19 says, “Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things."

People generally misinterprete the passage in Luke 16:1-8 where the story of the wasteful steward was told. The man was deceitful, crafty and ungrateful. Verse 8-9 says, "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings."

This did not imply that we must imitate crafty people because in Verses 10-11 Jesus added, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?"

Paul also encouraged us to behave as citizens of heaven in Philippians 3:20-21, "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body."

May God grant us the grace to imitate good model rather than bad model in Jesus Name…

DISADVANTAGES ARE ADVANTAGES

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Philippians 3:4-9

There are some advantages we have today that can end up becoming a disavantages and there are what we perceive as disavantages that are truly advantages. This seem to be Paul's conclusion in Philippians 3:7 where he said, "I have come to consider all these advantages that I have as disadvantages..." In verses 5-6, he mentioned some of the good qualities that made him to be overconfident that led him to persecuting the church. "I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless."

There are opportunities or resources some people have that actually ruined their lives or diminish their full potential in some way. Malcom Gladwell in his book ‘David and Goliath’ encouraged us to see outsized opponents, disabilities, misfortunes, or oppression as advantages. In his words, “much of what we consider valuable in our world arises out of these kinds of lopsided conflicts, because the act of facing overwhelming odds produces greatness and beauty.”

There is another idea he shared, "giants are not always what we think they are. The powerful and strong are not always what they seem. Often, their strength can expose their greatest vulnerability. Their size can be their undoing. What we see as their overwhelming advantages can also be the thing that limits their options."

There are battles we face that make us better, stronger and help to reveal our strength. There are some disavantages, disabilities or weakness we have that can work in our favour. In Luke 19:1-10, the shortness of Zeccaeus was the advantage he had to get the attention of Jesus. He climbed the tree because he was a short man and got the attention of Jesus.

According to Gladwell, "We all assume, that being bigger and stronger and richer is always in our best interest.” A wealthy man told Gladwell about the relationship between wealth and parenting: My own instinct is that it’s much harder than anybody believes to bring kids up in a wealthy environment. People are ruined by challenged economic lives. But they’re ruined by wealth as well because they lose their ambition and they lose their pride and they lose their sense of self-worth. It’s difficult at both ends of the spectrum. There’s some place in the middle which probably works best of all."

The real challange is that some people see their disabilities as a disavantage that could stand on their way to success but the best way to see our disavantages is that they could make us struggle and in that process, we develop skills that will enable us achieve success. I love to look at the twelve spies in Numbers 13:28-32 who saw themselves as grasshoppers before the giants but two saw it as an advantage. It has been discovered that rather than a liability, disadvantage (physical, mental, or psychological) is an advantage.

We must perceive our disadantages as advantages in order to turn them into strength. May God help us in Jesus Name…

PERFECTING A BAIL TERM

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

1 Corinthians 3:8-13

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides for the right of personal liberty. Section 35(4)(A) provides thus, “any person arrested and/detained upon reasonable suspicion of having committed a crime shall be brought before a Court of Law within a reasonable time." The Constitution stated in Sub-Section(5)(A) that the reasonable time is 24 or 48 hours as the case may be.

Often, it has been discovered that after the Court has granted Bail to the suspect, some Security Agencies give stringent bail conditions and keep the suspect in their custody under the guise that they had not perfected the bail terms. The Law says one has to fulfil the bail bond.

The idea of Purgatory can be liken to a bail that has been granted to an accused but he or she is yet to fulfill the terms and conditions of the bail. The only difference is that those who are granted bail are not free yet. The person must report to the Court at a certain date or anytime the Court requires his or her attention.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines Purgatory as an after-death “final purification of the elect” (1031). It appeals to the passage in Matthew 12:32, “Whoever says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1031 states: “The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire."

Those who die in God's friendship but still imperfect need the purification by fire. These are people who died without mortal sins, however there are some venial sins that needs purification. As James Hough notes below, we can say that minor sins, known as venial sins, are forgiven at that point, but the important thing to understand about the Purgatory is that everyone in it is on his way to Heaven.

Saint Paul wrote, …every man shall receive his own reward, according to his own labour. For we are God's coadjutors: you are God's husbandry; you are God's building. According to the grace of God that is given to me, as a wise architect, I have laid the foundation; and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation no man can lay, but that which is laid; which is Christ Jesus. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble: Every man's work shall be manifest; for the day of the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be revealed in fire; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is. If any man's work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work burn, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire (1 Corinthinans 3:8–15).

May the Souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in Peace.

ARE YOU AMONG THE ELECTS?

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Romans 8:28

One question that runs through our minds on the All Saints Day is, Why are we not celebrating everybody? Are some people destined for heaven and others destined for hell? Are some people destined to perish and others destined to be saved? Are some people destined to enjoy and others destined to suffer? These questions had been dealt with in different forms in the past in the form of election and predestination.

According to Wikipedia, Unconditional election (also called sovereign election or unconditional grace) is a Calvinist doctrine relating to predestination that describes the actions and motives of God prior to His creation of the world, when he predestined some people to receive salvation, the elect, and the rest he left to continue in their sins and receive the just punishment, eternal damnation, for their transgressions of God's law as outlined in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. God made these choices according to His own purposes apart from any conditions or qualities related to those persons.

Predestination is the plan eternally conceived by God whereby He conducts rational creatures to their supernatural end, that is, to eternal life. Of necessity this plan is very complex. It must be concerned, first of all, with the supernatural order: its end, which is eternal life; its means, the complexus that we term supernatural grace (sanctifying and actual, efficacious and sufficient grace, the infused virtues, and the gifts of the holy spirit). Predestination also closely involves the divine foreknowledge of future free acts, the exercise of the freewill of man, and divine predilection.

"To God, all moments of time are present in their immediacy. When therefore He establishes His eternal plan of "predestination", He includes in it each person's free response to His grace: "In this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place." For the sake of accomplishing His plan of salvation, God permitted the acts that flowed from their blindness” - CCC, 600.

St. Augustine has defined predestination as "the foreknowledge and preparation of those gifts of God whereby they who are liberated are most certainly liberated" (Persev. 14.35; Patrologia Latina 45:1014). According to Augustine, the object of predestination is salvation, the freeing from servitude of sin, and all the benefits through which salvation is attained, i.e., efficacious graces, including the gift of final perseverance.

New Advent Encyclopedia wrote, “Predestination (Latin præ, destinare), taken in its widest meaning, is every Divine decree by which God, owing to His infallible prescience of the future, has appointed and ordained from eternity all events occurring in time, especially those which directly proceed from, or at least are influenced by, man's free will. It includes all historical facts, as for instance the appearance of Napoleon or the foundation of the United States, and particularly the turning-points in the history of supernatural salvation, as the mission of Moses and the Prophets, or the election of Mary to the Divine Motherhood."

The terms election and predestination are often used interchangeably, both referring to God’s gracious decree whereby He chooses some for eternal life. In Romans 8:30, Paul speaks of those whom God has predestined, called, justified, and (in the end) glorified. In verses 33, Paul references “the elect,” apparently a synonym for the predestined ones described a few verses earlier.

The “elect” is always a positive designation in Scripture (e.g., Matthew 24:31; Titus 1:1), suggesting that election implies eternal life (though Romans 9:11 may be an exception to this rule). Predestination, on the other hand, can be used more broadly. Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and people of Israel, did to Jesus what God’s “plan had predestined to take place” (Acts 4:27-28). Indeed, all of our days are written in God’s book before one of them comes to pass (Psalm 139:16 ). Every form of prosperity and affliction comes to us not by chance, but from God’s fatherly hand (Heidelberg Catechism Q/A 27). Or as Augustine put it, “The will of God is the necessity of all things.”

The church says, “God predestines no one to go to hell; for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end” (CCC 1037). Hence St. Augustine wrote, He who created thee without thy help does not justify thee without thy help. (Sermo 169, II, 13)

God is good, and God is just. He can save a person without good works, because He is good. But He cannot condemn anyone without evil works, because He is just. (Contra Jul. III 18, 35.) His mercy comes before us in everything. But to assent to or dissent from the call of God is a matter for one’s own will (De spiritu et litt. 34, 60).

God has not destined you to go to hell, use your free will to find your way to Heaven. May God help us in Jesus Name...

SETTLING FOR A SECOND FIDDLE

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Philippians 2:1-4

It hurts when we are treated as inferior to others. I am sure you have heard of the phrase "second Fiddle." Cambridge Dictionary defines it as: “to be less important or in a weaker position than someone else." In Collins Dictionary, explains it thus, "If you play second fiddle to someone, your position is less important than theirs in something that you are doing together."

Grammarist.com puts it this way, “To play second fiddle means to take a subordinate role, to be subservient to someone or to take a supporting role rather than the most important or starring role in a situation. The expression play second fiddle is derived from the way a musical orchestra is organized. The first violin is the musician who leads the section and is the highest position of the musicians in the orchestra. This means that the second violin musician is subordinate to the first violin. Fiddle is a less formal word for violin."

This story drives home the point: One of the first conductors born and educated in the United States to receive worldwide acclaim was Leonard Bernstein. He directed the New York Philharmonic, conducted concerts by some of the world's leading orchestras, wrote symphonies, and music for Broadway hits such as West Side Story and Candide. His obituary in The New York Times (October 15, 1990) called him "one of the most... talented and successful musicians in American history."

Bernstein once was asked which instrument was the most difficult to play. He said, "The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm--that's a problem." Or as Harry Truman said, "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." Paul defines humility in Philippians 2.3 thus, “Count others more significant than yourselves." From a sermon by Glenn Durham, Help! I Don't Want to be Humble, 6/29/2010).

Those who play second fiddle are not always the first choice, they eat the left over. These persons do not have the opportunity to enjoy their dream relationship, job, life, etc.; they are always competing for a second position. Paul in Philippians 2:1-4, encouraged believers not to treat others as second fiddle. Verses 3 & 4 says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."

Jesus in Luke 14:12-14 says many people treat the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, etc as second fiddle when they organize a party. The challenge is not to be treated as a second fiddle but to settle for it.

May God grant us grace to rise beyond being a second fiddle in Jesus Name...

ENCOUNTER IN THE MUNDANE

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 19:1-10

I am sure you have heard the proverb, ‘Desperate times calls for desperate measures.’ Free Dictionary explains it thus, "Extreme and undesirable circumstances or situations can only be resolved by resorting to equally extreme actions. Derived from the proverb, "Desperate diseases must have desperate remedies."

Wiktionary.com traced the root of the proverb, "This phrase likely originates with a saying of the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, which appears in his Aphorisms: "For extreme diseases, extreme methods of cure, as to restriction, are most suitable."

There are some things we desperately want but they seem impossible because of a defect we have but God can reach out to us in an unexpected way. Palitha Jayasooriya was 24 years old and battling with severe pain, with serious discomfort when walking, due to a problem on his spine. He had been hospitalized for about 3 weeks by then, with hopes that he would get better soon and be able to leave the hospital.

The message he received from the doctors, however, was that he would have to prepare himself for surgery on his spine. This was a shattering moment for him and for a few hours things went blank as he grappled with the information he had just received." The reason for the discouragement was because there seems to be no solution. The good news was that God healed him miraculously.

Moses abandoned his childhood dreams of liberating Israel from slavery when he made a mistake. God met him when he was 80 years old. God used the burning Bush to catch his attention despite his unworthiness and being inadequate as described in Exodus 3:1-4. Through that powerful encounter, Moses became the leader of the historic Exodus, and of the deliverance God had planned for His people.

Palitha Jayasooriya says, "The miraculous happens in the Mundane." In Acts 9:1-3, Paul was not prepared for the miracle he encountered. He was going to Damascus to arrest believers when he was chosen to be an apostle.

Zacchaeus climbed the tree to grasp a sight of Jesus but that was when he was noticed. Luke 19:5-6 says, "When Jesus reached the spot, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed Him gladly."

God will reach out to you despite your unworthiness like the prophet Isaiah in Chapter 6:1-6. May we have an encounter today in Jesus Name…

PREPARE TO BE EMBARRASSED

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 14:1-11

It is possible to set oneself up for embarrassment. This can happen when he or she tries to control what is beyond him or her. The story below will illustrate this:

"In the years 1014-1035 there ruled over England a Danish king named Canute. King Canute tired of hearing his retainers flatter him with extravagant praises of his greatness, power, and invincibility. He ordered his chair to be set down on the seashore, where he commanded the waves not to come in and wet him. No matter how forcefully he ordered the tide not to come in, however, his order was not obeyed. Soon the waves lapped around his chair. One historian tells us that, therefore, he never wore his crown again, but hung it on a statue of the crucified Christ.” Source Unknown

You will set yourself up for embarrassment if you choose to control what is beyond you. Jesus taught us in Luke 14:1-11 how we can avoid setting ourselves up for embarrassment, "He told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests."

It will be noticed that the first man in the parable chose the place of honor for himself and ended up being embarrassed but the host chose the place of honor for the second guest and he was not embarrassed.

There are places we choose that set us up for embarrassment. The story of Abraham and Lot in Genesis 13:8-12, will illustrate this. There was a dispute between the herders of Abram and Lot and this was how it was resolved: “So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah). So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom."

It was in Sodom and Gomorrah that Lot was embarrassed. We must be humble enough to allow God choose a place for us where we shall not be embarrassed.

May God help us to avoid embarrassment in Jesus Name…

BANGING ON THE DOOR OF GOD

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 11:5-8

Today, we celebrate the feast of Saints Simon and Jude. These two apostles are always mentioned third and second to the last in the list of the Apostles. Luke 6:14-16 says, “Twelve, whom He also named Apostles: Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.”

These two apostles are relatively unknown in scriptures apart from the mentioned of their names with the other apostles. Simon is called "the Zealot." The Zealots were a Jewish sect that represented an extreme of Jewish nationalism. They were freedom fighters who fought for the freedom of the Jews from the Romans.

St. Jude or St. Jude Thaddeus is often confused with Judas Iscariot the traitor of Jesus. However, while that Judas was unfaithful and got what he deserved, St. Jude or Judas Thaddeus remained faithful to the Lord. The disgrace evoked by the name Judas led to it being shortened to “Jude” in English. St. Jude is most famous among Catholics because of his prayer as the patron of hopeless causes and where hope is dim. People ask for his intercession to help in those cases that seem to be impossible and whose outcome is likely to be unfavourable. This is why he is also called the refuge of impossible dreams. His patronage of hopeless cases and impossible dreams traditionally derives from confusion by many early Christians between Jude and Judas; not understanding the difference between the names, they never prayed for Jude’s help, and devotion to him became something of a lost cause.

The devotion began when pilgrims to his original tomb in Syria, before it was translated to Rome, received answers to their least likely prayers. St. Bernard of Clairvaux and St. Bridget of Sweden both had experiences in prayer that led them to promote devotion to St. Jude as the patron of the impossible.

The testimony of Saint Jude encourage us to pray even if answers seems dim. St. John Paul II said that the Christian life is meant to be distinguished above all by the “art of prayer” (Novo Millennio Ineunte). He instructed us to pray without ceasing, banging on the door of God like the importune widow before the judge or the neighbor seeking bread. In Luke 18:1-6, the widow kept banging at the door of the judge every when she knew it was unlikely for her request to be granted.

In Luke 11:5-8, Jesus said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs."

We must keep banging on the door until it is opened. St. Jude Thaddeus, pray for us…

DEFIANT TO THE DEVIL

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ephesians 6:10-20

There are some forces that people do not offer resistance because they seem superior to them. Cambridge Dictionary defines resistance as "the act of fighting against something that is attacking you, or refusing to accept something." It can also be, “a force that acts to stop the progress of something or make it slower: Again, in Physics, it is degree to which a substance prevents the flow of an electric current through it.”

Dictionary.com defines resistance as, "the act or power of resisting, opposing, or withstanding.the opposition offered by one thing, force, etc., to another." It also means to fend off; stand firm against; withstand the action of; to keep from yielding to, being affected by."

It can be used in relation to how our bodies resist infection; how the defence resist the offensive in football. In physics, it is the same way. According to Ohm’s Law, if you have a decrease in the resistance, you will have an increase in the current, but if you increase the resistance, you decrease the outflow or the current (Like a garden hose).

Another word for resistance is Defiance. Dictionary.com defines it as "a daring or bold resistance to authority or to any opposing forces. It can also mean, "a challenge to meet in combat or in a contest."

The devil is considered as having a superior power difficult to resist; it is like using horses to fight with Elephants. Michael J. Shanlian, wrote in his book, ‘How Great Generals Win,’ Bevin Alexander tells of "The General Who Beat Hannibal.” One of Hannibal’s most effective tactics was the use of elephants in battle. For years Roman soldiers and horses were ineffective against the elephants - until the Roman general Scipio Africanus made a brilliant decision to startle Hannibal’s elephants with trumpets and cause them to retreat in fear. Until the defeat of Hannibal of Carthage, the Romans could not make the move toward world empire."

How do we resist the devil? Saint James offered a suggestion in James 4:6-8! “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." Here, he suggested that we should humble ourselves by submitting to God. When we draw closer to God, He gives us the power to resist and the devil flees from the power of God, not our resistance.

Paul in Ephesians 6:13-17 admonished as follows, “Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

The trumpets Roman general Scipio Africanus used to cause fear in the elephants can be liken to the prayer described in Ephesians 6:18, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

May God grant us grace to defeat the devil in Jesus Name...

DON'T MISS THE TARGET

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Philippians 3:13-14

As a younger boy, I loved participating in a dart-competition. Wikipedia defines it thus, "Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small sharp-pointed missiles known as darts at a round target known as a dartboard."

In a game of dart, the scoring is as follows, “Bullseye scores 50, the outer ring scores 25 and a dart in the double or treble ring counts double or treble the segment score." The advice when playing the game is usually, "don't miss the target."

I will tell a story to illustrate how some people try to hit the target. "Some years ago, an army sharpshooter was visiting a small town. He was surprised to find bull’s-eyes with bullet holes in the exact center all throughout the village. “Someone or some one’s here must be amazing shooters,” he thought, “I’ve never seen anything like it.” Finally he found the local rifleman responsible for all those holes. “I’m a pretty good shot, but I’ve never been this accurate,” he said to the man. “Oh, it’s not hard at all,” he said, “I just shoot first and draw the circles after.” Original Source Unknown, Stuart Strachan Jr.

There are some people who never hit the target; they are always hitting the wrong target. The prophet Hosea in chapter 7 verse 16 says, “They look everywhere except to heaven, to the Most High. They are like a crooked bow that always misses its target.”

Jesus encouraged the disciples not to miss the target in Luke 13:24-27, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!”

In order to hit the target, one must focus and aim properly. There are some people who don’t calculate well before throwing the dart on the dartboard. This advice is important whether in prayers, in a competition, in the spiritual world, or during a surgery.

Knowing the reason for the aim is very important. General George Patton would often ask soldiers, “What is your mission?” Being able to articulate clearly the current mission was the most important piece of information a soldier could carry in combat.(Gordon McDonald, Ordering Our Private World, p. 181).

Saint Paul would say in 1 Corinthians 9:26, "Therefore, I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air." Verse by Verse commentary says, "The word “fight” means to fight with the fists. Boxers in the first century used ox hide gloves with strips of metal and glass tied around the hand like bandages. They made their blows count!"

Paul says in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

May we not miss the target in Jesus Name…

GRACE TO MAKE MIGHTY

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 13:18-21

There are some people who are unhappy because they are facing a lot of problems; they wish they could overcome the hardships and difficulties they are facing. The challenge can be compared to a mountain. This is why some talk of Mountains as problems; death is a mountain; sickness is a mountain; troubles are mountains; hardships are mountains; family crises are mountains.

There are some people who are discouraged because they feel small and insignificant. Scripture says in Zachariah 4:10, “Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the LORD that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?”

We should not give up even if the beginning is small, it has the potentials to be large, great and powerful. What is needed is Grace. The parable of the kingdom of God elaborates on it in Luke 13:18-21, “Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches." Again He asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."

The parable used the smallness of the mustard seed to describe the growth that can happen with Grace. Despite its small seed size, the mustard plant actually grows to be the largest of the herbs grown in that area. It can reach 10-15 feet in height, and thus be large enough to provide a place for birds to rest in its branches as Jesus alludes to at the end of verse 19.

In verse 20 Jesus uses another illustration to make the same point, “Yeast”, which is also known as leaven to show how God works mightily through small things. It described how a woman used yeast to make flour “poofy.” Now the yeast used then wasn’t like the dry yeast used today but rather it was a very small lump of dough taken from the previous days making of bread. She would take that lump of dough and kneed it in to the new flour mixture and eventually that yeast would permeate and influence the entire batch.

The most important aspect of this illustration is the amount of flour into which the small amount of yeast was mixed. A small insignificant lump of yeast can leaven a large amount of flour. It was so tiny that it just seemed impossible yet it achieved success. Again success doesn’t depend on size!

Jesus in Matthew 17:20 replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

We need just a little faith and with Grace, it will be great. May God help us in Jesus Name…

A RETARDER

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Psalms 1:1-6

There are two types of fruits in every garden; the good and the bad fruit. In Matthew 13:24-28, Jesus gave a parable of the good and bad seed, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied."

To ensure that the seed continues to prosper, we must make sure that weeds do no suffocate the good seed. In Matthew 13:22, Jesus advised that if anyting choke the seed, it may make it unfruitful. This is what is known as a Retarder.

Dictionary.com, defines a retarder as Noun: 1, a person or thing that retards. Chemistry: any substance added to rubber to delay or prevent vulcanization. any substance added to delay a process. Building Trades: an admixture of concrete or plaster that retards its set.

Collins Dictionary defines it as: 1, a person or thing that retards 2. a substance added to slow down the rate of a chemical change, such as one added to cement to delay its setting.

It is explained furthur thus, "Retarders are used to further improve the braking performance on commercial vehicles. Like engine brakes, they are wear-free continuous brakes. Retarders relieve the service brake and increase the active safety and cost-effectiveness of commercial vehicles."

The presence of the devil in a person or a place can choke the person and retrade progress. It can cause a thing or a person's situation to deteriorate. The presence of a demon in the woman in Luke 13:10-17, made her to be bent double. It was after Jesus drove out the Retarder that the woman straighten up.

Paul also pointed out in Ephesians 5:3-5 that sin retards, "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”

To ensure continous progress, we must avoid sin and allow God to water us daily. Psalms 1:1-6 say, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."

May God help us in Jesus Name…

OPTICAL ILLUSION

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 18:9-14

There is false teachings that it is the amount of Fasting and prayer and probably the seed we sow that causes our prayers to be answed. This was the mindset I started ministry with; I would fast and pray very hard until I was almost dying before ministring to others. However, a day came when I had to ministrer unprepared. The guest minister disappointed the people and I had to fill in the space; I was surprise at the result. This lead to the conclusion that the way we approach God matters and it is not our deeds that win us favor in the sight of God, but our reliance on God.

The story in Luke 18:9-13, gives us a guide, "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

There is another false teachings that it is our rightousness that wins us favours. This can lead to people comparing their deeds to that of others and why God should answer their prayers and not the ones of others. We have heard people saying, after all these years of serving God, He answers those who have not done as much, but He has not answered my own. We may be doing good works but our attitude could be the issues. Isaiah 64:6 says, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags."

Our attitude impress God more than our deeds. Jesus says, God hates “certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt”(Luke 18:9).

It is not about ourselves, but what God does in our lives. Bruce Goettsche explains that what seems to touch God to react is different from the reality. This is what he called optical illusion. "An optical illusion is something that appears to be different than it actually is: stationary lines appear to be moving, lines of equal length appear to be unequal, and something flat appears to have depth. Magicians rely on creating an illusion through misdirection and sleight of hand. Things are not always what they seem to be."

There are deeds we presume will win us favour that earn us disfavour like the deeds of the Pharisees. Jesus points out that what we think is true, is actually the opposite of what is true.

God wants a humble heart not our proud deeds. May God help us in Jesus Name…

NO USELESS OR SMALL GIFT

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ephesians 4:7-13

The feeling that we do not have gifts stems from what we think about the gift we have been given. There is no need to be jealous of another’s gift. There is no need looking down on others. This was the message of Saint Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11,

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines."

Haddon Robinson tells of a concert violinist whose brother was a bricklayer. One day, a woman began gushing to the bricklayer about how wonderful it was to be in the family of that violinist. Not wanting to insult the bricklayer, she added, “Of course, we don’t all have the same talents, and even in a family some just seem to have more talent than others.”

The bricklayer replied, “Boy, you’re telling me! That violinist brother of mine doesn’t know a thing about laying bricks. If he couldn’t make some money playing that fiddle of his, he couldn’t hire a guy with know-how like mine to build a house. If he had to build a house himself, he’d be ruined.”

Robinson observes, “If you want to build a house, you don’t want a violinist. If you’re going to lead an orchestra, you don’t want a brick-layer. No two of us are exactly alike. None of us has every gift and ability. Our responsibility is to exercise the gifts we have—not the ones we wish we had.”(from Decision Making by the Book)

Paul in Ephesians 4:7-8 said, "Each one of us has been given his own share of grace, given as Christ allotted it. It was said that he would: When He ascended to the height, He captured prisoners, He gave gifts to men."

He added in verses 11-13, "And to some, His gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. In this way we are all to come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ Himself."

If we realise that there is no small gift, we shall learn to appreciate God for what we were given. May God grant us this blessings in Jesus Name…

INTERPRETING THE SIGNS OF TIME

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 12:54-56

Understanding the signs of time is very important because you may be caught unaware before you know it. This is what scripture says, "And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do (1 Chronicles 12:32).

Jesus's teachings in Luke 12:54-56 encouraged the people to move from interpreting environmental signs to other signs, "Jesus said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud looming up in the west you say at once that rain is coming, and so it does. And when the wind is from the south you say it will be hot, and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times?"

The devastating effect of the flood we are currently experiencing is a good example of the consequences of ignoring danger signs. Nigerians disregarded the warnings issued by Nigeria Hydrological Services (NIHSA) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) as early as February on how to avert flood disaster in 2022. It has been reported that over 300 people have died. Hundreds of communities have been submerged in Delta, Anambra, Bayelsa, Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Kogi, Jigawa, Kano, Sokoto, amongst others with thousands of residents displaced and hectares of farmlands washed away.

The discernment to know the signs of time spiritually, financially, physically or medically is very germane. It is important to know how to interpret danger signs as it applies to your children. There are parents who cannot interpret the signs of diseases, accidents, predators, toxic people, human trafficking, drugs and alcohol, sexual abuse, suicide, depression, attacks, etc. in their children. Apart from reading the signs of time, we must pray to God to protect them as scripture says in Deuteronomy 33:12, "About Benjamin he said: “Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders."

There are two Psalms we can use in praying for the protection of our children:
• The Lord will keep you from all harm – He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore, Psalm 121:7-8.
• You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you, Psalm 32:8.

May God protect our children in Jesus Name...

GO BEYOND YOUR LIMITS AND BOUNDARIES

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ephesians 3:14-21

There are dreams we had that have not come to pass; there are circumstances we want to change; there are always things we want that we are yet to get. The issue here is that some Christians live as if they are satisfied with the status quo, but deep within them, they want a change. To live to full potentials, one must be ready to step out of one's comfort Zone and think outside the box.

Saint Paul encourages believers to leverage on God who enables us go further than we expected. Ephesians 3:20-21 says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

Cambridge Dictionary defines "Exceedingly" as follows, to a very great degree. It can also mean, "to an unusually high degree. To go further than you expect.

Dictionary.Com defines abundantly as, adjective: present in great quantity; more than adequate; oversufficient.

Anthony Zibolski introduced the 3 B’s: * Believe * Belong * Become
I. Believe that you can go further: This is faith. In Mark 8:1-5, Jesus fed the hungry people with five loaves and two fish because He believed.
II. Belong: “Inside each one of us is a longing to belong to something or someone bigger than we are. We know we have limits weather we admit them or not." Paul's prayer is that we should realise the power within us by the knowledge of the depth of God's love or purpose for us. It is where we become more like Christ.
III. Become: Strengthened by the Spirit of God dwelling inside of you, Apostle Paul is telling us who we can become. Paul in Ephesians 3:14-21, challenge us to go beyond our limits and boundaries. Some will have a breakthrough and some will remain in their boundaries. You get to decide which one you want for your life.

Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, told a story about a goose who was wounded and who landed in a barnyard with some chickens. He played with the chickens and ate with the chickens. After a while, that goose thought he was a chicken. One day, a flight of geese came over, migrating to their home. They gave a honk up there in the sky, and he heard it.

The philosopher said, "Something stirred within the breast of this goose. Something called him to the skies. He began to flap the wings he hadn’t used, and he rose a few feet into the air. Then he stopped, and he settled back again into the mud of the barnyard. He heard the cry, but he settled for less."

Complacency keeps us in the mud of the barnyard and keeps us from becoming all God meant for us to be. May God enable what is stirred in us to continue until we get what we seek in Jesus Name…

UNSOLVED MYSTERIES

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ephesians 3:2-9

The word mystery is often used in the church; it is associated with sacred and secret. The word “mystery” is the Greek word “musterion.” It’s a “secret or mystery that you can find out once you are initiated into it or once someone shares it with you."

Danielle Lasher has this to say on Mysteries, "We all love a good mystery, but it can really get under our skin when we don't eventually figure out the truth. It's part of the human condition to want to categorize things and create order in our lives and communities, according to New Scientist. We like a little mystery because it triggers our natural curiosity, but then we like finding a solution or explanation because the unknown is something to be feared and protected from. This desire to group and explain things constantly conflicts with our equally strong desire to have some secrecy or privacy."

The fact is that there are some mysteries that are unsolved; they do not become clearer with time, instead they grow murkier with time and defy all explanations. According to FR. KENNETH BAKER, S.J., "Catholic theology distinguishes between relative and absolute mysteries of faith. A mystery is something "hidden" in the sense that we cannot understand it. A "relative" mystery is one that we human beings, in our present state, cannot understand but will be able to understand in our glorified state in heaven when we enjoy the face-to-face vision of God. An "absolute" mystery of faith is something the reality of which cannot be known before its revelation and inner possibility of which cannot positively be proved even after it has been revealed by God. There are three absolute mysteries of our Christian faith: the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation and divine grace."

There are many unsolved mysteries in the world and one can conclude that we live in the world of mysteries. The question on the Judgment Day, the end of man, life after death, where is heaven or hell, will remain an unsolved mystery. The Lord Jesus said clearly, ‘But of that day and that hour knows no man, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father’ (Mark 13:32). Though no one knows when Christ is going to return, we are told be to alert and stay awake. The parable of the Ten Virgins is a great example of this. In Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus was telling believers that they must stay alert because the Son of Man comes at an hour when no man expects it.

In Ephesians 3, Paul tried to explain a mystery. He said it was the bringing of the Jews and the Gentiles together, “This mystery is that through the Gospel, the Gentiles are heirs TOGETHER with Israel, members TOGETHER of one body, and sharers TOGETHER in the promise in Christ Jesus.” Verses 2-6 put it thus, "Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus."

Paul said that this mystery…for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. The background to this mystery is that the Jews considered the non-Jews like the Canaanites, Assyrians, Babylonians and the Egyptians as enemies of God and should be wiped out.

Another mystery in Ephesians 3 is that instead of choosing one of His believers and followers, God chose the absolute enemy of Christ - the murderer of Christians - to go out and tell Gentiles about God’s grace and His love for them! Paul said, Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ."

Verses 7-9 says, "I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of His power. Although, I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things."

May God reveal mysteries to us in Jesus Name…

FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL

REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

2 Timothy 4:10-17

Going to school was not interesting for me and my friends during our early days not because of the struggle to learn new things, but the thought of the battle we had to fight. Waking up in the morning was difficult and there was no inner motivation to go because I had to face bullying, taunting, and rejection. The older boys would wait for us, beat us up, tear our books and we seems helpless and hopeless. Our parents notice our plight because we were afraid to tell them. My father motivated us to go to school and gave us a game plan; to fight back with sticks when the opponents approach us.

One faithful day, on our way home, we saw the boys again and forgot the plan and started running back only to find my father hiding behind the bush, he encouraged us to fight that he would support us. We stood and fought and defeated the boys and that was the end of the bullying. We won the battle because my father gave us hope and made us believe that we were not alone. That was not the only battle I have fought, I fought with my academics, health, disability, etc. In all these, it was easier when I realize my parents were with me.

The faces of some people reveal that they are worn out fighting the battles of life. So many Christians today are totally worn out because they’re trying to fight God’s battles with their own power. The battles of life differs from one person to the other. They may be: financial battles, spiritual battles, relationship battles – all kinds of battles in our daily lives. We have heard of people fighting for their land, life, health, marriage, country, etc.

In Nehemiah 4:13-14, the prophet described what he did when they were faced with threat, "So I stationed men behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. I stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bows. After I had made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”

The enemy does not give up easily, that is the reason why we must not give up. Tom Shepard suggested the following while fighting battles:

1. Identify Your Enemy. This is important because some people do not know their real enemy and start fighting the wrong enemy. There are people who fight their spouses instead of fighting for the marriage.
2. We must not be afraid. That means, we must face the opponent in a battle like David did to Goliath. Everyone was afraid until David said, in 1 Samuel 17:32-37, 'David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
3. Take your battle to God for help.“Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah,” 2 Chronicles 20:3.
4. The fourth principle is winning the battles of life is to admit you need help. Jehoshaphat did when he said: “We are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You,” 2 Chronicles 20:12.
5. We should rely on God and thank Him in advance.

2 Timothy 4:10-17, described how Paul was fought for his life, At this time, Demas had deserted him and Alexander was fighting against him. He said in verses 16-17, “At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth."

No matter the battle we fight, may God stand by us to win in Jesus Name...

BRIDGING THE GREAT CHASM

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ephesians 2:1-10

Merriam Dictionary defines chasm as: 1: a deep cleft in the surface of a planet (such as the earth) : GORGE built a bridge over the chasm 2: a marked division, separation, or difference the chasm between the rich and the poor.

The word A Great Chasm was used in Luke 16:26, “Abraham told the rich man, "between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.' There was no possible relief for the rich man who found himself in the agony of the flame.

Sermon writer wrote, "When a person dies physically, he/she is separated from loved ones who are still alive. There is a great chasm fixed between the living and the dead so that the person who is dead cannot reach across the chasm relate to the living—and the living cannot bridge the chasm to relate to the dead. In like manner, a person who is spiritually dead is separated from God—and is therefore subject to “the course (aion—age) of this world” and “the prince of the power of the air”—a demonic power (v. 2).

Furthermore, the dead person is helpless. He/she cannot take any action to remedy his/her situation. There is, therefore, a note of hopelessness in the word “dead.” We say, “Where there’s life, there’s hope”—which implies that, where there is no life, there is also no hope. Death holds people in a very firm grip."

Death can be considered from different perspectives, physical, spiritual, emotional, mental, moral death, etc. Paul was describing the Great Chasm in Ephesians 2:1-10, and how Jesus Christ bridged the Gap, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved…”

He continued by stating that just as God reached out to Christ when He was dead, so too God reaches out to us despite the Great Chasm. It is like someone in distress, even to the point of death, hopeless and unable to help himself and needs someone to save him or reach out to him like the Rich man in Luke 16:26, who was appealing to Lazarus to come to his rescue. The man may have been helped out, but for the Great Chasm.

Paul in Ephesians 2, taught the believers concerning the hopelessness and helplessness of our natural condition, and the fact that we are spiritually alive today only because God took the initiative to rescue us through the shed blood of Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

There are Great Chasm that only God can bridge; this maybe physical, spiritual, or psychological. We pray that God will bridge them in Jesus Name...

TOO TIRED TO PRAY

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Numbers 17:8-13

I often hear Christians tell me that they skip prayer whenever they are tired, weary, frustrated, having a challenge, a heavy heart, or sometimes they forget. My response is that, they can never be on fire. There’s a story told in ‘The Sayings of the Desert Fathers’…Abba Lot said to Abba Joseph, “Abba, as far as I can I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?”

In answer to Lot’s question, Joseph “stood up and stretched his hands towards heaven.” As he did so, “his fingers became like ten lamps of fire,” and he said to Lot, “If you will, you can become all flame.” Andrew Arndt, All Flame: Entering into the Life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, NavPress, 2020.

Exodus 34:29-35 describes how Moses' face becomes radiant whenever he returns from the mountain where he communicates with God. Paul in II Corinthians 3:13 explains that Moses did not want people to see the radiance on his face fading away that was why he put on the veil. The scripture says, “We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of what was fading away." The implication of this is that when Moses stayed off prayers, the radiance in his face starts fading.

Jesus was in the habit of being set on fire daily as Mark 1:34-35 says, "And He healed many who were ill with various diseases and drove out many demons. But He would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who He was. Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray." According to Luke 6:19 after Jesus had recharged with prayers, “the people all tried to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all."

A famous quote is popular with anyone who practice, ranging from a pianists to a ballet dancer to a golfers, “If I miss one day’s practice, I notice it. If I miss two days’ practice, the critics notice it. If I miss three days’ practice, the public notices it.” The first to notice the drop in performance is the performer, then trained persons (such as professional critics or a teacher or friends), and then the general public. The Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was credited with the saying in 1894. Malcolm Gladwell's in his book ‘Outliers’ wrote extensively about the "the 10,000-hour rule" that professionals must practice continuously to be outstanding.

The hand of Moses in Numbers 17:8-13 gives an example of how not praying in a day can cause defeat to a person, “The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 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—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword."

We pray that God will set us on fire again in Jesus Name…

I MUST TESTIFY

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Tobi 12:4-15

There are some blessings that cannot be hidden: they testify on your behalf. A good example is a married woman; the change of her name is the first testimony. Another is a pregnant woman, one can easily recognize a pregnant woman because there will be an enlargement in her body. The same goes for a house where there is a little baby. Exodus 2:1-3, gives a good example, “During this time, a man from the tribe of Levi married a woman of his own tribe, and she bore him a son. When she saw what a fine baby he was, she hid him for three months. But when she could not hide him any longer, she took a basket made of reeds and covered it with tar to make it watertight. She put the baby in it and then placed it in the tall grass at the edge of the river."

There are some miracles God has done and people testify about them. When God does something life-changing in our lives, He does so not only for our benefit, but for His glory. We owe it to Him and to others to testify to His goodness. That’s how we defeat the enemy of our souls, “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11).

The angel of the Lord encourages us to testify as seen in Tobi 12:6-7, "Then Raphael called the two men aside and said to them, Praise God and tell everyone about the good things He has done for you, so that they too will honor Him and sing His praises. Let everyone know what God has done. Never stop praising Him. It's a good idea to keep a king's secret, but what God does should be told everywhere, so that He may be praised and honored.”

Psalms 78:4 says, “We will not hide them from their children, but will declare to the next generation the praises of the LORD and His might, and the wonders He has done.”

The real challenge is that some do not have testimony to share. How do we get testimonies? Angel Raphael reminded Tobi and his son what led to their testimony in Tobi 12:8-15, "It is better to pray sincerely and to please God by helping the poor than to be rich and dishonest. It is better to give to the poor than to store up gold. Such generosity will save you fro death and will wash away all your sins. Those who give to the poor will live full lives, but those who live a life of sin and wickedness are their own worst enemies. I have already told you that a king's secret ought to be kept, but the things God does should be told to everyone. Now I will reveal to you the full truth and keep nothing back. Tobit, when you and Sarah prayed to the Lord, I was the one who brought your prayers into His glorious presence. I did the same thing each time you buried the dead. On the day you got up from the table without eating your meal in order to bury that corpse, God sent me to test you. But He also sent me to cure you and to rescue your daughter-in-law, Sarah, from her troubles. I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand in the glorious presence of the Lord, ready to serve Him."

The passage above suggests we pray, fast, and do good deeds. The challenges Tobi and Sarah went through which includes physical (humiliation, shame and frustration), health(blindness), spiritual (the demons killing the husbands of Sarah), financial (the wealth of Tobi), etc. were resolved and there was a testimony.

I pray that God will give you a testimony in Jesus Name...

HYPOCRITES AS A COUNTERFEITS

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 12:1-3

The heart of man is hidden within the body and that gives room for people to pretend to be one thing while they are another. Scriptures described the heart of man in Jeremiah 17:9-10, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”

There are many external things men put up that does not match with what they have in their heart. This is what it means to be a hypocrite. Van Doren wrote, "Grace is the Christian's new nature, and hypocrisy is the art that counterfeits it. The hypocrite affects the innocence of the dove to hide the cunning of the serpent. By the hypocrite good men are oft deceived, for "Goodness thinks no ill where no ill seems."

The hypocrite, like Judas, may salute Christ, but it is to betray Him. The hypocrite's life is a falsehood to heaven and to earth. The hypocrite gives his tongue to virtue, but his heart to vice. If there be "the head of gold," there are also "the feet of miry clay." Hypocrisy is the homage which vice pays to virtue. The more plausible hypocrisy is before men, the more detestable it is to God. The hypocrite serves Satan, and from Satan receives his reward. The religious hypocrite is at best a man of dark deeds, though clad in garments of light.

...Hypocrisy shall be detected, as in the case of Saul (1 Samuel 15:14), Gehazi (2 Kings 5:26), Judas (Matthew 26:50), Ananias (Acts 5:3), Simon Magus (Acts 8:20, 21). Hypocrisy may be seen in the history of Jacob (Genesis 27:20), Pharaoh (Exodus 8:28, 29), Balaam (Numbers 23:10), Absalom (2 Samuel 15:7), Hazael (2 Kings 8:12, 13). Samaritans (Ezra 4:2), Herod (Matthew 2:8), High Priest (Matthew 26:65), Pilate (Matthew 27:24)."

Bromhall remarked, Hypocrisy is "Much of the nature of a thing is many times discovered in its name; the name is a brief description. The word " hypocrite" properly signifies an actor or stage-player, a personator of other men in their speech, habit, and action. The Hebrew word signifieth both "a wicked man" and a "deceiver." And it is observed that those whom David, the devoutest man, called "wicked," Solomon, the wisest man, calls "fools," and Job, the most upright man, calls "hypocrites": all is but one and the same thing under divers names. Hypocrisy, then, is but a feigning of virtue and piety, which it seems to put on, and vice and impiety, which it conceals and would seem to put off. It is indeed vice in a vizor; the face is vice, but virtue is the vizor. The form and nature of it is imitation: the ends are vainglory, to be seen of men, or some gain or carnal respects."

Jesus sounded a strong warning to His disciples in Luke 12:1-3, "Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to His disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs."

Jesus described hypocrisy as a dangerous leaven the disciples must avoid at all cost. It spreads over and taints, if unresisted and unchecked. There is need to pray for light to see those around us and the wisdom to avoid them.

May God hear our prayers in Jesus Name…

THE CAPRICIOUS GODS

BY REV. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ephesians 1:3-10

The gods of the ancient world were not only capricious but willful and needed their egos to be constantly appeased. This is why they appeased them with sacrifices of different forms. The word “capricious” from the Dictionary definition = “subject to sudden changes in behaviour, mood or opinion, often for no good reason”.

The Greek gods in the days of the Ephesian Church were known to be capricious and you never knew where you stood. A good example is that of Medusa. Medusa is a figure from Greek mythology, the only mortal of the three Gorgons, along with her immortal sisters, Stheno and Euryale. The three Gorgons were born to the sea god of the dangers of the hidden deep, Phorcys, and the goddess of sea monsters and the dangers of the sea, Ceto.

The name Gorgon comes from the ancient Greek word γοργός, meaning "grim," "fierce," and "terrible," and Medusa's name derives from the ancient Greek verb μέδω meaning "to guard" or "to protect," which is very fitting given the apotropaic quality of the face of the Gorgon, known as the Gorgoneion. Medusa was usually represented as a winged female creature having a head of hair consisting of snakes; unlike the Gorgons, she was sometimes represented as very beautiful.

A more comprehensive account of Perseus and Medusa can be found in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. In this work, Ovid describes Medusa as originally being a beautiful maiden. Her beauty caught the eye of Poseidon, who desired her and proceeded to ravage her in Athena’s shrine. When Athena discovered the sea god had ravaged Medusa in her shrine she sought vengeance by transforming Medusa’s hair into snakes, so that anyone who gazed at her directly would be turned into stone. Thus, the description of Medusa changed from one of an alluring lady, as Ovid describes in Metamorphoses: Medusa once had charms; to gain her love A rival crowd of envious lovers strove. They, who have seen her, own, they ne'er did trace More moving features in a sweeter face. Yet above all, her length of hair, they own, In golden ringlets wav'd, and graceful shone. – Ovid, Metamorphoses

So true to the capricious nature of the gods, the jealous and angry Athena turned Medusa into a snaky-haired killer with menacing teeth and brass claws. This is the idea some people have about God. That when they do anything to offend Him, He punishes them like Medusa was punished.

Paul took time to educate the Ephesians on the benevolence and kindness of God in Ephesians 1:4-10, “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestinedus for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will— to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”

Paul was describing God’s love and kindness towards him when he was a persecutor of the early church and how he killed many believers including Steven, yet God still showed him love. In Acts 22:12-16, scripture says, “A certain Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there (in Damscus), came to me, and standing near said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very time I looked up at him. “And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth. ‘For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard. ‘Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’

God loves us and He is not capricious as the Greek gods in Paul’s days. May God give us understanding in Jesus Name...

SPIRIT IN THE FLESH

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Galatians 5:19-23

The question that comes to mind as I reflect on the ‘spirit and the flesh’ in Galatians 5:18-23 is, "Can a Tiger be meek and loving? This question is important because the idea we have of the Tiger is stern and vicious. Jesus in Matthew 16:15-20, described what to watch for in a false prophets, “They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."

Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 says, "For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve."

Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 described the fruits of the spirit as “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law." The challenge is that we sometimes find the fruit of the flesh in one who has the spirit as described in Galatians 5:19-21, "Sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like."

In the Prince, Machiavelli wrote that leaders must not rely on luck, but should shape their own fortune, through charisma, cunning and force. As Machiavelli saw it, there were two main variables in life: fortune and virtù. Virtù (not virtue) meant bravery, power and the ability to impose one’s own will. Fortune, he wrote, was like a “violent river” that can flood and destroy the earth, but when it is quiet, leaders can use their free will to prepare for and conquer the rough river of fate. An effective leader, Machiavelli wrote, maximizes virtù and minimizes the role of fortune. This way, “fortune favors the brave.” This is how deceptive a person can be.

Every person has both the flesh and the spirit in them depending on which we feed. This is called feeding the monkey. Urban Dictionary explain it thus, "Feed The Monkey refers to a fuelling of desire. Usually this desire is something one doesnt want to do, but is addicted to it because of the way it makes him/her feel about himself/herself.. like getting high…or playing poker…or going to a strip club." The story below will illustrate how to maximize the virtue and minimize the vice.

There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The King looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them. One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror, for peaceful towering mountains were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace. The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell and in which lightening played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the King looked, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest in perfect peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize? The King chose the second picture. Do you know why? ‘Because' explained the King, 'peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace.' Author Unknown

May God help us to minimize vices to the barest minimum in Jesus Name...

AT YOUR WITS' END

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Psalms 107:23-31

It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground; it just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God to meet you at “Wits End.”

There are situation when one becomes perplexed, worried and confused that he or she does not know what next to do. There is an amount of stamina needed to sustain one like an athlete doing a long distance race. When one have reached a state where there is no more stamina physical or spiritual because of the difficulty of the situation, then he or she can say "you are at your wits' end.

To be at your wits' end is to be so worried, confused, or annoyed that you do not know what to do next: The expression also appears later in the Bible in Psalms 107:27: They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. In this Psalm, the place called “wits’ end” is on a ship’s deck in a storm-tossed sea!

Bo Dunford gave an explanation to this passage,

* Giant waves carry the ship up to the heavens, then drop it down to the depths.
* Powerful winds toss it back and forth so that none of the sailors can find their “sea legs.”
* They stagger across the deck like drunken men.

The ship’s sails are tattered and ripped, and wave after powerful wave crashes onto the deck! * The sailors have to struggle just to hold on.

* It looks like it’s all over for them, and they’re in total despair.
* They are helpless ... They are vulnerable to the power of the elements ... They are unable to stop the storm, and they are powerless to save themselves!

This phrase means simply, “having lost or exhausted any possibility of perceiving or thinking of a way out.” In short, it is the end of all human ability and resources!

The full text in Psalms 107:23-31 goes thus, "Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, They saw the works of the Lord, His wonderful deeds in the deep. For He spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. They reeled and staggered like drunkards; they were at their wits’ end. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and He guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind."

The Psalmist described the situation of some people’ finance, spirituality, job troubles, family problems or a personal tragedy ... You go to bed at night with a restlessness inside, a cloud hanging over you. When you awaken, the dull ache is still with you. And it keeps hanging on until one day you wake up crying, “God, how much more do I have to endure? How long will You allow me to go through this? When will it all end?” This is like the situation Israel found herself in Exodus 17:7 “Is the Lord among us, or not?” The story is part of the journey to the promised land. The children of Israel came to a place called Rephidim where there was no water for the people to drink. This was like their wits' end, Exodus 17:1-4.

Austin Calder gave some examples from the scripture: * Moses: in Exodus 15:23-25, “When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah. So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.”
* Hannah: in 1 Samuel 1:10, “In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly. Hanna wanted a son so at her wits end she cried out to the Lord.”
* Early Christians: in Acts 12:5-6, “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.” There was no escape for Peter and the church was at its wits end to free him. So, what did they do? “earnestly praying to God for him” “Cried out”

There are people looking for help they have tried everything they know. The doctors, philosophy, science, human intelligence, and nothing is working; they are confused and then, they cried unto God. God will calm the troubles seas, and also perform His words.

Things may be going bad and you are discouraged and loosing heart or stamina but we must realize that God will meet you at your "Wits' end." May God help us in Jesus Name…

THE LORD WILL TURN THE TABLE AROUND

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Galatians 4:22-27

The feeling of abandonment or being desolate is common with people who are suffering as a result of a lack. This explains why barren women are usually unhappy when they see other women having children. The prophecy of today is that, the barren woman would have more children than the one that had now. The prophet Isaiah in Chapter 54 verse one of his book puts it this way, “Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, says the LORD."

According to Barnes Notes on the Bible, "The phrase seems to have somewhat of a proverbial cast, and probably the idea is that there would be a great increase, a much greater increase than she had any reason to apprehend. As if a promise was made to a barren female that she should have more children than those who were married usually had, so Jerusalem and the church would be greatly enlarged, far beyond what usually occurred among nations."

In 1 Samuel 2:5 scripture says, "Those who were full hire themselves out for bread, But those who were hungry cease to be hungry. Even the infertile woman gives birth to seven, But she who has many children languishes." This was the song of Hannah after she gave birth to Samuel. 1 Samuel 1:6-8 reported how she use to feel, 'Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

God's promise to us is that the frustrated shall rejoice again. The forsaken shall be comforted. The deserted shall be loved again. This story can be liken to that of Sarah and Hagar in the book of Genesis. In Genesis 12:2, God promised Abraham "And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;" At this time, Abraham was 75, Sarah was 65, and they had no children.

In Canaan, God repeated that promise in Genesis 13:16 saying, “And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. After ten years when the children had not still come, in Genesis 16:2 “So Sarai said to Abram, "Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children through her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai." This was how Ishmael was born. Sarah concluded that since she was 75 years old, there was no way she would ever have a baby. That was a perfectly reasonable, perfectly "human" conclusion. It was when Abraham was 99, Sarah 89 when His body was "as good as dead." Her womb seems shut tight. There seems to be no chance, none whatsoever, that they got Isaac. Genesis 21:6 says, "And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me."

This was the story Paul was referring to in Galatians 4:27, “For it is written, "Rejoice, barren woman who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who are not in labor; for more are the children of the desolate than of the one who has a husband."

I pray that God will turn the table around in your favor in Jesus Name…

TREMENDOUS OBLIGATION

BY REV. FR EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 17:11-19

I first heard the word "Much Obliged," some years ago when a Lawyer used it in a court premises. I thought it meant, I will do whatever you tell me to do for you. The expression "Much Obliged" means "Thank You." It is one of the forgotten phrase. “To be obliged" means that someone has done us a favor and therefore we are indebted to return the favor - to do something in return. “Much obliged” is a kind of shortening of a fuller sentiment: “I’m much obliged to you for what you did for me.” To be obliged is to be in someone’s debt - to be obligated to another person.

To be obligated (according to Google) is to be bound to someone, legally or morally. If we’re obligated to someone, it can be with thanks and gratitude and appreciation because of what someone’s done for us, or it can be a weight, a burden, something that makes us feel trapped, what we owe to someone. If we think about our obligations, there are probably some that make us feel thankful and stir our sense of commitment, and some that make us feel overwhelmed."

Free Dictionary explains “Much obliged" as follows, 1. Indebted to someone for their generosity, kindness, or favor. 2. Thank you very much.

The challenge is that we are in a culture where we believe we do not owe anyone anything; children feel they do not owe their parents anything; those you do favors to feel they deserve it. Being thankful does not come easy to us because we live in a world of being told that you deserve the best, you are entitled to this lifestyle and we come away with an attitude of selfishness instead of an attitude of gratitude.

We need to pray for a heart that is obligated. I came across a story of a" desert monk who one day stumbled across a precious diamond. Not long afterwards, the monk met a traveler who approached the monk for some help. As the monk opened his bag to share his provisions, the traveler saw the diamond and asked the monk to give it to him. To his surprise, the monk handed over the diamond without delay, sending the traveler on his way overjoyed because of this unexpected gift.

A few days later, the traveler returned in search of the monk. When he found him, he gave back the diamond with this request: “Please give me something,” he said, “much more precious than the diamond. Give me what enabled you to give me the diamond in the first place.” He was asking the monk to give him that which only God can awaken – a heart that is so full of gratitude that it must give as surely as one’s lungs must breathe. "

This obligation is not only a polite expression, legal or moral, it is also a spiritual obligation. It means I understand my obligation to the person who had done something nice for me. I do not take it for granted. I do not presume upon that person's grace.

As we consider our blessings and think about the many things that have come our way, we surely must conclude that we are indeed "much obliged." Much has been given to us, therefore, we have a tremendous obligation. Psalms 116:12 says, “What shall I return to the LORD for all His goodness to me?” There is not a shred of entitlement in this cry of praise. It is instead all indebtedness and a profound recognition of his unworthiness for this act of deliverance only God could have made possible.

This was the heart that one of the ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19 had when he returned to thank the Lord Jesus. This was the attitude Naaman displayed when he was healed in 2 Kings 5:15-16, "Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.” The prophet answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” And even though Naaman urged him, he refused."

As we appreciate God, may God do more in our lives in Jesus Name...

THE DISTINCTION OF MEN

BY REV. FR. EDMUND EMAKPOR

Galatians 3:26-29

An easiest way to get exhausted, frustrated and ashamed is to attempted to change who we are. I grew up with the idea that I am not as good as the others. This was because I was always sorted into the categories of those who were less endowed; this was done in sports, academics and social status. Often, we are taught that there is a distinction in our gender, age and abilities. There were times I had to fight because I was excluded from the team or graded low. The real problem was the fact that I was trying to change who I was over night without success or the image I had formed about myself. It was frustrating trying to improve without much success.

David Seamands, in his book, ‘Healing for Damaged Emotions,’ describes a missionary who had a different view of God. As a result, he ended up leaving the mission field a broken man. His name was Dr. Joseph Cooke, who later became an anthropologist.

Dr. Cooke said, “I invented an impossible God, and I had a nervous breakdown… God’s demands of me were so high, and his opinion of me was so low, there was no way for me to live except under His frown… All day long, He nagged me: Why don’t you pray more? Why don’t you witness more? When will you ever learn self-discipline? How can you allow yourself to indulge in such wicked thoughts? Do this. Don’t do that. Yield, confess, work harder.

“Most of all,” Dr. Cook says, “I had a God who down underneath considered me to be less than dirt. Oh, He made a great ado about loving me, but I believed that the day-to-day love and acceptance I longed for could only be mine if I let Him crush nearly everything that was really me. When it came down to it, there was scarcely a word or a feeling or a thought or a decision of mine that God really liked.” (David Seamands, Healing for Damaged Emotions, p.84).

The image we have about ourselves and what we do matters a lot. C. Philip Green wrote the following, "In the film ‘The Shawshank Redemption,’ Ellis "Red" Redding spent his prime wasting away in prison because of a reckless act of violence he had committed as a teenager. After 40 years of imprisonment, Red was finally released to enjoy the long-awaited freedom he wanted so desperately.

However, he couldn’t free himself from the habit of asking for permission each time he wished to use the men's room. He had become “institutionalized.” His new life scared him, because he'd grown accustomed to the structure behind bars. Imprisonment had become safe for Red. He didn't have to exercise his own decision-making. Someone else did the thinking for him, and now, on the outside, he faced a prospect more daunting and terrifying than incarceration: freedom.

At one point, Red contemplated various ways to break his parole and return to the security of his prison cell. He summed up his dilemma in one line: “It is a terrible thing to live in fear.” (Graham Johnston, Preaching to a Postmodern World: A Guide to Reaching Twenty-First Century Listeners, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2001, pp. 126-27; http://www.PreachingToday.com).

Paul made it known to the Galatians that they have to accept themselves as they were; they were not second class as they saw themselves. The Jews looked down on them as uncircumcised and therefore unholy. The struggle to live like the Jews was what caused the frustration. In Galatians 3:26 -29, Paul made it known that God does not differentiate between us. He said, "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise."

As children of God, we need to have a high image (esteem) of ourselves and love the way we were created. We must improve on ourselves and walk in the ways of God. May God help us in Jesus Name…

THE FEAST OF VICTORY

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 11:15-26

The month of October like May is Mary's month; Catholics are encouraged to pray the Rosary and seek the intercession of the Blessed Mother. On the 7th of October, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. This Feast, originally know as the Feast of Victory is connected to the Battle of Lepanto(1571), a great and decisive battle, a triumphant victory for the forces of Christendom and the champions of the Lord in the struggle against the forces of heathens of the Ottoman Empire and its allies, who sought the domination of the world and the subjugation of Christians and the Christian kingdoms and states of that time. At that time, Christendom was beset not only with these external pressures but also with many internal divisions, having suffered from the effects of the reformation that led to many leaving the Church and many in rebellion against the true faith.

Therefore, at that time, the Church, the faithful and the entire Christendom itself were under great threat of destruction, and that would have happened if not for the great intercession of the Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, by the actions of the Pope then, Pope St. Pius V, who exhorted all of Christendom to stand together and asked all the faithful to pray the Rosary as he gathered together forces from the various kingdoms and realms, establishing a great Holy Alliance aimed at standing up against the great Turkish invasion forces.

And then, the forces of Christendom were gathered together, numerous mighty ships, sailors and soldiers, all gathered against an even larger armada of the Ottomans bent on destruction of Christendom. With the guidance and intercession of the Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, as Christendom was united in the prayer of the rosary as encouraged by the Pope, the forces of the Holy Alliance met the enemy at the Bay of Lepanto in a great battle that is still remembered to this very day, as a major turning point in the history of the world. Eyewitnesses saw a great vision of heavenly forces led by Our Lady, with a rosary in her hand, which terrified the forces of the enemies of the Lord. This was how the battle was won.

There are lots of spiritual battles we need to win today. The devil is trying to overpower the believers. In Luke 11:15-26, Scriptures described how Jesus was casting out demons and the people were accusing Him of using the power of Beelaubul. Jesus' reaction in verses 17-22 is as follows, “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder."

The devil keeps trying to repossess places he had been chased from. Verses 24-26 says, "When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

There is need to come together and fight against the powers of the enemies through the praying of the Rosary. We pray that through the intercession of our Blessed Mother, may God grant us victory in Jesus Name…

PROTECTION FROM EVIL SPELL

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Galatians 3:1-5

The easiest way to get a strong person down is to cast a spell on him or her. This one one can do using evil powers. In Numbers 22:1-5, scripture says, When the Israelites arrived at the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho. Balak son of Zippor and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the Euphrates River, in his native land. Balak said: “A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. 6 Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”

Paul in Galatians 3:1 asked if someone has cast a spell on the people because it was strange to notice the sharp relapse of the Galatians from the vibrant faith they had before then. It was usual for people to be bewitched like magicians do to people. Simon Magus was the Samaritan sorcerer who bewitched the people of Samaria with his sorceries. The Bible records this historic event in Acts 8:9-10, “But there was a certain man, called Simon which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.”

MacLaren's Expositions explains what the word means, "bewitched, signifies vitiating the eyes, or spoiling the sight, so that men cannot discern an obvious object in a due position. The meaning is: Who hath seduced you, who hath so corrupted your understanding that your actions are as unaccountable as the effects of witchcraft?"

The ancient Greeks were accustomed to and afraid of the idea that a spell could be cast upon them by an evil eye. Gill's Exposition puts it thus, "The evil eye was thought to work in the way a serpent could hypnotize its prey with its eyes. Once the victim looked into the evil eye, a spell could be cast. Therefore, the way to overcome the evil eye was simply not to look at it. In using this phrasing and the word picture of bewitched, Paul encouraged the Galatians to keep their eyes always and steadfastly upon Jesus.

MacLaren's Expositions explains further, "One has seen fond mothers in Egypt and Palestine who hang on their babies’ necks charms, to shield them from the influence of the Evil Eye; and there is a charm that we may wear if we will, which will keep us safe. There is no fascination in the Evil Eye if you do not look at it. Like Ulysses in the legend, bandage the eyes and put wax in the ears, if you would neither be tempted by hearing the songs, nor by seeing the fair forms, of the sirens on their island.”

A passage from book 12 of The Odyssey, in Emily Wilson’s acclaimed translation of Homer’s epic, sees the hero Odysseus, known in Latin as Ulysses, warn his men of an impending challenge:

She [Circe] said we must avoid the voices of the otherworldy Sirens; steer past their flowering meadow. And she says that I alone should hear their singing. Bind me, to keep me upright at the mast, wound round with rope. If I beseech you and command to set me free, you must increase my bonds and chain even tighter.

The Sirens were creatures often depicted as half-woman, half-bird, who lured sailors to the rocky cliffs of their island home with beguiling voices which no man was able to resist. On his decade long journey home to Ithaca from the Trojan Wars, Odysseus steered past their island and, on the advice of Circe, a lesser god and enchantress, he ordered his men to plug their ears with beeswax and bind him tightly with rope to the ship’s mast before they rowed the vessel at furious speed. On hearing the Sirens’ ‘honeyed song’, he asked his men to loosen the rope – even Odysseus, ‘Glory of the Greeks’, could not resist their call – but two of his comrades, Eurylochus and Perimedes, tightened it still more.

When they had passed the island and were beyond the Sirens’ call, the sailors removed the wax from their ears and untied their leader. Now, they faced the challenge of the rock of Scylla and the whirlpool of Charybdis, gateway to Sicily."

Paul encouraged the people to keep looking up to Jesus and the spell will not have any effect on them, Romans 12:1-2. May God destroy every spell cast on us in Jesus Name...

REBUKING THE HYPOCRITE

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Galatians 2:11-14

The best way to deal with hypocrites is to either keep them far or rebuke them. The reason being that they will always pretend to be a good person when they know what they want to do. Hector Quintanilla shared an experience he had with a former convict who was just released from prison a few months earlier. The man came to his office for a job interview and was dressed professional. All his body language was full of self-confidence. In Hector's words, "I didn’t know it at the time, but he was astonishingly astute and deceptive. I suppose these were essential skills needed to survive in prison." “Sir, I must be honest,” he started the conversation, “If your company requires a background check to get hired, I will fail.” “What do you mean?” I asked. “I’ve just been released from prison and I’m searching for someone who is willing to take a chance on me to help me reshape my life.” I stared at him speechless.

He continued, “I’ve learned my lesson and I’m willing to give you everything I’ve got. If you give me this opportunity, you will have a loyal employee for life.” I was stunned by such statement. “Well, if you don’t mind me asking, why did you go to prison?” I asked cautiously. “I killed someone as a teenager. I was drunk. The accident happened. I never intended to kill that man, but I was sentenced to 20 years in prison.” He said....Long story short… I gave this man a chance.

I ended up devastated. Hector hired the man. He wrote, "I invested in this man’s life, not only with a job, but personally advising and coaching him to increase his value both for the company and to society. I helped him buy a car and offered unique opportunities inside the company. I was determined to help him turn his life around. How did he show his gratitude? He stole from my business. He mistreated my customers. He turned employees against me. He even tried to seduce my wife to sleep with him! This man’s life would have been transformed in a few years if he had been grateful instead of trying to “outsmart” me."

The other thing we can do is to rebuke an hypocrite if that will help. Rebuke according to Cambridge Dictionary is, "To speak angrily to someone because you disapprove of what they have said or done.”

Free Dictionary sees it this way, "A sharp, stern disapproval of; reprove; reprimand; censure; admonish; reproach: rebuke his bad behavior Jane Abao, Rebuke is verb form. The gerund or present participle: rebuking

It means to express sharp disapproval or criticism of (someone) because of their behavior or actions. Synonyms are: reprimand, reproach, scold, admonish, chastise, berate, criticize.

But there are differences [Merriam-Webster.com] -

Chide mean to criticize adversely. Reprove implies an often kindly intent to correct a fault. ⟨She gently reproved my table manners.⟩ Rebuke suggests a sharp or stern reproof."

Rebuke is used for those we love. God uses it to correct His children. It is also know as divine chastening. Divine chastening has at least three purposes: (1) To persuade us to repent (2) To refine and sanctify us, and (3) At times to redirect our course in life to what God knows is a better path.

Hebrews 12:6 says, "My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastens everyone He accepts as His son.”

Paul used this for Peter when he was pretending that he was not eating with the pagans when some Jews came to visit them in Galatians 2:11-14, "When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?"

May God grant us courage to rebuke hypocrites in Jesus Name...

A U -TURN TO THE RIGHT ROUTE

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Galatians 1:13-24

There are different signs on the highway; one of them reads, "No U-Turn Allowed.” A “U-turn” in driving means to perform a 180 degree turn to reverse the direction of travel. The number one rule about trucks and U-turns is NO uncontrolled U-turns. This is a simple truck driver safety rule. For the purpose of trucks U-turns, “controlled” means that the driver has a spotter guiding them through the maneuver, and is absolutely sure that the U-turn can be started and finished in complete safety.

Unless these controlled conditions are present, commercial truck U-turns should be avoided at all costs. Realistically speaking, such conditions won’t be available in most instances. The driver should find an alternative solution to a U-turn, such as planning an alternate route with a different exit or approach.

In our relationship with God, a u-turn is absolutely required. A Greek word that describes a U- turn is Metanoia. It means to have a change of mind or repentance. You’may be thinking one way about something and suddenly your mind changes and you get some perspective and your thoughts are completely change. We sometimes call it doing a 180 because the change is so huge. In Paul’s day, the word metanoia was used in the military; they were marching in one direction and the captain would shout metanoia and the soldiers would do an about-face and head in a brand-new direction.

There are times people make a U-turn on their own volition, but at other times, they are forced to make the U-turn. In Luke 19:1-9, Jesus encountered Zacchaeus and decided to visit his house. Verses 7-9 says, "All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.”

The turning around of Paul was sudden and was a forced one. Acts 9:1-6 puts it thus, "Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” “Who are You, Lord?” Saul asked. “I Am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

In Galatian 1:13-16, he says, "For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles,”

In verses 22-24, Paul added, "I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they praised God because of me."

The radical change can be in every area of life. We pray that God will turn anything that is going in the wrong direction into the right route in Jesus Name...

LIKE THE EYES OF GOD

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 10:25-34

It has been discovered that people do not pay attention to everything at the same time; we pay attention to only what we consider important. We do this by filtering out any unimportant background information. This is why people create things that gets our attention.

It is the skill of attention that helps you focus on important information like a siren or your name, so attention is a very necessary skill for humans. The irony of life is that believers pay attention to different things because they have different interests, strengths, and weaknesses, not everyone pays attention to eyes the same way. Devon S. Heath and Dana A. Hayward wrote, "One piece of evidence comes from studying babies that are only a few hours old. Researchers showed newborns a drawing of a simple face and slowly moved it in front of the babies to see if they followed the face. To make sure babies follow faces and not just moving objects, the researchers also showed the babies a scrambled face. Because the scrambled face has all the same parts as the intact face, researchers can be sure that it is the special layout of a face that is capturing the newborns’ attention. Interestingly, babies followed the drawing of the face (Figure 1A, left), but not the scrambled face (Figure 1A, right), showing that faces are important even to babies that are only a few hours old!"

The fact is that some believers pay attention to things we consider unimportant. This was what saint Paul pointed out in Galatians 1:6-7, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all." Paul's argument was that the people were paying attention to unimportant gospel and leaving what they should focus on.

In Luke 10:25-37, Jesus taught the people that they should focus on things that need their attention. He used the following example in verses 31-34, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him."

The priests and the levites turned their faces because they did not want to pay attention to the wounded man for reasons best known to them. We pray that we should have the eyes of God to focus on important things or people that need help. Exodus 3:7-9 gave us an example, "The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I Am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them."

May God help us in Jesus Name…

DUTY OF CARE

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 17:7-10

There are four areas God will use to judge us; they include, our thoughts, words, what we have done and what we fail to do. This is what is known as Tort in Law. "A tort is an act or omission, other than a breach of contract, which gives rise to injury or harm to another, and amounts to a civil wrong for which courts impose liability."

A tort can occur when, under the law, one person owes another a duty of care but fails to fulfill that duty. Every person owes a duty to all other persons to use reasonable care to avoid causing injury to them or their property. There are three types of tort actions; negligence, intentional torts, and strict liability.

A Tort cannot happen unless there is a duty laid on you. In its most simplistic terms, a duty it is an obligation to either do or not do something that will harm someone else. Cornell Law school defines a legal duty as, “An obligation, created by law or contract. A legal duty requires a person to conform their actions to a particular standard. And it also carries with it a recognition that the law will enforce this duty to the benefit of other individuals to whom this duty is owed. Put another way, the existence of a legal duty depends on whether the interest that a defendant has allegedly invaded is entitled to legal protection. For example, in the context of tort law, a landowner may have a legal duty to protect invitees from hazards on their property, like an open pit."

A breach of duty occurs when a person’s conduct fails to meet an applicable standard of care. It is one of the four elements of negligence. Negligence is the most common of tort cases. At its core negligence occurs when a tortfeasor, the person responsible for committing a wrong, is careless and therefore responsible for the harm this carelessness caused to another.

To establish liability for negligence, a plaintiff must prove: * The defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff * The defendant breached that duty * The breach caused harm to the plaintiff * The plaintiff suffered an injury/damages.

We owe God a duty of worship like a servant owes the master who employs him. Jesus used the parable in Luke 17:7-10 to explain it. He says, “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.”

If we see our worship to God as a duty, we should not expect appreciation for whatever we do. May God give us understanding in Jesus Name...

RELOCATION OF OUR PRIDE

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Matthew 2:13-23

Today, we celebrate the 62nd Independence of Nigeria as a Country. All we see now are youths who are struggling to leave the country; people consider you insane if you have no plan to move out. There are many who have resigned from their jobs, sold their valuable properties and relocated to other countries.

A survey conducted by Pew Research in 2018 showed that almost half (45%) of Nigeria’s adult population plans to relocate to another country within five years. In 2021, the number of Nigerians who planned to move abroad with their family if the opportunity was available was placed at 73%, that is more than 7 in every 10 Nigerians are ready to leave the country, and Canada, the United States, and United Kingdom top the list of their migratory destinations. Others include Australia, Germany, Spain, Italy and South Africa.

In 2017, the Federal Government declared that no fewer than 17 million Nigerians were currently living in various countries of the world, while report also showed that about 36,000 Nigeria immigrants arrived Europe by sea. In reference to a report from Ministry of Italian, the commissioner said in 2016 alone 36,000 Nigerians, about 21 per cent of the total 171,299 immigration arrived Europe by sea while in March 2017, there were 1,899,830 internally displaced persons in Nigeria due to insurgencies and environmental disasters and for the same reason, about 200,346 Nigerians fled in 2016 alone and were granted refugee status in the neighbouring countries of Cameroun, Chad and Niger (UNHCR).

The World Bank disclosed this in its report titled, ‘Of Roads Less Travelled: Assessing the Potential for Migration to Provide Overseas Jobs for Nigeria’s Youth,’ published on its website. There are many reasons for the migration; they include the poor state of the economy, the desire for better career opportunities, heightened insecurity in the country, the desire to provide a better future for their children, the need for further education and poor governance in the country. A BBC article classified these factors into economic, social, political or environmental.

The immigration of Nigerians dated back to 1950s and 1970s when the elites and the privileged middle class went to countries like United states and the United kingdom for education, business and work. The difference is that while majority of them returned to the country because of the booming economy and plum jobs, those leaving today have no intention of returning back soon.

The readings of today from Matthew 2:13-23, pointed out how God told Joseph in a dream through an angel to “Take the child Jesus and His mother and escape to Egypt. The reason was insecurity since Herod was going to search for the child to kill Him.” Scripture says in verses 14-15, "So he got up, took the child and His mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Verses 19-23 added, "After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene."

There is hope for us since we are handing our country to the Mary the Mother of God. This is the time to repair our country, for those who have gone out to start returning. Through the intercession of our Mother, may this come to pass in our time through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

UNANSWERABLE OR RHETORICAL QUESTIONS

BY REV. FR EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Job 40:1-8

The great Protestant reformer Martin Luther lost a son. His wife, Katie, shouted at him, “Where was God when our son died?” Martin replied, “The same place He was when His Son died. He was there watching and weeping.”

It is in our nature to ask question when something is unclear. There are different intentions for asking; it could be because we want an explanation or for validation; it may also be to ridicule. Humans also question God when they feel God is treating them unfairly. It is important to note that not all questions have answers. Job also questioned God when he was going through trials. The impression of believers is that the righteous should not suffer. It is like cause and effect: (If good things happen - you must be righteous, but if bad things happen - there must be some hidden fault).

In the book of Proverbs 11:24-31, the claim is made that the good and wise man is rewarded, while the unrighteous and foolish man is destined to destruction. To the authors of the book of Proverbs, it is pretty much black and white - as to who prospers and who loses; who enjoys blessing and who suffers setback; who is favored and who is cursed; and who is well and who is diseased. This is one reason why we ask God why the just suffers or bad things happens to good people. This was the predicament of Job after losing his wealth, his children, and his health—after putting up with his friends who blamed Job for his misfortune, Job demanded an audience with God. He felt that God was being unreasonable in his treatment of him. Job wanted the chance to point that out and hear what God would say in His defense.

God decides to respond in Job 38 and 39 where God pointed out to the wonders of His natural creation, then asks Job probing questions (38:4): “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation” and (39:27): “Does the eagle soar at your command and build his nest on high”? The questions were beyond Job that was why he decided to stop speaking and put his hand over his mouth (40:1-4). God challenged Job to realize that we do not know enough to fully understand God’s work, nor do we know enough to understand God’s justice.

Humanly speaking, we are good at complaining, arguing, and finding fault. God asks Job: “Will a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?” God has purposes that we can never fully understand. God has wisdom that is beyond anything we can begin to fathom. The best thing to do when the cloud of calamity is over us is to trust God in faith. In Job 42:1-6, He admitted, “Then Job answered the LORD and said, “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted…. Therefore, I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.” So must we all!

May God grant us wisdom in Jesus Name…

INVOKING SAINT MICHAEL IN BATTLES

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Revelations 12:7-12

The Feast of the Archangels: Michael, Gabriel,and Raphael, is usually celebrated on the 29th of September. My focus will be on Saint Michael. This Archangel is known for fighting battles as revealed in Revelations 12:7-12. This passage described how war broke out in heaven when Satan one of the high-ranking angels serving before God’s throne, convinced a third of the angels to follow him in rebellion against God, Cf. (Ezekiel 28:13-16).

Isaiah 14:12-15 says, How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit."

In the Christian tradition, evil has diverse representations, such as “Satan,” which in Hebrew means “adversary,” or “Devil” in Greek, which means the one who divides or sows discord. The biblical tradition also speaks of the “seducer of the world,” the “father of lies” or “Lucifer,” who presents himself as an angel of light, under a cloak of good, leading into deceit.

Apparently, because of this great battle, the beautiful earth God had created (Isaiah 45:18) became “without form, and void” (Genesis 1:2). Because of Lucifer’s rebellion, his name was changed to Satan, meaning “adversary.” His followers, fallen angels, became known as demons. Man started fighting battles from creation as captured in Genesis 3. In 1884, Pope Leo XIII, having just celebrated Mass, had a terrifying vision in which he saw Satan approach the throne of God and claimed that, given a century, he could destroy the Church. He was also given a preview of the horrors of the twentieth century which would include two great wars and multiple smaller wars, bloodshed, genocide, and large-scale apostasy from the Faith.

In response to these visions, the Pope composed a prayer invoking the protection and intercession of St. Michael the Archangel. The Pope asked that this prayer be prayed, along with three Hail Marys and the Hail Holy Queen, after the celebration of the Holy Mass, praying for protection of the Church. The prayer goes thus,

“Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into Hell, Satan and all the other evil spirits, who prowl throughout the world, seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.”

Since the late 19th Century, Catholics have recited the Prayer to St. Michael when facing disease, disaster and despair. Before Vatican II, this prayer was often recited after Mass, although it wasn't in the rubrics. In 1994, St. Pope John Paul II urged Catholics to embrace it – while preaching on threats to the unborn. In 2018, Pope Francis asked that during this month of October, the Holy Father invites us to pray every day the Holy Rosary with the intention that the Virgin Mary help the Church in these times of crisis, and to pray each day to St. Michael the Archangel that he defend us against the attacks of the Devil. According to spiritual tradition, Michael is the chief of the celestial armies and the protector of the Church (Revelation 12:7-9).

As we celebrate this Feast, we invoke the protection of Saint Michael to defend us in all our battles. May God help us in Jesus Name...

WHEN ONE PREFERS DEATH TO LIFE

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

It is a natural instinct for humans to choose life to death. Experience has taught us that there are situations when one prefers death to life; he or she wishes they were not born. These were the words of Saint Paul in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Paul was in imprisonment in Rome and attempts to put the minds of the church members at ease and not wishing to die because of the suffering (verses 12–14). He had been beaten, stoned, hated and derided, shipwrecked, and now imprisoned. He saw it as a sacrifice; he wished death in order to go to heaven.

Verses 21-23 says, "If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body."

There are believers who wish to die because their sufferings is becoming unbearable; they may be tired of the suffering they are going through. In 1 Kings 19:4 scripture says, “while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”

David in Psalms 88:3-9 expressed how people feel in such situations, “I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like one without strength. I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care. You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. Your wrath lies heavily on me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape; my eyes are dim with grief."

In situations like this one calls for death or wish to die like the righteous man in Job 3:9-16 "May its morning stars become dark; may it wait for daylight in vain and not see the first rays of dawn, for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me to hide trouble from my eyes. Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb? Why were there knees to receive me and breasts that I might be nursed? For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest with kings and rulers of the earth, who built for themselves places now lying in ruins, with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day?

Verses 20-22 added, "Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, to those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure, who are filled with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave?"

No one prays for such a pain as Jacob feared when Benjamin was to go with his brothers to Egypt in Genesis 42:38, "But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.”

No matter the situation one may find himself/herself, death will not have the last say. Like Job, may God give you greater blessings in Jesus Name...

WHY DO YOU WORSHIP GOD?

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Job 1:6-22

There is a saying that goes thus, "Different strokes for different folks.” It means that people are all different and have different needs and desires. Applying this to the worship of God, there are different reasons why believers worship God. There are some who worship God because all is going well but others worship God with the hope that they would get what they are seeking. There are some Christians who adore God because of financial gain. In John 6:25-27, when the people were looking for Jesus, scripture says, "When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for Me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”

There are others who want to escape from suffering, disasters and problems. That is, they want the protection of God. According to Satan in Job 1:8-11, when God asked him, Did you notice My servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth: a sound and honest man who fears God and shuns evil.’ ‘Yes,’ Satan said ‘but Job is not God-fearing for nothing, is he? Have You not put a wall round him and his house and all his domain? You have blessed all he undertakes, and his flocks throng the countryside. But stretch out Your hand and lay a finger on his possessions: I warrant You, he will curse You to Your face.”

Satan was insinuating that Job was worshipping God because everything was going well for him. The good news is that when he lost everything; health, children, wife, oxen’, donkeys, sheep, camels and shepherds, he displayed faith by his reaction to the losses. Verses 19-20 says, "Job rose and tore his gown and shaved his head. Then falling to the ground he worshipped and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked I shall return. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken back. Blessed be the name of the Lord!’ In all this misfortune Job committed no sin nor offered any insult to God."

Satan is right to point out that there are fair weather believers; they worship God when all is well but stop going to church when things go wrong. Our churches are filled with Christians who are seeking one blessing or the other; they are still on God's side because they have not gotten what they are seeking. The wise man prayed in Proverbs 30:7-9, “Two things I ask of you, LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown You and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”

True worshippers are described in John 4:23, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." There are those who worship God for who He is not because they have gained something; they worship God in good times and bad times.

May God help us in Jesus Name…

THE REPERCUSSION OF NEGLECT

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 16:19-31

Neglect is one of the common cause of problem in any society. This is when the caregiver or parents fail to provide for the basic needs of a child. It is different from poor parents which is being unable to care for their families. Neglect can also include rich people in the society neglecting the poor. The NSPCC defines neglect as, “The ongoing failure to meet a child’s basic needs and the most common form of child abuse. A child might be left hungry or dirty, or without proper clothing, shelter, supervision or health care. This can put children and young people in danger. And it can also have long term effects on their physical and mental wellbeing.”

Wikipedia defines it thus, Child neglect is a form of abuse, [1] an act of caregivers (e.g., parents) that results in depriving a child of their basic needs, such as the failure to provide adequate supervision, health care, clothing, or housing, as well as other physical, emotional, social, educational, and safety needs. [2] All societies have established that there are necessary behaviors a caregiver must provide in order for a child to develop physically, socially, and emotionally. Causes of neglect may result from several parenting problems including mental disorders, unplanned pregnancy, substance use disorder, unemployment, overemployment, domestic violence, and, in special cases, poverty.
Neglect can be in different forms which includes:
• Physical Neglect. The failure to provide necessary food, clothing, and shelter; inappropriate or lack of supervision.
• Medical Neglect. The failure to provide necessary medical or mental health treatment.
• Educational Neglect. The failure to educate a child or to provide for special education needs.
• Emotional Neglect. The failure to meet a child's emotional needs and provide psychosocial support, or permitting the child to use alcohol or other drugs.
• Spiritual Neglect. The failure to provide spiritual or moral care.

Neglect has lead to poverty in Nigeria. “In recent times, Nigeria has witnessed amongst others the following forms of crimes; financial crimes, transnational organized crimes, armed robbery and other related types of stealing, kidnapping, farmers herdsmen clashes, political assassination, vandalization of government infrastructures, insurgency by Niger Delta Militant and terrorism by Boko Haram Sect(Adegoke, 2015; Osawe, 2015). The issue of insecurity has been linked to the neglect especially in the Niger Delta region and other parts of Nigeria. There are people who complain of economic marginalization, unemployment, inequality and neglect of their region. This has led to some people being angry and they seek succor in militia activities for survival.

God is also unhappy about neglect. This is because, physical, or economic neglect has spiritual implications. In Amos 6:4-7, God talked about what will happen to those who neglect the ruin of Joseph, “You lie on beds adorned with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. Therefore, you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.”

Furthermore, Jesus in Luke 16:19-21, pointed out how a poor man was neglected and the implication, “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.”

If we want to avoid suffering in this world and in the next, we must pay attention to those around us who we are neglecting today. May God help us in Jesus Name…

ESTABLISH A PATTERN WHEN STILL YOUNG

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ecclesiastes 11:1-10

A pattern is established after a doing something over and over again. Collins Dictionary defines it thus, “A pattern is the repeated or regular way in which something happens or is done.” Once a pattern is established, it becomes established in the subconscious and one does them without stress. Patterns are established from young age. There are physical, emotional, and even spiritual patterns. King Solomon’s advise us to established a pattern when we are young. The following illustration will drive home the point. In June of 1955, WINSTON CHURCHILL was nearing his death. He was asked if he could give one more public speech to a British university. He agreed even though he was terribly ill. He had to be helped to the podium and when he got there for some time he just stood hanging on the sides to keep himself up, his head bowed down for some time before he raised it to speak… As it was, for the last time in public. After much silence he finally raised his head and uttered these words, “Never give up!” and then he returned to his seat. The audience sat silent for some time, and then together they suddenly exploded with applause! The fighting pattern of his soul had long been established in his heart from youth and even though his body was wasted, his spirit conquered!- Source unknown

The above story points to the fact that You will need something to carry you through the years of decline, which will be the patterns you established in youth. King Solomon suggested one in Ecclesiastes 12:1, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you say: ‘I find no pleasure in them.”

The seeming “easy” faith of those who are older did not come so easy, it was the life­time discipline of serving God from their youth onward, their faith may appear to come easy only because it has been practiced so long. The foundation of youth was established on God! It is important to establish this foundation before the frustrating struggles of old age comes.

God has given youth time, energy, strength, vitality, intellect, desire, passion, and talent so make the most of these things available to you while you are young and you still can; when you have the energy, when you don’t have the limitations you will have when you are older, when everything is working well for you. As the scripture teaches, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

In Ecclesiastes 12:2-8, Solomon pointed out the diminishing capacity of old age: a. Poor eyesight b. Weakness c. Hearing problems d. Sleeping problems e. Graying hair and decreasing muscle tone f. Endurance decreasing g. Greater effort at doing little things

Solomon concluded this admonition with the following in Ecclesiastes 11:9-10: “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore, remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.”

May God help us to establish a great pattern in our lives in Jesus Name...

DISCERNING TIPPING TIME AND SEASON

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ecclesiastes 3:1-9

The greatest frustration many believers experience is caused by their lack of discernment of time and seasons. Ecclesiastes 3:1 states clearly, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Verse 2-9 made it clear that there is a difference between, a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and harvest time; a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build up; a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to embrace and refrain from embracing; a time to keep and a time to cast away; a time to rend and a time to sew; a time to be silent and when to speak; a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.

There is need to be like the sons of Issachar who had understanding of time and seasons; they knew what Israel ought to do at any time(1 Chronicles 12:32). This gift of discernment is valuable in times of uncertainty. Jesus was critical of His generation for their inability to discern the times. Then He also said to the multitudes, “Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is. And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time? Luke 12:54-56.

What is time and season? Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance defines it thus, time, season Of uncertain derivation; a space of time (in general, and thus properly distinguished from kairos, which designates a fixed or special occasion; and from aion, which denotes a particular period) or interval; by extension, an individual opportunity; by implication, delay -- + years old, season, space, (X often-)time(-s), (a) while.”

The time I am interested in here is Kairos and Hora in Greek. Kairos- the right time, an opportune time, set time(Acts 17:26). Hora- the “now” time of God, an hour, season, a specific set time or moment (John 2:4-5; 4:23; Matthew 8:13).

Knowledge of the right time is called tipping time. According to Merriam Webster, “Tipping point, which we define as “the critical point in a situation, process, or system beyond which a significant and often unstoppable effect or change takes place.” This is what enables us to discern time and season and knowledge of what to do. We can get into the tipping point by prayers and reading the word of God. The Holy Spirit enables us to get to this point easily. The Holy Spirit helps us to discern when there is a change in time and season. Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:10-12 says, “These are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit. These are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.

The scripture in Hebrews 5:14 says, “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.“ Today, I pray that God’s grace will enable us to discern tipping time and season in Jesus Name…

ANCIENT AND MODERN

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ecclesiastes 1:8-11

There is a song I love, it goes thus, Do something new in my life Something New in my life (2x) O God Do something new in my life Something New in my Life (2x) O God I can not do without You I Cannot do without You I can not do without You O Lord (x4)

The song represents the human desire for something new. We get tired of things easily and wish something new only to return to those old ones we considered as obsolete. This happens in fashion, friends, partners and life generally. An old saying goes thus, “everything old is new again.” Clothes that are considered old fashioned are now new styles in vogue. It seems that things are just running in cycle. Another old saying goes like this “If we don’t learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.”

The emperor Mark Antonine has the very phrase (ouden kainon), “nothing new": so Seneca, “nothing new I see, nothing new I do.'' There is nothing new under the sun’ is one of the most important and powerful lines in the beautiful poetry of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament: Ecclesiastes 1:8-11 says, “The unending cycle of man’s labor. All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing. That which has been is what will be That which is done is what will be done And there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after.”

Shakespeare quoted this text from Ecclesiastes in Sonnet 95, beginning it with ‘If there be nothing new,’ and continuing with his main idea for the sonnet, playing around with the Ecclesiastes phrase, using ‘courses of the sun’ to refer to ‘days.’

If there be nothing new, but that which is Hath been before, how are our brains beguil’d, Which labouring for invention bear amiss The second burthen of a former child. Oh that record could with a backward look, Even of five hundred courses of the sun, Show me your image in some antique book, Since mind at first in character was done, That I might see what the old world could say To this composed wonder of your frame; Whether we are mended, or where better they, Or whether revolution be the same. Oh sure I am the wits of former days, To subjects worse have given admiring praise.

Shakespeare acknowledged that everything he wrote about came from somewhere else – someone had dealt with it before him, and in most cases it was impossible, even for Shakespeare, to know where it had originated.

GotQuestion.com explains the text as follows, “To say there is nothing new under the sun does not ignore inventions or advances in technology; rather, these innovations do not amount to any basic change in the world. In Solomon’s time, many advances took place in society, but, from the larger perspective of life, human nature has remained and always will remain the same.

Bible Study tools shared light on the text thus, “The thing that hath been, it [is that] which shall be. The thing that has been seen and heard is no other than what shall be seen and heard again; so that what is now seen and heard is only what has been seen and heard before; it is but the same thing over again; and that is the reason why the eye and ear are never satisfied; the same objects, as the visible heavens and earth, and all therein, which have been from the beginning, these are they which shall be, and there is nothing else to be seen and heard, and enjoyed; and that which is done, [is] that which shall be done.”

It may be the same day and night, summer and winter, spring and autumn, heat and cold, seed time and harvest, etc. but there is something new about each one. As scripture says there is no end to them (Genesis 8:22 ) ( Jeremiah 31:35 Jeremiah 31:36)( Jeremiah 33:20 Jeremiah 33:21 ).

There is need to pray to experience new things despite the fact that there is nothing new under the sun. We need to experience this new things. May God give them to us in Jesus Name...

BE HEARD AND SEEN

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Psalms 19:1-6

It was Dr. Ralph G. Nichols who said, “The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood.” David Cooperrider, who first researched Appreciative Inquiry, noticed three universal human needs during his research: “Every human has a need to (1) have a voice and be heard, (2) be seen as essential to the group (i.e. if I was absent, I would be missed), and (3) be seen as unique and exceptional.”

The need to be heard and seen is a universal one. This need applies to every area of our lives; relationships, business, the work we do and life generally. This need makes children to do dubious things just to be noticed. This need makes some people shout or wear clothes that will make others notice them. There are many who try to communicate to others using email, television, social media or any other means to make themselves seen or heard. There are times people display their talents to uncover their gifts. This core human needs is the reason why we want to be validated, acknowledged, understood, and appreciated. This need is behind what people do to communicate to others.

Communication is very important because there is the human instinct that wants to communicate to others. This is why effective communication is very important. There are many ways to ensure communication, the transfer of thoughts and ideas. I’m sure we’ve all heard the old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

God makes no noise but His voice is heard and His glory is seen in creation. God has chosen to communicate to us and to the world through His creation and His Word. Psalms 19:1-6 put it thus, “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims His handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and there is nothing hid from its heat.”

This shows that God makes no noise in communicate His glory to us. This is what it should be for us believers. We should not shout or do extraordinary things to be heard or seen. This was what happened to John the Baptist. In Matthew 3:5, scripture says, “People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan.”

May God make us to be known and heard in Jesus Name…

SCAMMERS AND CHEATING WITH THEIR WEALTH

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Proverbs 21:6-7

A man married a wife and told her that he does not want her to give birth to a child. The woman did not understand what that meant because for many women, the fruit of the womb is the pride of any marriage. The woman had all she wanted because her husband had money but unknown to her, her husband had entered into a covenant with an occult group that he would not have a child but only money. The woman stubbornly got pregnant and when her husband learnt of the pregnancy, he started being sick and before the child was born, he died.

There are people who have money but will never enjoy it. This is the lot of those who use fraud or lies to make money. One truth scammers ignore is that they will never enjoy riches gotten through deceitful ways or who acquire wealth by dealing dishonestly with others using a lying tongue. This is what scripture says in Proverbs 21:6, “Getting treasures by a lying tongue is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.” Lying tongue here can mean, telling lies in trade, bearing false witness in court to acquire wealth, telling lies that will make people pity you and give you money, lying about your abilities, producers lying about products they will supply but never bring them, using lying tongue to lure people into financial traps and profit from their misfortune, oppressing those with whom they deal by fraudulent contracts, etc.

Solomon in Proverbs 21:6-8 taught his son to be impeccable in financial dealings. This is because God will destroy wicked men that steal for riches, because they reject honest dealings. Consider also the many proverbs demanding just weights and balances (Proverbs 11:1; 16:11; 20:10,23).

Ill-gotten wealth do not last. Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible says, “such treasures, though ever so great, are like any light thing, smoke or vapour, straw, stubble, chaff, or a feather, tossed about the wind; which is expressive of the instability uncertainty of riches ill gotten; they do not last long, but are taken away and carried off by one providence or another.”

God said to the prophet Jeremiah, “As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool” (Jeremiah 17:11). And again, “Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work” (Jeremiah 22:13).

The worse of all is that ill-gotten wealth leads to death. Proverbs 21:6 made it clear that they seek after death. There are many examples about the Ill-gotten wealth in scripture that led to death: • 1 Kings 21:1-24 narrated how Ahab wanted the vineyard of Naboth but he refused. Jezebel then framed Naboth up and he was stoned to death. God pronounced a death sentence on Ahab and his generational. Jezebel was to be eaten by dogs. • In Joshua 7 after the defeat of Jericho, Achan stole some treasures and hid them. At the end, he was stoned to death(Joshua 7:20-26). • The servant of Prophet Elisha who went after Naaman to get the treasures without the consent of his master ended as a leper, II Kings 5:20-27. • Ananias and the wife Sapphira lied to the Apostles to get wealth but they died at the end.(Acts 5:1-11). • The story of Judas Iscariot who sold his master for thirty pieces of silver did not enjoy the wealth as recorded in Matthew 27:3-10.

May God grant us true riches in Jesus Name...

DARKNESS STRUGGLING TO COVER LIGHT

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 8:16-18

John the Evangelist describing Jesus in John 1:4-5 wrote, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” That explains the fact that when light comes, darkness disappears. The story of how light overcame darkness is shown in Genesis 1:1-5, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”

The challenge is when darkness tries to cover light. The light is supposed to shine but when darkness still prevails, there is a challenge. In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says, “You are light for the whole world…. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden. Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house. Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven”

Jesus stated in Luke 8:16-17, “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. This passage can also be found in Mark 4:21–25. The passage shows that people can attempt to cover the light by hiding it or stop it from manifesting or preventing it from being known. The parable used hiding it under the bed or covering it with a bucket or bushel; it could be interpreted as hiding talents and achievements that people will not stand out.

Dictionary.com explains this passage thus, “Do not conceal your talents or abilities. This proverb is taken from the Sermon on the Mount; Jesus is telling believers not to hide their faith. According to Collins Dictionary If you hide your light under a bushel, you keep your abilities or good qualities hidden from other people.

The message in this parable was for the early Christians who were cruelly persecuted; they may have hidden their faith as they did not want to be tortured, imprisoned or killed because of it. Jesus encouraged them to stand out. No matter how much people or situations try to stop us from manifesting, it will end up like the Watergate scandal. On June 17, 1972, several burglar who broke into the office of the Democratic National Committee, located in the Watergate complex of buildings in Washington, D.C, were arrested. It connected President Richard Nixon who took aggressive steps to cover up the crimes, A few days after the break-in, for instance, he arranged to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in “hush money” to the burglars. Then, Nixon and his aides hatched a plan to instruct the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to impede the FBI’s investigation of the crime. At the end, when Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein revealed his role in the conspiracy, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974.

It is my prayer that we shall stand out this week in Jesus Name…

WHAT PEOPLE DO FOR MONEY

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 16:1-14

I listened to the Lyrics of the song, “What People Do For Money” and loved it; it goes thus, [Intro] (What people do for money) (What people do for money)

You're with it See that lady there Selling their body, man Shouldn't have even done that I know It's crazy, crazy Word

The song simply suggests that people do crazy things for money. No doubt money is important because it is the purchasing power in our society today. Those with money have symptoms like prestige, status, glamour, and worth attached to it. Money has been elevated to the status of a god; it is a substitute for God. This is why Henry Fielding says, “If you make money your god, it will plague you like the devil.”

Jesus in Matthew 6:24 says, “You cannot be slaves of God and of money.” Money in King James is translated as Mammon. Money here is being personalized as a rival god and not just a medium of exchange. In Luke 16:13-24 scripture says, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.”

The issue here is how people acquire money. The usual thing to do for one to get money is to work hard. Proverbs 10:4 says, “Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring riches.” Paul encouraged people to work hard to earn a living. He says, “Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat. Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their living,” 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12.

The challenge is that some people work hard but still do not have money, so they employ dubious means to get money. There are people who can kill others to make money. Kidnapping and robbery strives because people want to make money. Paul warns in 1 Timothy 6:9–10, “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Amos 8:4-6, X-ray the attitude of some people, “Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying, When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?”—skimping on the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat.”

Jesus used the parable of the dishonest servant to illustrate how some people made money. The master decided to relieve the dishonest servant and he decided to call his masters debtors and reduce their debt. Luke 16:5-7 puts it thus, “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ “Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’ “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ “A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. “He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.”

We are suppose to have dominion over money, but if money have dominion over us, it has become god to us. May God help us in Jesus Name...

WRONG QUESTIONS BEGET WRONG ANSWERS

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

1 Corinthians 15:35-38

A teacher told me about her experience when she first started teaching. Her students saw her as too young to teach them. On her first day in school, they welcomed her with questions they thought had no answers. According to her, they were asking foolish questions because they knew that there were some questions in Mathematics that have no answers. According to Hugh O. Stewart, co-author of ‘The Magic of High-Quality Questions,’ questions should serve two purposes: • To instill confidence in the individual to whom the question is asked. You want the person you are directing the question towards to feel like their answer will make a difference or provide some valuable input. • To cause creativity, so the individual can use their imagination and problem-solving skills when answering the question.

In order to create confidence and creativity in the person receiving the question, the questioner must recognize their intentions; Why is this question necessary? Why is it being asked? Just as importantly, how are you framing the question?

Muthoni Gathinji said, “The power of the right question is three-fold. First, it has the ability to take an individual from mental fogginess to pristine clarity in the space of one breath. Secondly, it can unlock deeply hidden truths/fears. Lastly, it can provide motivational fuel when one’s tanks are on empty.”

He continued, “The most serious mistakes are not the result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong questions. If your answer to the right question produces the wrong, unexpected result, you can take corrective action. In other words, a wrong answer to the right question can, as a rule, be repaired and salvaged. But if you ask the wrong question and get the right answer, chances are it will take a lot longer to discover and inevitably lead to even more costly errors.”

There are some students who copy the right answers from others and put them under a wrong question; they may never learn. A wrong question will produce a wrong answer. Proverbs 26:4-5 says, – “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.”

There are some questions in scripture that are considered foolish questions. These were like the questions asked by the students above. In Luke 20:27-40, the Sadducees came to Him making fun of the Resurrection, with a story about seven brothers who each married the same woman as each brother died in turn. No children were born to any of the brothers. So, they asked, “In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.” Jesus did not answer according to their folly, He explained that it was a wrong question. Jesus answered the Sadducees. “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I Am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong” (Mark 12:24-27).

The Corinthians also asked a wrong question in 1 Corinthians 15:35-38 and Paul told them about the foolishness of the question, “But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.”

May God guide us to ask the right question in Jesus Name…

CONFUSION OF FAITH

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

A state of confusion is one according to Collins Dictionary that can be explain as follows, “If there is confusion about something, it is not clear what the true situation is, especially because people believe different things. It can also be, “Confusion is a situation in which everything is in disorder, especially because there are lots of things happening at the same time.”

Macmillan Dictionary used symptoms to explain it: confusion NOUN a feeling that you do not understand something or cannot decide what to do

ambiguity NOUN a confusing mixture of feelings or ideas that makes something hard to understand
bewilderment NOUN a feeling of being extremely confused
muddle NOUN a confused situation or condition
puzzlement NOUN a feeling of being confused because you cannot understand something
delirium NOUN MEDICAL a confused state caused by illness
perplexity NOUN a confused feeling that you have because you cannot understand something
fog NOUN a confused or confusing situation or state
mixed message NOUN something you say that is confusing because you behave as though you mean something else
culture shock NOUN the nervous or confused feeling that people sometimes get when they arrive in a place that has a very differentculture from their own.

A confusion of faith therefore is fog that makes what we believe to be unclear. It can be an obstacle that covers our faith like a veil. Everyone will become Confused at one point or the other. This is when we do not understand things in our lives, we fear, we worry, and we stress because we do not know the right step to take. Confusion is not the lot of believers but that of the enemy. In the Bible, it is mentioned that God will confuse your enemies (Joshua 10). The spirit of the Lord enables us to deal with confusion. Saint Paul says, “But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord — who is the Spirit — makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:12-18).

In 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, Paul tried to clear the confusion about the resurrection from the dead; he made it clear that we should not allow confusion of faith to cause ambiguity in our lives. He admonished the believers to believe in the resurrection of Christ and the fog of confusion of faith will be removed.

May God help us in Jesus Name...

FAITHFULNESS IN SUFFERING

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

John 19:25-27

The feast of Our Lady of Sorrow also known as Mater Dolorosa (Mother of Sorrow), comes immediately after the feast of the Exultation of the Cross. The title, ‘Our Lady of sorrow’ is given to our Lady, it focuses on her intense suffering and grief during the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. This suffering also includes the seven dolor or seven sorrows of Mary. The Church draws our attention to the spiritual martyrdom of the Blessed Virgin Mary in virtue of her perfect union with the passion of Christ. It points out how our Blessed mother shared in the suffering of her Son in fulfillment of the prophecy of Simeon in Luke 2:33-35, “The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about Him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, His mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” This prophecy was not made to Joseph who was with Mary at the time of the presentation.

The emotion of sorrow and grief are common to human condition and it makes a difference if one is bearing the pain personally. Our Blessed Mother bore the pain of the death of her son on the cross personally. She did not run away from it as scripture described the last moment of Jesus on the Cross in John 19:25-27, “Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”

In time of hardship, trial, accident, illness, suffering and death, many of our loved ones run away or follow from afar. The case of Jesus was not different; Mark 14:50-51, says, “But this has happened that the Scriptures would be fulfilled.” Then everyone deserted Him and fled. One young man who had been following Jesus was wearing a linen cloth around his body. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away. Other scriptures point to this desertion as follows, Mark 14:27

And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of Me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.

Job 19:13,14 He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me…
Psalm 38:11 My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.

Peter even denied the Lord when he was following from afar. Luke 22:56-59 says, “Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with Him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.” And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with Him, for he too is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.”

We celebrate Mary’s faithfulness and love for the Savior; we must pray for the grace to be faithful in time of trial. May we be like the few that remained by the foot of the cross when others ran away. We pray to be strengthened by a divine power to this degree of patience and faithfulness. We pray that the grace of God will be sufficient for us as God assured Saint Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9. May God give us grace in Jesus Name…

TRIUMPH OVER CHALLENGES

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

John 3:13-17

September 14 is the feast of the triumph of the cross. Britannica Encyclopedia, calls it “Exaltation of the Holy Cross, also called Universal Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross or Holy Cross Day.” This feast commemorates three historical events: • Finding of the True Cross by Saint Helena; • Dedication of the churches on the site of the Holy Sepulchre and Mount Calvary; and • Restoration of the True Cross to Jerusalem by Heraclius II.

The Jewish and Roman authorities hid Christ’s tomb with great quantity of stones and rubbish and built a temple to Venus and Jupiter on the site. Saint Helena (Constantine’s mother) was divinely inspired to travel to Jerusalem in 326 to find the True Cross. She ordered the statutes to be broken and the place dug; they discovered three crosses and a woman who was near death was use to test for the true cross; when she touched the True Cross, she was healed. Emperor Constantine built churches at the Holy Sepulchre and Mount Calvary which were dedicated on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. In the 7th century, Persians conquered Jerusalem and captured the Cross. Emperor Heraclius II of Constantinople defeated the Persians, recaptured the cross, and restored it to Jerusalem.

The feast is all about using the same instrument of defeat to conquer the killer. In this feast, we celebrate the defeat of death by the very instrument that caused death to the author of life. This feast is a celebration of God’s greatest work: His death and resurrection which defeated death and opened Heaven. Christ transformed an instrument of torture, pain, horrible death, and humiliation into a symbol of salvation.

When Moses lifted up the bronze serpent over the people, it was a foreshadowing of salvation through Jesus when He was lifted up on the Cross. Timothy W. Ross describing the cross and triumph said, “The Cross…an instrument of torture and death designed to inflict maximum physical suffering along with ultimate shame for the person nailed to it. Those sentenced by the Romans to death were stripped of their clothes and hoisted naked before the jeering crowds. There they dangled for hours, sometimes days, fighting for breath, suffering exposure, blood loss, shock, and trauma. There they hung until death finally, mercifully swallowed them. Triumph…victory, conquest, the joy of winning a contest. The Cross…triumph. The people of Jesus’ day wouldn’t have much connection between these two images–the cross and triumph. But today we celebrate The Cross of Triumph. Christ has overcome the world. The cross was an instrument of execution; it became a symbol of redemption and hope. The Cross was supposed to put an end to the hopes of the those who looked for Jesus to bring in a new kingdom.”

This feast is a reminder that we have our own crosses to carry and die on. The true follower of Jesus knows his fate. Our crosses have different sizes in the same way that we have different magnitude of challenges in life. We can use the same instrument that is destroying or killing us to achieve victory. This was the lesson God taught the impatient Israelites on their way to the promised land. In Numbers 21:5-11, due to the hardship they were going through spoke against the Lord and Moses which made Serpent to enter the camp and many died as a result of the bite. They begged for forgiveness and God instructed Moses to make a symbolic serpent attached at the end of the pole and declared that whoever is bitten need only to look at the serpent and they will be healed. Jesus in John 3:13-17 referred to this incident by saying that is what the cross will be for believers. John 3:14-15 says, “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.”

We have to turn anything that is a challenge for us into an instrument of victory, May God help us achieve victory in Jesus Name...

EMOTIONAL REUNION

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 7:11-17

The anguish of a mother who has lost her son is one that cannot be quantified. The reason may not be unconnected with the emotional separation. The pain of such separation is the same whether it is separation from a love one, spouse or parents. The grief and sorrow of this loss take away joy from many parents and those who are affected by it. Emotional separation is not easy for people we still love. This is where Emotional Detachment becomes dangerous.

Wikipedia explains emotional detachment thus, “In psychology, emotional detachment, also known as emotional blunting, is a condition or state in which a person lacks emotional connectivity to others whether due to an unwanted circumstance or as a positive means to cope with anxiety. That coping strategy, also known as emotion focused-coping, is used when avoiding certain situations that might trigger anxiety. It refers to the evasion of emotional connections. Emotional detachment may be a temporary reaction to a stressful situation, or a chronic condition such as depersonalization-derealization disorder. It may also be caused by certain antidepressants. Emotional blunting as reduced affect display is one of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia.”

J. C. Ryle says this, “Let us never forget this great truth. The world around us is full of sorrow. Sickness, and pain, and infirmity, and poverty, and labor, and trouble, abound on every side. From one end of the world to the other, the history of families is full of lamentation, and weeping, and mourning, and woe.”

The greatest joy one could have is an emotional reunion when it seem there is a detachment. This was the feeling of the mother of the child that died in Luke 7:11-15, “Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and His disciples and a large crowd went along with Him. As He approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, “Don’t cry.” Then He went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.”

The story of the dead child that was brought back to life in 1 Kings 17:17-24 by Prophet Elijah and the one that was brought back to life through the prayers of prophet Elisha are similar to the one in the above passage. The parents were not willing to detach and their desires were granted. We need a reunion in our relationships, with our source of joy and happiness, with God and any valuable thing we have lost.

May Jesus restore our lost hope in Jesus Name...

TRASH IN THE CHURCH

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

1 Corinthians 11:1-10

There are some people who are regarded as trash in our society. Merriam Webster offer an explanation to the word as follows, Definition of trash (Entry 1 of 2) 1: Something worth little or nothing: such as a: Things that are no longer useful or wanted and that have been thrown away: JUNK, RUBBISH b(1): Inferior or worthless writing or artistic matter (such as a television show) especially: such matter intended purely for sensational entertainment (2): TRASH TALK (3): Empty talk: NONSENSE 2: A worthless person also: such persons as a group: RIFFRAFF 3: Something in a crumbled or broken condition or mass especially: debris from pruning or processing plant material.

Dictionary.com defines it thus, Noun Anything worthless, useless, or discarded; rubbish. Foolish or pointless ideas, talk, or writing; nonsense. A worthless or disreputable person, such persons collectively. SEE MORE Verb (used with object) Slang. to destroy, damage, or vandalize, as in anger or protest: The slovenly renters had trashed the house. To condemn, dismiss, or criticize as worthless: The article trashed several recent best-sellers.

This term was best suited for the African Slaves. In the early 1800s, many Africans were sold into slavery and taken to Europe and America. They were regarded and treated as trash because they were considered inferior, poor and without value. The expression “White trash” was later adopted to stigmatize poor white people. Nancy Isenberg compiled a long list of derisive names that have been used to refer to poor whites: “Waste people, Offscourings, Lubbers, Bogtrotters, Rascals, Rubbish, Squatters, Crackers. Clay-eaters, Tuckies, Mudsills, Scalawags, Briar hoppers, Hillbillies. Low-downers, White niggers, Degenerates, White trash, Rednecks, Trailer trash, Swamp people." The summary is that the trash were regarded as inferior and of no value.

According to Wikipedia, “White trash is a derogatory racial and class-related slur used in American English to refer to poor white people, especially in the rural southern United States. The label signifies a social class inside the white population and especially a degraded standard of living. It is used as a way to separate the "noble and hardworking" "good poor" from the lazy, “undisciplined, ungrateful and disgusting,” “bad poor.” Use of the term provides for middle- and upper-class whites a means of distancing themselves from the poverty and powerlessness of poor whites, who cannot enjoy those privileges. The term has been adopted for people living on the fringes of the social order, who are seen as dangerous because they may be criminal, unpredictable, and without respect for political, legal, or moral authority. While the term is mostly used pejoratively by urban and middle-class whites as a class signifier, some white entertainers self-identify as "white trash", considering it a badge of honor, and celebrate the stereotypes and social marginalization of lower-class whiteness.”

The early Christians treated the poor among them as trash as Saint Paul pointed out in 1 Corinthians 11:17-26. There was a division between the rich and the poor. When it was time for the Lord’s Supper, the poor go hungry while the rich had more than enough that made some of them drunk. The rich despise the church of God by humiliating those who had nothing. Paul fought for the dignity of the poor to be restored.

The servant in Luke 7:1-10 was one that was respected and treated as a valuable instrument. This was why the centurion fought for his life to be saved by urging Jesus to heal him. The slave can become the master as we find in Joseph’s case in Genesis 41:37-39.

May God restore our dignity this week in Jesus Name...

CRAZY LOVE

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 15:1-32

The word insanity or being crazy is a controversial one because it has different definitions in different disciplines. Below are some definitions of insanity:
• Vocabulary.com defines it as follows, “To be insane is to be mentally ill. This is also a slang word for acting wacky or wild.”
• Merriam Webster defines it as follows, A severely disordered state of mind usually occurring as a specific disorder (dated) Unsoundness of mind or lack of the ability to understand that prevents one from having the mental capacity required by law to enter into a particular relationship, status, or transaction or that releases one from criminal or civil responsibility (legal definition) Extreme folly or unreasonableness.
• As a legal term, “insanity is a legal term pertaining to a defendant's ability to determine right from wrong when a crime is committed. Here's the first sentence of law.com's lengthy definition: Insanity. n. mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot conduct her/his affairs due to psychosis or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior.”
• Albert Einstein is said to have defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
• Joy Youell remarked, Words like "insane,” “insanity,” and "crazy" are used to describe someone who is just a little bit different like an eccentric but lovable aunt or an obnoxious neighbor.

At other times, we use it to describe ourselves when we feel a little out of sync with the rest of the world. If you're going through a stressful or busy time in your life, you might feel distracted or anxious. Although these feelings are perfectly normal, you may find yourself proclaiming, "I think I've lost my mind. I'm going insane."

People in love are generally referred to as crazy because some of the things they do does not conform to what it means to be sane in the eyes of the ordinary person in the society. For example, Mother Theresa was considered crazy when she left the comfort of the convent and tirelessly serving the poor. The shepherd who left the Ninety-nine sheep in the wilderness in search of the one that was lost is considered crazy. Luke 15: 3-5 puts it thus, “Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.”

The father of the prodigal son was considered crazy by his elder son when the father welcomed the brother that left the house and returned. Luke 15:28-30 captured him saying after he was told his father was organizing a party for the prodigal son, “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

The fact that the behavior does not seems right in your eyes does not make it a crazy one. If you were the beneficiary, your notion of what is crazy will change. In Greek and Roman civilizations, behaviors we might call "insane" today were actually perceived as signs of a special connection to the divine. In the 1970s, the Soviet Union proclaimed that anyone who disagreed with their regime was mentally ill, leading to mass hospitalizations of Soviet dissenters.
God can be considered insane while in love only when you are not the beneficiary.

May God grant us wisdom in Jesus Name...

UNDERESTIMATING THE POWER OF IDOLS AND OVERESTIMATING THE POWER OF GOD

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

1 Corinthians 10:14-21

There is a priest who usually attends the juju festivals in my community; it was more of a scandal for many believers. I decide to ask him why he attends and eat with them. His answer was that he was immune from any attack since he was participating in the Eucharist, he is inoculated and thus he cannot be entangled by the idols. He want on to say, festivals are part of our cultural practices and they are harmless to believers. This story can be liken to the Corinthians in Paul’s days who were frequenting Pagans’ temple and partaking of their meals during festivals. Their argument was that “Idols are nothing” and there is nothing to fear going to these temples; they were safeguard by their participation in the Lord’s supper. Paul addressing this issue said in 1 Corinthians 10:14, “Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.”

The idols may not be the ones I described above but what Rev. Scott Lindsay identified as “Those things that have a hold on our hearts, those tables at which we frequently sit, those things that serve, functionally, as substitutes for the Lord Jesus Christ - things upon which we place our ultimate hope, security and which generate our deepest passions - both positively and negatively.” He added, some of these questions according to One commentator can include, 1) What is my greatest nightmare? What do I worry about most? 2) What, if I failed to achieve it, or else failed to hang on to it, would cause me to feel that I did not even want to live? 3) What is it that really keeps me going? 4) What do I rely on or comfort myself with when things become hard or difficult? Where is the first place I run? 5) What do I think most easily about? What does my mind go to when I am free? What pre-occupies me? 6) What prayer, if left unanswered the way I wanted it answered, would make me seriously think about turning away from God? 7) What makes me feel the most self-worth? What am I the proudest of? 😎 What do I really want and expect out of life? What do I think would really make me happy?

The answers to these questions will show where our hearts are; they are our idols. Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” These things can be substitutes for Christ and they are rivals to God; they struggle to take first place in our hearts and therefore they become false gods. Paul therefore, admonished believers to avoid anything that can arose jealousy in God. 1 Corinthians 10:18-21 put it this way, “Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than He?”

We must flee from idols and flee to God. May God grant us courage to take away anything that competes with Christ in our lives in Jesus Name…

PUSH HARDER

BY REV. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

My experience as an athlete while I was in school taught me that an athletic competition is a serious business. Before any competition, we went into strict training in preparation for the competition; we strive, train, learn, grow and exercise daily; we watch what we eat, drink or take into our bodies; we had enough rest after a vigorous training. All these disciplines is to win a medal. My Coach taught us how to retain strength while running, how to be focused, relentless, determined and intentional, and other techniques in athletics. This is the technique Paul tries to teach in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, he compared an “athletic competition” to the Christian life; he used the image of running and boxing to illustrate this point.

The Christian race is a marathon not a sprint. There are times we become tried and discouraged. The urgency to finish the race and win a crown is a priority. Prophet Isaiah encourages us to hope in the Lord to renew our strength in Isaiah 40:28-31, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Saint Paul speaks on completing the race in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge, will award me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.”The good fight or race here means keeping the rules of the game as we run with others. In the competition, everyone is trying to win and there is the temptation to want to cut corners. We must be determined to run the race correctly. Paul encourage us to make sure we are running the race of faith correctly (Galatians 2:2). He urges the Galatians to keep running the good race and not to allow others to “cut in on” their race or to keep them from obeying the truth(Galatians 5:7).

In 1 Corinthians 9:24, Paul says, “In a race all runners run, but only one gets the prize… [so] run in such a way to get the prize.” This was typical in the first century Corinth. Only one runner would receive the prize, a laurel wreath, to signify that they were victorious. In Verses 25-27 he added, “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

In running or boxing, the athlete exercises self-control and pushes the body to a high level like those preparing for the Olympics games or world championships. This they do in order to win perishable wreath. He encourages the believer to push themselves harder because they want to win an imperishable wreath. This is where the life of holiness, meditating regularly on the word of God, fasting, receiving the sacraments, etc comes in.

May God help us to push harder in Jesus Name...

PEACE INCREASE

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Philippians 4:4-7

The Church normally celebrates the birthday of Saints on the day they died but there are three natural birthdays which appear in the Church’s calendar; they are: the birthday of Jesus, Mary and that of John the Baptist. The birthday of Jesus Christ is reflected in Matthew 2 and that of John the Baptist was recorded in Luke 1 but the account of Mary's birth is not provided for in scripture. However, the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James fills in the gap. According to this account, Anna and Joachim were infertile but prayed for a child; they receive the promise of a child who will advance God’s plan of salvation for the world. This is different from the date of the death of Mary which is called the Feast of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The question that can be asked is, why September 8? A mathematical computation shows that September 8 is exactly nine months after December 8 - the feast of the immaculate conception of Mary. The day Mary was conceived in the womb of Anna her mother. Birthdays are days of celebration for the celebrant and his/her family and friends and Mary's own is not an exception. The Church has celebrated Mary’s birth since at least the sixth century. The feast is special to us because it indicates when the assurance of our salvation became a reality. It calls for rejoicing and great joy because Mary’s birth offers the greatest possible happiness to the world. Each time we celebrate her birth, we can confidently hope for an increase of peace in our hearts and in the world at large.

Saint Augustine connects Mary’s birth with Jesus’ saving work. He tells the earth to rejoice and shine forth in the light of her birth, “She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley. Through her birth the nature inherited from our first parents is changed.” The opening prayer at Mass speaks of the birth of Mary’s Son as the dawn of our salvation, and asks for an increase of peace. Saint Paul encouraged the believers to be Happy in every situation as written in Philippians 4:4-7, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

May the Joy of today's celebration increase our peace in Jesus Name...

BECOMING A POWER SOURCE

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 6:12-19

Phones in Nigeria are Christians too because their owners take them to church. The reason why Phones go to church is to get charged since most churches use electricity during worship. This accounts for why many Phones are being stolen in church. It is very easy to confuse power supply and a power source. A power source is the origin of incoming electricity. In most cases, the electricity source is an outlet, battery, or generator. The power supply works to convert the power from the source into the correct format and voltage.

Electric power according to the Dictionary definition is "the product of voltage and current ." Wikipedia writes, "All power supplies have a power input connection, which receives energy in the form of electric current from a source, and one or more power output or rail connections that deliver current to the load. The source power may come from the electric power grid, such as an electrical outlet, energy storage devices such as batteries or fuel cells, generators or alternators, solar power converters, or another power supply. The input and output are usually hardwired circuit connections, though some power supplies employ wireless energy transfer to power their loads without wired connections. Some power supplies have other types of inputs and outputs as well, for functions such as external monitoring and control.

Michael Faraday in 1831-32 in explaining electromagnetic induction discovered that "flow of electric charges could be induced by moving an electrical conductor, such as a wire that contains electric charges, in a magnetic field. This movement creates a voltage difference between the two ends of the wire or electrical conductor, which in turn causes the electric charges to flow, thus generating electric current."

Most homes in our country today are powered or lighted by inverter batteries. The major duty of an Inverter batteries’ is to store electric energy and supply it when required. Like the Inverter, the believer can become a power source. He/she receives power from God and supplies when needed. This is the example Jesus sets for us in Luke 6:12-19, “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles." Verse 17-19 added, "He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all."

Jesus spent a lot of time storing energy by praying and meditating sometimes the whole night as seen in the following scriptural passages:
• Matthew 14:23, “After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone.”
• Mark 3:13, “Then Jesus went up on the mountain and called for those He wanted, and they came to Him."
• Luke 5:16’ “Yet He frequently withdrew to the wilderness to pray."


It is this stored energy that is supplied when the need arises. The gospel of Mark 5:29-30 says when the woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus, "Immediately her bleeding stopped, and she sensed in her body that she was healed of her affliction. At once Jesus was aware that power had gone out from Him. Turning to the crowd, He asked, “Who touched My garments?” His disciples answered, “You can see the crowd pressing in on You, and yet You ask, ‘Who touched Me?

There is need to recharge our spiritual batteries in order to supply power when the need arises. May God make us a source of power in Jesus Name...

YEAST THAT DOES NOT RISE

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

1 Corinthians 5:1-8<./p>

Twenty-two years ago, a man called me to bless his bakery. I followed him ignorantly, blessed his bakery and left. It was later he came and explained to me that he had been having some challenges; he would add yeast also known as leaven to the dough but the bread refuses to rise but after the prayers, everything normalized. I started wondering what kind of miracle I performed that led to the change. I decided to study how bread rise. I was puzzled by the little yeast that makes the dough to rise or “puff up.”

Yeast is a living organism that feeds on the dough in which it is placed. This feeding produces a gas called “carbon dioxide.” The “carbon dioxide” cause the dough to rise, thus, increasing the volume as well as improving the flavor and texture of the baked product such as bread. In 1859, a scientist by the name of Louis Pasteur discovered, chemically, how yeast worked. He then could explain the process of fermentation that occurred in the making of beer and wine.

The question is, why was the dough not rising? Ann Patrick explains, "Yeast is a living organism that thrives under specific conditions…and dies if the environment is not what they need. It may be that your yeast is stale. That is why we always “proof” yeast before adding flour… body-temp water, a bit of sugar/honey, and add the yeast. Let it sit for 10 minutes and you should have a nice healthy foamy “bloom” as the yeast starts to grow. THEN you add flour. It is is the yeast, adding more won’t do a thing. But if it is not the yeast, I cannot imagine HOW I could incorporate MORE yeast into dough. You are supposed to add yeast to water and then gradually add in flour."

Again, “In dough, salt slows down the activity of yeast somewhat by messing with a key enzyme. But, if salt as a dry ingredient contacts yeast as a dry ingredient, then salt can kill yeast. Other bone-dry ingredients like sugar can do the same. These crystals can suck the water out of yeasts which are living fungi and kill them."

It should be noted that yeast promotes fermentation in the right environment. There is a radical change because of the chemical activity. The yeast here can be grace. In Matthew 13:33, Jesus told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

This is how sin works too. A single member’s sin affects the entire body because we are all collective parts of one whole (1 Corinthians 12:12–26). Paul uses this same yeast metaphor with the church in Corinth: “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:6–7, ESV).

GotQuestion added, "Here, “leaven” represents sin, and precisely the sin of pride (1 Corinthians 5:2). Paul wants to protect the church from the disastrous consequences of moral corruption. Their arrogant attitude of tolerating an appalling sin in the church posed a severe threat. Allowing one believer to continue unchecked in a blatant transgression would have a devastating impact on the entire church. Paul asks, “Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough?” (1 Corinthians 5:6, NLT).

Jesus would admonish His disciples, "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy,” Luke 12:1. We pray that the yeast would increase the grace of God upon our lives and kill any sin in Jesus Name...

MISCALCULATING THE PLAN OF GOD

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 14:28-32

One of the most difficult area of knowledge is the ability to discern what will succeed. This is important because, a lot of people start but do not finish. This is how abandoned projects surface. Proverbs 14:12 says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." There are many marriages that failed, many business empire collapsed, many projects were abandoned for lack of insight of what the future holds, etc.

The illustrations given by Jesus in Luke 14:28-32 is very instructive here,”Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace."

There are calculations that have failed because those concerned miscalculated the plan of God. King Asa wanted to use the method suggested in Luke 14:31-32 but he misfired. Scripture says in 1 Kings 15:16-22, “There was war between Asa and Baasha, who was fortifying Ramah to embargo Judah. So in an attempt to protect his kingdom he "took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and...sent them to Ben-Hadad the king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, 'Let there be a treaty between you and me..." (verses 18-19).

Asa trusted in political alliances for defense rather than in God. Considering it from the physical standpoint, the political alliance worked. "Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah, and remained in Tirzah" (verse 22).

2 Chronicles 16:7-8 says, “At that time, Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand."

The book of Wisdom 9:13-18 admonish us to seek the Spirit of God to direct any project we want to undertake. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

We pray that we will not make mistakes that will cause our down fall in Jesus Name…

REVILING ATTITUDE

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

1 Corinthians 4:1-13

It is very common to see drivers raining abuses on their fellow drivers or pedestrians. This is noticeable in people who are Quick tempered, angry, bitter, quarrelsome, argumentative, never happy, always finding fault with every other person. This is called the Reviling attitude. A reviling attitude means to criticize someone strongly, or say unpleasant things to or about someone: It is using abusive language.

The believer becomes like a fool when he/she does not react as the world expects. The fact is, believers must be imitators of Christ in attitude. 1 Peter 2:21-23 puts it thus, "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.” When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly."

It is most unfortunate that we don’t see how our attitude impact greatly on us. Attitude is what we are known for; it is the way we think or feel about something, the way you think affects your behavior, your mental position, and emotional state. Attitudes are behavior that have become habitual and persistent. It is important to say, some people are blinded to their thinking patterns. Mark 8:18 says, Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?

The question is, what attitude are you known for? There are some believers that are known for bad attitudes; they do not tolerate insults, or being treated unfairly. Paul described how our attitude as believers should be in 1 Corinthians 4:9-13, "For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.”

In the words of Paul, believers should watch their attitude and avoid reviling ones. He/she should not develop a razor blade tongue that hurt everyone with verbal abuse. We need to avoid critical, judgmental and inductive languages. May God help us in Jesus Name…

THE FORCES OF INTIMIDATION, PRESSURE AND THREAT

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 5:33-34

The forces of intimidation, pressure and threat are capable of making a person bow. Intimidation according to Cambridge Dictionary means, "the action of frightening or threatening someone, usually in order to persuade them to do something that you want them to do:..."

Wikipedia puts it thus, "Intimidation (also called cowing) is intentional behavior that would cause a person of reasonable apprehension to fear injury or harm. It is not necessary to prove that the behavior caused the victim to experience terror or panic. In the UK, the terms ‘harassment’, ‘intimidation’ and ‘abuse’ are often used interchangeably as the experience for victims can overlap."

Threat is a statement of an intention to inflict pain, injury, damage, or other hostile action on someone in retribution for something done or not done." Free Dictionary puts it this way, 1. An expression of an intention to inflict pain, harm, or punishment. 2. An indication of impending danger or harm: a threat of frost in the air. 3. One that is regarded as a possible source of harm or danger: viewed the stranger as a threat to the community. 4. The condition of being in danger or at risk: under threat of attack."

Cambridge Dictionary defines it thus, "a suggestion that something unpleasant or violent will happen, especially if a particular action or order is not followed:..." The Dictionary meaning of Pressure can be:

1. Continuous physical force exerted on or against an object by something in contact with it. synonyms (physical) force · load · stress · thrust ·compression · compressing · squeezing · crushing · weight · heaviness

2. The use of persuasion or intimidation to make someone do something: synonyms: coercion · force · compulsion · constraint · duress · oppression · enforcement · insistence · demand · entreaty · goading · pestering · provocation · harassment · nagging · harrying · badgering · intimidation.

3. The influence or effect of someone or something: synonyms: effect · impact · control · sway · hold · power · authority · ascendancy · mastery · domination · supremacy · leadership · guidance

4. A sense of stressful urgency caused by having too many demands on one's time or resources: “he resigned due to pressure of work" · "the pressures of city life.” synonyms: strain · stress · tension · heat · burden · load · weight · drain · trouble · care · adversity · difficulty.

There are people, things or circumstances that put pressure, intimidate or threaten us just to make us bow. The strength to withstand these forces is what we pray for today. In Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide and wanted everyone to bow to the image. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow. In verses 16-18, in response to the threat, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if He does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

In 2 Kings 18, threats from the King of Assyria came to the people of Judah and they were in such distress that it says the women were at the point of birth but had no strength to actually deliver their babies (2 Kings 19:3). The king’s threats literally scared the women to death!

Threat should push us to prayer like Hezekiah. As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord,(2 Kings 19:1). In Luke 5:33-34, Jesus told His disciples, "They said to Him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.” Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”

The best way to approach intimidation, pressure or threat is to have someone who can encourage us around and it should push us into praying. May God help us in Jesus Name…

FROM FRUSTRATION TO OVERLOAD

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 5:1-11

One of the preferred bird for some farmers is the Pekin ducks. I discovered it was domesticated over 2000 years ago. It’s the choice of many farmers because it produce larger eggs and more meat. Drake Runner described it thus, "They are beautiful, friendly, calm-natured and a little bit skittish, but they make excellent pets due to their unique personalities and overall durability. Raising Pekins is easier than raising most other breeds of domestic duck because of their strong immune systems and ability to survive in extreme conditions."

Farmers desire this bird as a gift this season not birds that may not be useful. May God give you a Pekins blessing in Jesus Name. The kind of blessings I pray for will be like the one Peter got when Jesus used His Boat. A moment before that time, there was lack, but a moment after encountering Jesus, he could not carry his blessings alone, he needed help. Luke 5:6-7 says, "And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink."

Enduring Word commented on this verses, "Peter had to work with others to get the job done. This is reminiscent of what God did in a man named James McGready on the frontiers of Kentucky starting in the 1790s. In Kentucky he pastored three small churches that met in roughly built shacks. He said that the winter of 1799 for the most part was weeping and mourning with the people of God and that it was like living in Sodom and Gomorrah on the rough, lawless, and often godless frontier. McGready started the concerts of prayer, but he also got his congregations praying for him and for his ministry of the word of God – for a half hour before they went to bed on Saturday night and for a half hour when they woke up on Sunday morning. In 1800 came an extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and so many people began to come to Christ that McGready called out: “Any preacher of any kind who loves the Lord Jesus come and help me.”

At first when Jesus asked him to cast the net, Peter protested stating they had fished hard all night without success, nevertheless, at His word they would obey. Startling, they caught such a catch their nets began to break! No one was more surprised than Peter! I love the way Jesus works, He loves to blow us out of the water with His faithfulness. He came to overflow our cups, Luke 5:4-5.

Simon was an expert fisherman yet he felt virtually bankrupt of life, frustrated by the lack of results through his hard labour because with the totality of his experience and knowledge, he has little to show for it. He feels frustrated with his life and a failure. There are some believers who easily identify with him in the frustration and failure they feel despite the heavy work load, and difficulties they face. It may be sickness, old-age burden, joblessness, bareness etc.

As we step with Jesus into this new month, may God grant us a blessing that will be too heavy for us to carry alone in Jesus Name...

WHO ARE YOU FOR?

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

In my first year in Philosophy, I noticed that the course was about criticizing other people's idea and I started questioning some Christian beliefs. Philosophy is basically a critique of traditional ways of living, believing, and thinking. Those who criticized these traditions got themselves into trouble.

A philosophical analyst has this to say, "Xenophanes directly challenged the traditional anthropomorphic depiction of the gods, and Socrates was put to death for allegedly inventing new gods and not believing in the gods mandated by the city of Athens. After the fall of Alexander the Great, and because of Aristotle’s ties with Alexander and his court, Aristotle escaped the same fate as Socrates by fleeing Athens. Epicurus, like Xenophanes, claimed that the mass of people is impious, since the people conceive of the gods as little more than superhumans, even though human characteristics cannot appropriately be ascribed to the gods. In short, not only did ancient Greek philosophy pave the way for the Western intellectual tradition, including modern science, but it also shook cultural foundations in its own time."

The issue here was that, the different schools were against each other; they formed their own school and philosophy and pitch camp against each other instead of trying to find common ground. This was exactly what happened with the different schools of Greek philosophy; each philosopher would gather his own followers and set his school against the others. This breaded jealousy, strife and division among them.

The early Christians were not spared from this menace; they struggled with division and allegiance to different people. The Corinthians were formed in competing camps according to their allegiance to different Christian teachers. Paul says, "For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building,” 1 Corinthians 3:3-10.

Paul compared the believers to the early Greek Philosophers whom we considered as unbelievers. This is why he called them baby Christians. This attitude is still present today in the body of Christ. There is this constant criticism of each other born out of jealousy, envy and strife. We must therefore, do everything within our power to kill this attitude and unite for a common purpose.

May God help us in Jesus Name…

UNDERESTIMATING THE POWER OF SATAN

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 4:31-37

I encounter many believers who come to me for deliverance on a regular basis; I am tempted to ask, Are you possessed? Some answer on the affirmative, while others say they do not know whether a Christian can be possessed, but the activity’s around them demand a deliverance session. It is a trite law in Physics that water and air cannot be in the same space; in the same vain, God and Satan cannot live in the same place. Therefore, it is a contradiction to say that a believer can be possessed. Nevertheless, Satan can influence him or her to behave in a certain manner.

GotQuestion.com puts it thus, "There is a distinct difference between being possessed by a demon and being oppressed or influenced by a demon. Demon possession involves a demon having direct/complete control over the thoughts and/or actions of a person (Matthew 17:14-18; Luke 4:33-35; 8:27-33). Demon oppression or influence involves a demon or demons attacking a person spiritually and/or encouraging him/her into sinful behavior."

My emphasis shall be on the influence of Satan on a believer. A good example is that of Judas, the communion he eat, opened the door for Satan to enter into him as recorded in John 13:27-30, "As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night."

Saint Peter warned us not to underestimate the power of Satan and his angels. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings."

There are some challenges that are influenced by Satan as pointed out by Jesus in the following scriptural passages:

* In Luke 13:10-13, Jesus revealed that some sickness are caused by Satan and its agents, “On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then He put His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God."

* Luke 11:14 says, “One day Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. And when the demon was gone, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowds were amazed,"

* Mark 7:32-35 says, “There some people brought to Him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place His hand on him. After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put His fingers into the man’s ears. Then He spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly."

The influence of Satan can cause psychological, physical, mental or Spiritual problems. We must guard ourselves against the influence of Satanic attack. Paul says in Ephesians 6:10-11, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Wiles means to be deceived or tricked.

We must learn to exercise our authority as believers to rebuke Satan using the name of Jesus. Our Lord taught us an example in Luke 4:35, "But Jesus rebuked the Demon, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm."

May God protect us from evil influence in Jesus Name…

SAVE YOUR HEAD

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Mark 6:17-29

There is a proverb in Urhobo that says the survival of a snake depends on how it saves it's head. This is where the reptile theory stems from. According to Moris Davidovitz and Doug Rees, "One of the primary goals of employing the “reptile” theory. The “reptile theory” posits that the human brain has a primitive side similar to that of reptiles, in that it is conditioned to pursue safety and survival. Claimants are encouraged to use this theory in their cases, particularly in personal injury and product liability cases, in an effort to appeal to jurors’ more primitive emotions."

The following myth gives an idea of what must be done to kill the snake as recorded by Michael Hewes, "Of all the creatures in Greek mythology, the Hydra is perhaps the most nightmarish. A nine-headed reptilian serpent-beast guarding the entrance to the underworld, the Hydra was said to be so venomous that even her breath would kill anyone who dared to come too close. It was not until Hercules, son of Zeus, set out to slay the Hydra that she finally met her match. Even then, Hercules found her to be a formidable challenge. When he cut off one head, two grew back and, of the nine original heads, only one was the immortal head that could kill off the Hydra forever – and it breathed fire. So Hercules had to get creative. He approached the reproducing heads with a one-two approach: first, he enlisted family to help him in the fight. Whenever Hercules lopped off one of the heads, his nephew immediately burned the stump, cauterizing it so a new head could not grow back. When Hercules ripped off the middle, immortal head, he buried it under a boulder."

The enemy uses this theory on anyone who is a threat to him. In the olden days, the best way to prove that one has defeated the enemy is to cut off their head. In 1 Samuel 17:49-51, when the battle line was drawn, "David, Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword."

This was the method Herodias used in Mark 6:22-28, "When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” “The head of John the Baptist,” she answered. At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother."

The method of safety employed by the serpent can be employed as Staff Writer puts it, "Snakes use a variety of techniques and adaptations to defend themselves, including camouflage or fleeing from predators, as well as bluffing, biting and envenoming animals that threaten them. Most snakes seek to remain undetected by threatening animals and flee upon detection. However, snakes that are unable to escape may engage in a variety of defensive displays or deliver possible life-threatening bites."

May God give us wisdom in Jesus Name…

REVERSIBILITY OF STEP-UP AND STEP-DOWN

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 14:7-14

There are chances that you may have come across a transformer; occasionally, we notice that there is electricity supply in some part of the the town and other parts are blank. The simple explanation may be that the transformer in that area is faulty. A transformer is a piece of static electrical equipment which transforms electrical energy (from primary side windings) to the magnetic energy (in the transformer’s magnetic core) and again to the electrical energy (on the secondary transformer side).

The transformer does not produce current but it only converts power because the Law of Energy Conservation in Physic say, "energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted and any device that could output more power than it took in would violate the Law. There are two types of transformers, the step-up and step-down transformers.

Transformers “step up” or “step down” voltage according to the ratios of primary to secondary wire turns. A transformer designed to increase the voltage from primary to secondary is called a step-up transformer. A transformer designed to reduce the voltage from primary to secondary is called a step-down transformer. A transformer that increases the voltage from primary to secondary (more secondary winding turns than primary winding turns) is called a step-up transformer. Conversely, a transformer designed to do just the opposite is called a step-down transformer. One beauty about this equipment is the Reversibility of Transformer Operation. A step down is important because without it, the current will be too high for our home appliances and a step-up is important when the output is low and more current is needed.

The word step-up and step-down is used in other areas like business, elevation in rank or office, making something more or less important, etc. In todays Gospel, Jesus talks about step-up and step-down in terms of lifting or raising someone up or down in the eyes of others. Luke 14:7-14 tells us about the man who was honored in the eyes of others and the one that was lowered in that occasion.

There are qualities that dictate whether one will be raised up or lowered. The first is humility: “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted,” as found in verse 11. Jesus used the following illustration in verses 8-10 to concretize the point. “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests."

Another quality is doing things people will not be able to repay you for. verses 12-14 says, Then Jesus said to His host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Psalms 41:1-2 says, "A Psalm of David. Blessed is the one who cares for the poor; the LORD will deliver him in the day of trouble. The LORD will protect and preserve him; He will bless him in the land and refuse to surrender him to the will of his foes.…"

May God step us up in Jesus Name…

HEALING THE SICK MIND

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI

Matthew 25:14-30

It is not everyone we see on the street that is well; there are some sick people that need medical attention. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “a state of physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” So, mental health is an essential part of our health and well-being. There are some persons suffering from schizophrenia, cognitive and motor disorders, ranging from memory, speech, and language to movement disorders, epilepsy, depression, and pain and other psychotic conditions.

WHO also defines mental health as mental well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to contribute to his or her community. The challenge some believers have is that they are not balance mentally even if they look physically okay. Most Christians see mental health as a spiritual problem, while most of them view it as a myth. The issue is not just a spiritual one, we need to find out the mental state of people and devise method of treating them.

Cain seems to have a challenge as pointed out in Genesis 4:3-7, “In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” The next action was to kill his brother.

The scripture in Matthew 25:14-30, gave a scenario of three persons given talents, the first was given five, the second was given two, and the third was given one. The first two made profit from the talents given to them. The reaction of the third person was questionable. Verses 24-27 says, “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest."

There are some people who need Shock Therapy to get them back to their senses. Britannica wrote, "shock therapy, also called Electroshock Therapy, Electroconvulsive Therapy, or Ect, method of treating certain psychiatric disorders through the use of drugs or electric current to induce shock; the therapy derived from the notion (later disproved) that epileptic convulsions and schizophrenic symptoms never occurred together. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a procedure, in which small electric currents are passed through the brain, intentionally triggering a brief seizure. ECT seems to cause changes in brain chemistry that can quickly reverse symptoms of certain mental health conditions.”

The therapy some need is the one described in Matthew 25:30, "And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ That means an asylum is the best place for some people; they need treatment to get their brain back again.

May God help us to be well again in Jesus Name...

PRAYER FOR THE JOURNEY

REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ezra 8:21-31

The uncertainty of life makes it difficult for one to predict how a journey may end. This is one reason why many people take armed guards to accompany them in their journey. According to Ezekiel Ette, "Life is not a dance, it is wrestling and wrestling requires strategy, planning and the recognition that we lack the awareness of what is coming next. Yet we cannot approach it with fear for the wrestler who approaches the opponent with fear is bound to be defeated. It requires courage, strength and a realization that the grace that has led us this far will always be with us and will lead us home."

The uncertainty calls for watchfulness. The Mariam Webster’s Dictionary defines watchfulness as “vigilant, wide-awake, alert, being on the lookout especially for danger or opportunity”. In a war, a good soldier is always vigilant, wide awake, alert and being on the lookout.”

Ette added, "The soldier is particularly attuned to sounds and movements and anything unusual quickly arouses the curiosity of the soldier. They have been trained to pay attention to what can be dangerous in the battlefield. Life depends on staying alert and safety requires being familiar with what can be dangerous."

I read a story of a young girl who decided to take a short cut to her house to cut through an alley. The girl saw a man as she approached the alley. It seems the man was waiting for someone. She said a prayer: Dear God, Please lead me through this alleyway, safe and unharmed. Amen. The girl walked through the alley and past the man. Later on that night, the girl decided to watch the news. She saw that the man had raped and murdered a young girl. The police said the man told them another girl had passed through the alley 10 minutes before. When they asked him why he did not attack the first girl, he said that there was a man walking beside her.

In any journey, we need to pray for the hand of God to be with us. In the book of Ezra, the prophet encourage the people to fast and pray for God to accompany them in their journey. Ezra 8:21-23 says, “There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him.” So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He answered our prayer.

In verse 31-32 scripture says, "On the twelfth day of the first month, we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way. So we arrived in Jerusalem, where we rested three days."

As we watch and pray, may the hand of God be with us in Jesus Name…

TRANSFORMED FROM SELFISHNESS TO GENEROSITY

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ezekiel 34:1-11

There are some people who are so stingy to the extent that they don’t leave anything to anyone. This is the summary of this story I read sometime ago:

“There is this fitness center that offered $1000 to anyone who could prove that he is stronger than the owner himself and this is how it works. The owner would get half an orange and he will squeeze that orange until it is as dry as possible and he will challenge if there is anyone out there who is was able to squeeze one more drop of juice from this orange he will take the money. So, of course everybody try, won't you? I would. So everybody came and tried it and they were the people who train in the gym everyday, they were the professional wrestlers, they were the bodybuilders, big hunks and bulky guys. But the amazing thing is no one is stronger than the owner of the fitness center. No one could squeeze one more drop out. When everybody has tried and then there's this scrawny, skinny little fellow. He comes up the stage and people start to snigger and to laugh, “huh, huh look at the fella sampo (colloquial for skinny) also want to try.”

And so they laughed and they jeered him. But when he got up, he very calmly, very coolly took that orange gave it a tight squeeze and under the glistening light, two drops came out from the orange. The laughter turned to a hushed silence, their jaws dropped to the floor. They were all amazed. Reluctantly, the owner of the fitness center had to give him a $1000. But before he gave him, he asked him, “Sir, how come you are able to do this? What do you work as? Are you a bodybuilder or wrestle or what?” And the scrawny little man says, “No, I work at the IRAS, tax department. And we squeeze people every day.”

This is how we describe some people who are stingy with all that comes their way; they make sure nothing is left. “Selfishness is being concerned excessively for our own advantage, pleasure, or welfare, regardless of others. It is the opposite of altruism or selflessness. It is putting yourself constantly first!”

We are called to be generous as God who gave His only begotten son to save us, John 3:16. The law in Israel says the farmer does not take everything when reaping; they leave some leftover for the poor or strangers. In Ruth 2:2-3, scripture says, “And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.” Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.”

The quarrel God had with the shepherd in Ezekiel 34 is that they were selfish. Verses 3-4 says, “Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.”

In Matthew 20:1-11, Jesus teaches us that there are some people who become angry at those who are generous to others. The owner decided to be generous to all the laborers who came to work in his farm that day. Those who came early did not like the fact that the owner of the field was generous to everyone.

We must learn to be like Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-7. The sign of conversion noticed in Zacchaeus was when he decided to be generous rather than being a selfish tax collector he was. Verse 8 says, “But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

May God grant us the blessings of generosity in Jesus Name…

WHEN WE FEEL THERE IS NO NEED FOR TRANSFORMATION

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Romans 12:1-2

The desire to change is innate in us but the willingness or strength to change is the issue. The fear of transformation has made a lot of people to remain where they have been. What is transformation? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines transformation: “A complete or major change in someone or something’s appearance, form.” “transitive verb 1a: to change in composition or structure b: to change the outward form or appearance of c: to change in character or condition : CONVERT 2: to subject to mathematical transformation 3: to cause (a cell) to undergo genetic transformation.”

Often, the word transformation is use to talk about the remodeling of a house, or when someone gets a makeover. The house or person undergoes a major change and ends up looking different. It is like a metabolical transformation that the caterpillar undergoes when it is transformed into a butterfly. It stays in a cocoon and eventually emerges as a butterfly.

There are many who are in need of transformation but they refuse to be transformed. Like old houses, they are experiencing grief, hardship and decline but they are still in their old state. Why are they there? There are believers that do not see the need for transformation since they are Comfortable with their present state. There are Christians that are trapped and they do not know how to get themselves out of the state they are. There are others who are afraid of the transformation because they are not sure of what will happen when they are changed into another state. It hurts to go through transformation and some believers lack the will or power to go through the process. There are some people who think they are not too bad to engage in transformation. They are of the view that they can manage themselves.

In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus gave a parable of the king who prepared a banquet and invited guest to be transformed with their wedding garment. Verses 5-7 says they made excuses, “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.” Among the ones that came, one refused to wear the wedding garment. That means, he did not allow transformation. Verse 11-12 says, “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

Saint Paul admonished us to submit to transformation in Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

May God grant us the grace of transformation in Jesus Name…

TRANSFORMATION BECOMING A MANIFESTATION

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ezekiel 37:1-9

A transformation without a manifestation is a person without a head. There are many blessings, prophecies, deliverances, promotion, healing, new level of grace, wealth, and good things that remain in the world of form. We dream about them; prophecies about them are released, seers talk about them yet we do not see their manifestation. It is my prayers that your transformation will manifest as recorded about the mothe of John in Luke 1: 57, “Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son,” in Jesus name.

There was a prophecy that Elizabeth would give birth to a son when it was practically impossible to happen. Luke 1:11-18 says, “Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

The blessings at this time was overdue like a pregnancy that has passed nine months. The expectation of some persons comes out in abortion or premature babies, but I pray that your transformation will end in manifestation in Jesus name. There are somethings we must do to push our transformation into manifestation:

The first is to prophesy. This was the message God gave to the prophet Ezekiel in Chapter 37 of his book, verses 1-9. He saw a valley of very dry bones on the floor and God asked whether it was possible for the bones to live. The prophet answered, “Sovereign Lord, You alone know.” Then He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I Am the Lord.” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. This is the role of prayers in bringing our transformation into manifestation.

The second is Taking steps. Apart from prayers, we must take steps to bring our expectations into manifestation. If there is a battle, praying alone is not sufficient, there is need to mobilize army for the battle. In 2 Chronicles 13:2-14, scripture describes the battle between Abijah and Jeroboam. Abijah had four hundred valiant warriors while Jeroboam had four hundred valiant warriors. In verses 4-5 scripture says, “Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, and said, “Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel: Should you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, by a covenant of salt? Abijah knew that God had made a covenant. He knew that no matter how big the army of Jeroboam was, God would still give David and his descendants victory because He had a covenant with them, yet he prepared for the war. In 2 Chronicles 13:14-15, scripture says, “And when Judah looked around, to their surprise the battle line was at both front and rear; and they cried out to the Lord, and the priests sounded the trumpets. Then the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men of Judah shouted, it happened that God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.”

The third thing to do is to give thanks. When Jesus wanted to multiply the bread and fish to feed the people, He prepared them by asking them to sit down in group and He gave thanks. John 6:10-11 says, “Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.”

May our transformation come to manifestation in Jesus Name…

HAPPIEST AND SADDEST DAY

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ezekiel 10:18-19; 43:1-7.

It was common in our secondary school days to write an essay on “your Happiest or saddest day.” I recalled that one of the saddest day I wrote about was when my Grandmother died and another occasion was when my girl friend left me. I recall writing about my going to the city as the happiest day and on another occasion, I wrote on the return of my best friend after a long separation. The readings from Ezekiel 10:18-19 and Chapter 43:1-7 describe one of the saddest and happiest day in the history of Israel. Ezekiel 10:18-19 says, “Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.”

This departure was a tremendous and terrible one like the death of a loved one. An experience that can be liken to this was the Ark of the Lord that was taken by the Philistines in 1 Samuel 4. The Ark was brought to enable God fight for them, instead of enabling them to win the battle, the Ark was taken after they were defeated. The two sons of Eli who were the priests died, their father also died. In verses 19-22, scripture says, “His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the Ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. As she was dying, the women attending her said, “Don’t despair; you have given birth to a son.” But she did not respond or pay any attention. She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The Glory has departed from Israel”—because of the capture of the Ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. She said, “The Glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.”

The extract from Ezekiel 43:1-7, describes the return of the glory of God, “Then the man brought me to the gate facing east, and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with His glory. The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. The glory of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple. He said: “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place for the soles of My feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever.” God withdrawn His Divine favour and glory because of Israel’s habitual sins. That was how the Lord abandoned His people to destruction and dispersion. The return of the glory is a sign of restoration. Although the temple at this time was destroyed, God’s glory in us remains. His glory will manifest in fullness in the future kingdom, after the Lord’s Second Advent, which is also to be glorious (Matthew 16:27; 25:31). This return is a permanent one as pointed out in Ezekiel 43:7, “And He said unto me, Son of man, the place of My throne, and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and My holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, [neither] they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places.”

May God’s presence never leave us in Jesus Name...

I CAN’T KILL MYSELF

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 13:22-30

I am pretty sure you have heard the song by Timaya, ‘I Can't Kill Myself?

This life I can't kill myself I can't kill myself, ohh I can't kill myself Allow me to flex, oh This life I can't kill myself I can't kill myself, ohh I can't kill myself Allow me to flex, oh Many many years me I don dey go Rock the mic, me I rock the show Many many hit songs when I go Still them go say me I no dey try I see them complain of Kanye West E Speak him mind the people vex Everybody wants to be the best But the world can do without the best, oh.

This song simply says, take the easy path and ignore the complaint of people that you are not trying. This is the mentality of many young people today; they take the easiest way out. What is the idiomatic expression of easy way out? It is a phrase, “If you say that someone takes the easy way out, you disapprove of them because they do what is easiest for them in a difficult situation, rather than dealing with it properly.”

Lexicon Dictionary puts it thus, “Extricate oneself from a difficult situation by choosing the simplest rather than the most honourable course of action.” YourDictionary explains it better, “To cut corners, to follow the path of least resistance; to take shortcuts to avoid pain or having to struggle to achieve a desired result, to end or avoid a difficult situation in an easy or simple way that is not the best or most sensible or honorable solution.”

Doing things at your convenience is now the new norm of our society; they want everything easy, cheaper and faster. This applies to making money, going to school, instant world like ready -to -wear, instant food, etc. It will be noted that many persons lost their fortunes in get quick easy MMM ponzi scheme; they thought that was the best way, but history has taught us that the easy way is not the best way. Proverbs 28:20 & 22 says, “A faithful person will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished. The stingy are eager to get rich and are unaware that poverty awaits them.”

The principles of SACRIFICE, PATIENCE and OBEDIENCE, are missing in our world today. In Isaiah 66:18-21 scripture says we should manifest the glory of God and others will notice it. Verses 19-20 says, “I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece,and to the distant islands that have not heard of My fame or seen My glory. They will proclaim My glory among the nations. And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to My holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels.”

This is the narrow gate Jesus talked about in Luke 13:22, “Someone said to Him, “Sir, will there be only a few saved?’ He said to them, ‘Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.” A good example of the easy way is found in Mark 12:42-44, “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

May God give us grace to follow the right and narrow way in Jesus Name...

NO MAN WILL SHUT THE DOOR AGAINST YOU

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Matthew 23:13-15

There is a joke about a person who tried to join a certain church, but he kept being turned down for membership. He went home and prayed about it and Jesus answered him, “Don’t worry about it. I have been trying to get into that church for twenty years myself!” In the last election, there was a man who did not want to go into an office because he had been paid off by another politician. He was standing as a stumbling block to another of his party member who genuinely wanted to enter. The man succeeded because he was pretending to be a party member who wanted to go for that office but there to prevent the others from entering.

The roads in Nigeria are saturated with roadblocks both legal and Illegal. The obstacles on the way either slow down movement or sometimes stop people from continuing their journey. These persons do not travel and they also prevent others from making their genuine journey to their destinations; they search for invisible papers that they rely on to stop motorist. I liken these persons to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:13-15, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.”

W.F. Adeney says this of them, “The Scribes and Pharisees prevented simpler people from entering the kingdom of heaven. This they did partly by confusing their minds with false notions, and partly by discouraging their efforts in setting before them vexatious precepts and needless, impossible requirements. It is a mark of hypocrisy to represent religion as a very difficult attainment, and to lay claim to superior sanctity by the easy method of setting up a high, or rather a false and unattainable, standard for other people.” Colton has this to say about hypocrites, “If the devil ever laughs, it must be at hypocrites; they are the greatest dupes he has. They serve him better than any others, and receive no wages; nay, what is still more extraordinary, they submit to greater mortifications to go to hell, than the sincerest Christian to go to heaven.”

There are spiritual and emotional obstacles we do not see. People use these obstacles to prevent our entrance into great places. The ability to discover these obstacles is very important since we become blinded to these cheats. Luke 11:52 describe how they take the key of knowledge away from them. They shut the kingdom of heaven against themselves and others by taking away the key of knowledge. These persons brainwash the people they encounter to the extent that they believe that they are guilty. I met a Police who told me that my papers were wrong, that the licensing officer did not write the information in the correct place and that was a sign that the car was a stolen car. He was not traveling and so he had to disturbed my journey that day.

My prayer for you this week is that you will not meet those who will prevent you from entering your kingdom in Jesus Name…

UNABLE TO MOVE FORWARD

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

John 5:1-8

In the Third Station in the Way of the Cross, we have the following reflection, “Consider this first fall of Jesus under His Cross. His flesh was torn by the scourges. His head was crowned with thorns; He had lost a great quality of blood. So weakened He could scarcely walk. He yet had to carry this great load upon His shoulders. The soldiers struck Him rudely and He fell several times.”

The fact is that some believers are in the point of expiring and they can hardly walk or move forward. This seems like the image some believers see about themselves whether in their dream or in the physical; they are struggling, trying to climb a higher ground or a stairway but they are unable. Despite the effort one is putting in, no meaningful progress and this is leading to frustration because he or she is helpless and in grief. The struggle to get somewhere looks like a mountain climber who is struggling to climb to the top of the mountain. The struggle can be an emotional, spiritual, economical; promotion, marital favors, moving to a next stage of life, how to manage the load one is carrying, struggling to overcome challenges in life, etc.

The issue is that believers are unable to move forward because there are either obstacles on the way, no strength to continue, weigh down by the load they are carrying, set backs or failure at the edge of breakthrough, struggling with forces like witchcraft spirit or marine that causes suffering and delays, etc.

In Ezra 4:23-24, the movement was put on hold when the enemies tried to stop the work, “As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shims hai the secretary and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop. Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

I will compare the scenario above to the case of the man in John 5:1-8, the man who was lying by the Sheep Gate a pool , which in Aramaic is called Bethesda for thirty eight years where a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. The man had attempted to move forward and enter the water but his legs were too heavy to move when the opportunity comes hence he told Jesus who asked if he wanted to be healed. “Sir,” “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” In verses 8-9, scripture says, “Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.”

Proverbs 24:10 says, “If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength! That means, we must gain strength to overcome every challenge that is making it difficult for us to move forward. This strength can be wisdom, a physical or spiritual strength.

The assistance of the Lord in Zechariah 4:6-7 says, “So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!”

As we pray today, may God remove every obstacle, heavy weight, and strengthen us to move forward in Jesus Name…

TRANSFORMED FROM SELFISHNESS TO GENEROSITY

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ezekiel 34:1-11

There are some people who are so stingy to the extent that they don’t leave anything to anyone. This is the summary of this story I read sometime ago:

“There is this fitness center that offered $1000 to anyone who could prove that he is stronger than the owner himself and this is how it works. The owner would get half an orange and he will squeeze that orange until it is as dry as possible and he will challenge if there is anyone out there who is was able to squeeze one more drop of juice from this orange he will take the money. So, of course everybody try, won't you? I would. So everybody came and tried it and they were the people who train in the gym everyday, they were the professional wrestlers, they were the bodybuilders, big hunks and bulky guys. But the amazing thing is no one is stronger than the owner of the fitness center. No one could squeeze one more drop out. When everybody has tried and then there's this scrawny, skinny little fellow. He comes up the stage and people start to snigger and to laugh, “huh, huh look at the fella sampo (colloquial for skinny) also want to try.”

And so they laughed and they jeered him. But when he got up, he very calmly, very coolly took that orange gave it a tight squeeze and under the glistening light, two drops came out from the orange. The laughter turned to a hushed silence, their jaws dropped to the floor. They were all amazed. Reluctantly, the owner of the fitness center had to give him a $1000. But before he gave him, he asked him, “Sir, how come you are able to do this? What do you work as? Are you a bodybuilder or wrestle or what?” And the scrawny little man says, “No, I work at the IRAS, tax department. And we squeeze people every day.”

This is how we describe some people who are stingy with all that comes their way; they make sure nothing is left. “Selfishness is being concerned excessively for our own advantage, pleasure, or welfare, regardless of others. It is the opposite of altruism or selflessness. It is putting yourself constantly first!”

We are called to be generous as God who gave His only begotten son to save us, John 3:16. The law in Israel says the farmer does not take everything when reaping; they leave some leftover for the poor or strangers. In Ruth 2:2-3, scripture says, “And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.” Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.”

The quarrel God had with the shepherd in Ezekiel 34 is that they were selfish. Verses 3-4 says, “Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.”

In Matthew 20:1-11, Jesus teaches us that there are some people who become angry at those who are generous to others. The owner decided to be generous to all the laborers who came to work in his farm that day. Those who came early did not like the fact that the owner of the field was generous to everyone.

We must learn to be like Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-7. The sign of conversion noticed in Zacchaeus was when he decided to be generous rather than being a selfish tax collector he was. Verse 8 says, “But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

May God grant us the blessings of generosity in Jesus Name…

WHEN WE FEEL THERE IS NO NEED FOR TRANSFORMATION

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Romans 12:1-2

The desire to change is innate in us but the willingness or strength to change is the issue. The fear of transformation has made a lot of people to remain where they have been. What is transformation? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines transformation: “A complete or major change in someone or something’s appearance, form.” “transitive verb 1a: to change in composition or structure b: to change the outward form or appearance of c: to change in character or condition : CONVERT
2: to subject to mathematical transformation
3: to cause (a cell) to undergo genetic transformation.”

Often, the word transformation is use to talk about the remodeling of a house, or when someone gets a makeover. The house or person undergoes a major change and ends up looking different. It is like a metabolical transformation that the caterpillar undergoes when it is transformed into a butterfly. It stays in a cocoon and eventually emerges as a butterfly.

There are many who are in need of transformation but they refuse to be transformed. Like old houses, they are experiencing grief, hardship and decline but they are still in their old state. Why are they there? There are believers that do not see the need for transformation since they are Comfortable with their present state. There are Christians that are trapped and they do not know how to get themselves out of the state they are. There are others who are afraid of the transformation because they are not sure of what will happen when they are changed into another state. It hurts to go through transformation and some believers lack the will or power to go through the process. There are some people who think they are not too bad to engage in transformation. They are of the view that they can manage themselves.

In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus gave a parable of the king who prepared a banquet and invited guest to be transformed with their wedding garment. Verses 5-7 says they made excuses, “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.” Among the ones that came, one refused to wear the wedding garment. That means, he did not allow transformation. Verse 11-12 says, “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

Saint Paul admonished us to submit to transformation in Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

May God grant us the grace of transformation in Jesus Name…

CANCEROUS GROWTH

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ezekiel 12:1-12

It was Edward Abbey who said, 'Growth for the sake of growth is the philosophy of the cancer cell.' Growth can be classified into two, positive and negative. Growth, in and of itself, is not bad. It is one of the characteristics of living things but growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell and the hallmark of our problem today.

Growth may be in different forms and aspect; it may refer to an intellectual, emotional, spiritual, financial, or physical growth. John Day wrote, “At dinner one night, when our son was little, he told a story about how a company had made a toy that did not perform as expected. He concluded his tale with an indignant “They don’t care about us; they just want our money.” From the mouths of babes, right? We all laughed but the sad truth is that every day in the headlines we see where corporations put profits over safety. To some, financial growth is the sole objective."

The growth Edward described is Constant, Uninhibited and Cancerous. These are qualities of cancer. National Library of Medicine wrote on cancer, “The fundamental abnormality resulting in the development of cancer is the continual unregulated proliferation of cancer cells. Rather than responding appropriately to the signals that control normal cell behavior, cancer cells grow and divide in an uncontrolled manner, invading normal tissues and organs and eventually spreading throughout the body. The generalized loss of growth control exhibited by cancer cells is the net result of accumulated abnormalities in multiple cell regulatory systems and is reflected in several aspects of cell behavior that distinguish cancer cells from their normal counterparts."

Cancer can result from abnormal proliferation of any of the different kinds of cells in the body but the most important issue in cancer pathology is the distinction between benign and malignant tumors. A benign tumor, such as a common skin wart, remains confined to its original location, neither invading surrounding normal tissue nor spreading to distant body sites. A malignant tumor, however, is capable of both invading surrounding normal tissue and spreading throughout the body via the circulatory or lymphatic systems (metastasis). It is the malignant tumors that are dangerous and can properly be called cancerous cells.

There are some negative growth that are detrimental like cancer. The following are some examples, some businessmen and companies make money at the expense of the consumers life; some partners get into relationships to kill others, for some persons their intellectual knowledge is to commit crimes, some person’s spiritual growth is to cause evil etc.

God told the prophet the following in Ezekiel 12:1-2, "The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people." Their growth was cancerous because it led them into exile. Any growth that is for the sake of it should be avoided.

May God help us in Jesus Name...

GOD OF JUSTICE AND MERCY

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ezekiel 16:1-63

I read the story of a man who was burnt to death by his wife while he was sleeping. According to the story, he had been unfaithful; the matter was settled, only for his wife to pour fuel on the house while he was sleeping and ran away. There is another story of a man who killed his wife and three children out of jealousy. According to the story, the woman was being unfaithful and this drove her husband to killing her. The prophet Ezekiel described God as a tender lover who is patient with the unfaithful harlot until she is won over. The passage also described how God can insist on justice.

In Psychology, we describe polar opposite, it is when we talk about two peoples’ personality traits. Some examples include, positive and negative, optimistic and pessimistic, happy and sad, Introvert” and “Extrovert” etc. A polar opposite is the diametrically opposite point of a circle or sphere. It is mathematically known as an antipodal point, or antipode when referring to the Earth. It is also an idiom often used to describe people and ideas that are opposites.

According to Scott Hoezee, Ezekiel 16 manages to encompass the following polar opposites, Tender and brutal. Heartwarming and heartbreaking. Beautiful and pornographic. Frightening and hopeful. As written in the analysis by Enter the Bible, "Like chapter 23, here Israel’s history is retold as the story of a girl who is born in poverty (16:1-6), but loved and blessed by the Lord, who then marries her and makes her wealthy, royal, and famous (vv. 7-14). But God’s wife is wanton and plays the harlot first with false gods (16:15-22), then with other nations (23-34). In shocking detail, Ezekiel, a prophet during the Babylonian exile who saw visions of God's throne-chariot, new life to dry bones, and a new Temple. More describes God’s response: the “wife” will be mutilated and murdered by her foreign lovers with whom she committed adultery and harlotry. In this way God’s wrath against the “wife” will be satisfied (16:42).”

The question is, does God satisfy His anger that way? In man's wretched state, God does not abandon man. The chapter has six divisions:
- the orphan who became a queen (16:1–14);
- the queen who became a harlot (16:15–34);
- the harlot who became a convict (16:35–43);
- the convict who became a proverb (16:44–52);
- the convict and her companions who repented (16:53–58);
- and the convict who was saved, cleansed, and restored (16:59–63).

God continues to love man despite his unfaithfulness. We pray that God's love will not depart from us in Jesus Name…

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

EZEKIEL 18:1-32

I have seen believers protesting or complaining that they are not responsible for the challenges they are going through; they insist that they should not suffer for the sin of others. This view is predicted on the fact that people think others should be blamed for their misfortune. These persons can be their fathers, mothers, spouses, teachers, lack of opportunities, etc. We learnt the dodging of responsibility from our first parents. Genesis 3:11-13 captured the conversation of our first parents with God, “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman You put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Responsibility means that we “accept the ability to act on our own behalf.” The word goes back to the 16th Century and was created to describe a person who is “legally answerable for his/her conduct or actions. GotQuestion wrote, “The Bible teaches the concept of personal responsibility: “The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them” (Ezekiel 18:20).

Personal responsibility is closely related to the law of sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:7–8). “Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what their hands have done” (Isaiah 3:10–11). There are some believers who are making excuses for the life they are living because they claim they inherited these weaknesses from their parents. They cite Abraham’s barrenness that was transferred to Isaac and then Jacob. The same with lying. Abraham told lies, Isaac did the same, and then Jacob became a master at it.

The issue of who is responsible gave rise to what is known as nature-nurture controversy. It is not limited to only the behavioral psychologists, however, the philosophers, theologians, and theorists of consciousness are also interested in this issue. The nature versus nurture debate involves the extent to which particular aspects of behavior are a product of either inherited (i.e., genetic) or acquired (i.e., learned) influences.

Kendra Cherry defines it as follows, “Nature refers to all of the genes and hereditary factors that influence who we are—from our physical appearance to our personality characteristics. Nurture refers to all the environmental variables that impact who we are, including our early childhood experiences, how we were raised, our social relationships, and our surrounding culture.”

However, some philosophers such as Plato and Descartes suggested that certain things are inborn, or that they occur naturally regardless of environmental influences. Nativists take the position that all or most behaviors and characteristics are the results of inheritance. Other well-known thinkers such as John Locke believed in what is known as tabula rasa, which suggests that the mind begins as a blank slate. According to this notion, everything that we are and all of our knowledge is determined by our experience.

Furthermore, Empiricists take the position that all or most behaviors and characteristics result from learning. Behaviorism is a good example of a theory rooted in empiricism. The behaviorists believe that all actions and behaviors are the results of conditioning. Theorists such as John B. Watson believed that people could be trained to do and become anything, regardless of their genetic background.

The position of God on this issue is that we are responsible for our actions. We must therefore, struggle to overcome any influence from nature or nurture. The best we can say is, it is a bystander effect they have on us. Jason Jones told this story, “In New York street nearly two decades before. Kitty Genovese was slowly and brutally stabbed to death. At least thirty-eight of her neighbors witnessed the attack and heard her screams. In the course of the 90-minute episode, her attacker was actually frightened away, then he returned to finish her off. Yet not once during that period did any neighbor assist her, or even telephone the police. The more people present in an emergency situation, the less likely it is that any one of them will offer help. This is popularly called the “bystander effect.”(In the actual experiment, when one bystander was present, 85 percent offered help. When two were present, 62 percent offered help. When five were present, then it decreased to 31 percent.)”

May God help us in Jesus Name….

SINKING IN A MUD

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Jeremiah 38:4-13

There are some people that are stuck in the mud and they need the help of another person to rescue them. I accidentally got into a muddy road and my car got sunk; I tried to get it out, but the more I tried, the deeper I found myself embedded in it. This was the frustration I found myself until some children came along and rescued me. This is what it means to get stuck in the mud. The mud could be a personal crisis, mud pit of marriage, challenges of children, addiction, sin, mistakes in your work, sickness, childhood, wrong choices etc.

This is the teachings of today when we consider Jeremiah’s predicament when he was thrown into the pit to die. As written in Jeremiah 38:4-13, “Then the officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.” “He is in your hands,” King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing to oppose you.” So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah….They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud. But Ebed-Melek, a Cushite, an official in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate, Ebed-Melek went out of the palace and said to him, “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread in the city.” Then the king commanded Ebed-Melek the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”

So Ebed-Melek took the men with him and…took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. Ebed-Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern.”

Josephus, the Jewish historian says that when they let him down in the mud, he sunk up to his neck! That is how serious our mud pits can be. The text says, Ebed-Melek had compassion on Jeremiah and stood in his defense before the king because he knew he was in danger. He risked his life to rescue him from the pit. The rescue was urgent since delay was dangerous. In rescuing a person in such there was need to do it gently. Ebed-Melek even supplied old cloths to pad the ropes so Jeremiah’s arms wouldn’t be hurt.

Scripture has a lot of other accounts on how God rescued people from the pit. In Genesis 37:21-29, the brothers of Joseph threw him into the pit with the intention of killing him. Reuben intended rescuing him but when he came, Joseph had been sold into slavery. In Daniel 6:16-27, God shut the mouth of the Lion when Daniel was thrown into the Lions’ den.

There is a reward for showing compassion for others and rescuing them from the pit. God rewarded Ebed-Meleks for what he did for Jeremiah; “Go and tell Ebed-Melek the Cushite, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I Am about to fulfill My words against this city—words concerning disaster, not prosperity. At that time, they will be fulfilled before your eyes. But I will rescue you on that day, declares the Lord; you will not be given into the hands of those you fear. I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in Me, declares the Lord” Jeremiah 39:16-18.

We pray that God will rescue us when we are sinking into the mud in Jesus Name...

GOING UP WITH MARY

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Revelation 12:1-10

Entering heaven alive (called by various religions "ascension", "assumption", or "translation") is a belief that Holy people can be taken up to heaven due to their relationship with the Almighty. The Book of Genesis says Enoch lived 365 years before he was taken by God. The text reads that Enoch "walked with God: and he was no more; for God took him" (Gen 5:21–24). In 2 Kings 2:11-12, scripture recorded, "As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart.

1 Corinthians 15:54 makes it clear that Resurrection in which "Death is swallowed up in victory," is applicable to Mary as to all believers. The going up to heaven is called the Assumption. The Woman clothed with the Sun (Rev 12). Wikipedia comments,

"The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. (The word 'assumption' derives from the Latin word assūmptiō meaning "taking up"). Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by God that the immaculate Mother of God, Mary ever virgin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven."

This teaching is clearly articulated in the Catholic Catechism: “Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death.’ The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians: In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death." (Byzantine Liturgy, Troparion, Feast of the Dormition, August 15th) (CCC 966).

Assumption of Mary, since there is no ground for the doctrine in the Bible (there are allegorical approaches which declare that the Assumption of Mary is found in, e.g., Revelation chapter 12 and “the woman clothed with the sun;” and in Psalm 131:8, “Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place: thou and the ark, which thou hast sanctified.”). The Catechism of the Catholic Church states,

“The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians: In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death. (Byzantine Liturgy, Troparion, Feast of the Dormition, August 15th) (CCC 966).”

We celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in anticipation of our own assumption. May God grant us this blessing in Jesus Name…

SPRAY AND PRAY

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

John 12:20-26

There are many sales techniques one can use to achieve result. I am particularly interested in the "cold call" technique formally referred to as Spray and pray method. This method is a military term used by someone shooting without aiming at a target. It is shooting blindly with the hope of hitting a target.


Military Wiki explains it as follows, "Spray and pray is a derisive term for firing an automatic firearm towards an enemy in long bursts, without making an effort to line up each shot or burst of shots. This is especially prevalent amongst those without benefit of proper training. It differs from suppressive fire as the shooting is sloppily directed. This term does not apply to appropriately focused fully automatic fire or true suppressive fire, which is standard practice for a properly trained combatant."


Spraying and praying' may also refer to someone who is behind cover and shoots their firearm around the cover without looking at their target, usually out of fear of being exposed. They are 'spraying' ammunition, and 'praying' that it will hit their target. This technique is also known as "blind firing".

This term has also been used by U.S. Defense Department strategist Thomas Nichols to describe the launching of early-model submarine-launched ballistic missiles, as it was impossible to target them properly due to difficulties in precisely determining the position of the launching submarine.


The cold call method is bouncing on a person unannounced with the hope that the person will listen to you. “A cold call is when sales reps reach out to a potential buyer who’s never interacted with them or their company before, with the intent to sell a product or service. Cold calling typically makes use of a sales pitch script to ensure reps sell the product effectively. It’s a common practice in outbound sales."


This method has a lot of disadvantages ranging from waste of time and energy, rejections and burnout. The success rate of this technique can be zero sometimes. This method requires patience and persistence. This was the method the Canaanite woman used in Matthew 15:21-28. “Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”


The scriptures in John 12:20-26, revealed how Philip and Andrew used this method when the Greeks wanted to meet with Jesus, “Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I Am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."


I am not too sure if this method worked in the above case but it worked for the Canaanite woman. There are people who travel to some places with the hope that they will succeed, they are disappointed most of the time. We must be sure of what we want before praying, not doing spraying and praying. Being focus can reduce stress.


May God help us in Jesus Name…

NOTHING TO FEAR, BUT BE VIGILANT

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 12:32-38

There are many believers who are living in fear; it could be the fear of darkness, sickness, death, failure, afflictions; fear that something may go wrong, etc. This may contribute to why some people are not living life to the full. Jesus began the gospel of today from Luke 12:32, with the words, "There is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased the Lord to give you the kingdom.” The disciples were to rule out fear of the possibly of something going wrong. It is like saying, ‘Trust me, nothing will go wrong.’

The word fear comes from the Old English word faer (Oxford English Dictionary, 1933), which meant "sudden calamity or danger." It is currently defined as "an agitated foreboding often of some real or specific peril" (Webster's Third International Dictionary, 1981.) and the possibility that something dreaded or unwanted may occur.” These definitions points to the fact that something unwanted or calamitous may happen.

The book of Wisdom recalls the events in Exodus 12, where all the firstborn sons of the the Egyptians died. At this time, Pharaoh refused the children of God leaving Egypt; God sent a lot of plagues before this final one. This was the straw that broke the Carmel back. This readings therefore, invites us to glorify God for the great deed of the past and to encourage the people to put their trust in God. Fr. Mike Lagrimas remarked, "The past events are clear proofs that God is all-powerful and He loves us in a very special way. That is why, we have nothing to fear; we just have to trust Him totally and unconditionally."

The fact that we should relax does not mean we should not be vigilant. We must keep doing our jobs and not neglect our duties like those servants eating and drinking and making merry and they were taken unawares. Watchfulness means living in such a consistently moral and obedient way that we are always ready to give an account to God of how we have lived.

Luke 12:35-40 says, "Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him.”

We have to praise God who took us through difficulties in the past and will do it again. May God protect us in Jesus Name…

NOTHING TO FEAR, BUT BE VIGILANT

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Luke 12:32-38

There are many believers who are living in fear; it could be the fear of darkness, sickness, death, failure, afflictions; fear that something may go wrong, etc. This may contribute to why some people are not living life to the full. Jesus began the gospel of today from Luke 12:32, with the words, "There is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased the Lord to give you the kingdom.” The disciples were to rule out fear of the possibly of something going wrong. It is like saying, ‘Trust me, nothing will go wrong.’

The word fear comes from the Old English word faer (Oxford English Dictionary, 1933), which meant "sudden calamity or danger." It is currently defined as "an agitated foreboding often of some real or specific peril" (Webster's Third International Dictionary, 1981.) and the possibility that something dreaded or unwanted may occur.” These definitions points to the fact that something unwanted or calamitous may happen.

The book of Wisdom recalls the events in Exodus 12, where all the firstborn sons of the the Egyptians died. At this time, Pharaoh refused the children of God leaving Egypt; God sent a lot of plagues before this final one. This was the straw that broke the Carmel back. This readings therefore, invites us to glorify God for the great deed of the past and to encourage the people to put their trust in God. Fr. Mike Lagrimas remarked, "The past events are clear proofs that God is all-powerful and He loves us in a very special way. That is why, we have nothing to fear; we just have to trust Him totally and unconditionally."

The fact that we should relax does not mean we should not be vigilant. We must keep doing our jobs and not neglect our duties like those servants eating and drinking and making merry and they were taken unawares. Watchfulness means living in such a consistently moral and obedient way that we are always ready to give an account to God of how we have lived.

Luke 12:35-40 says, "Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him.”

We have to praise God who took us through difficulties in the past and will do it again. May God protect us in Jesus Name…

HELP MAY COME FROM THE MOST UNLIKELY PLACE

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Matthew 17:24-27

There are times success comes from where we do not expect it to come from. It may come from the most unlikely place. The Lord kept showing me this night that any solution you apply to a problem this week, will lead to success.

The Lion King or Beauty & The Beast are some of the best works of Walt Disney in the entertainment world. It is said that when he first had the idea for Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney was rejected by bankers 300 times because they thought the idea was absurd; they thought he was crazy. What is even more inspiring about Walt Disney’s story is that before all the rejection even came he was fired by a newspaper editor for “lacking creativity.” The editor felt he lacked imagination and had no good idea. The most interesting part of this story is that Disney went on to purchase ABC in 1996, which at that time owned the Kansas City Star, the very newspaper that fired Walt Disney.”

Several times, he went through bankruptcy before he built Disneyland. In fact, the proposed park was initially rejected by the city of Anaheim because they felt that it would only attract people of low social status. It means that the very newspaper that fired him became part of the empire that he had built. He became winner of 22 Academy Awards.

In Matthew 17:24-27, scripture captured the following, “When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?” He said, “Yes, He does.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?” When Peter said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the children are free. However, so that we do not give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.”

The readings makes it clear that it was in the mouth of the fish that Peter got the coin he used in paying for the tax. Jesus is the great provider, the good shepherd and the miracle worker. No one would have imagined that the fish Peter was going to catch has a coin in its mouth that will be used to pay the tax. There are some intuition that caused you to do something, then later you realized it had an unexpected benefit. Divinity is always ready to spiritually provide for those things that matter most in our lives.

In 1 Kings 17:7-14, when the prophet Elijah was seeking help for his hunger, God sent him to Zarephath in the region of Sidon, to a widow who had no food to eat. Verse 10-14 says, "So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.”

May help come from the most unlikely place to you in Jesus Name...

THE GOOD AND BAD NEWS

BY REV. FR. EDMUND TANSI EMAKPOR

Ezekiel 2:7-10

When I read these words from Ezekiel 2:10, “And there was written in it lamentations, and mourning, and woe.” I decided to look at the full text, “Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe." The first thought that came to my mind was, How can God ask a prophet to proclaim such unpalatable message? The word of God is suppose to be a Good news, but this seems to be a bad news.

The reality today is that there is sorrow, grief, cries, groaning, weeping, disaster and pains everywhere. At this time, the Israelites were in exile facing difficulties; they were discouraged, bitter and disgruntled yet they were rebellious, stubborn, and obstinate. The Word rebellion is the same word Samuel told King Saul that rebellion was like the sin of witchcraft. 1 Samuel 15:22-23 puts it thus, "But Samuel replied:

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”

This was when Psalms 137 was written. Ezekiel was living with them in Babylon when they hung their harps and musical instruments in trees and refused to sing praises. They were bitter and declare that they only wish for violence to come upon those who have mistreated them. This bad news then complicated their situation, that the temple, walls and their homes will be destroyed. It was after the fall of Jerusalem in 586b.c that God immediately gave to Ezekiel a message of hope for the future of Israel.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible wrote, "The Targum is, "it was written before and behind, what was from the beginning, and what shall be in the end:'' and there were written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe; afflictions, chastisements, and punishments, that should be inflicted upon the Jews, and other nations of the world; which, when made known to them, and especially when inflicted on them, would occasion sorrow and distress among them. In the Talmud, "lamentations" are interpreted of the punishments of the righteous in this world; "mourning" of the gift of reward to the righteous in the world to come; and "woe" of the punishments of the wicked in the world to come. The Targum is, “if the house of Israel transgress the law, the people shall rule over them; but, if they keep the law, lamentation, and mourning, and sorrow, shall cease from them.''

According to John Taylor: The point of this description is rather to emphasize the contrast between the apparently unpalatable contents of the scroll and the honey-sweet taste that it left in the prophet’s mouth. This sweetness had nothing to do with the nature of the contents, but came simply from the fact that these were the words of God, who makes the bitterest experience of life sweetly satisfying. Jeremiah expressed the same thought when he wrote: ‘Thy words were found, and I ate them, and thy words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart’ (Jer. 15:16; cf. also Pss 19:10; 119:103)."

May God help us in Jesus Name...

BOWING TO THE PRESSURE OF A MOTHER
by Very Rev Fr Edmund Emakpor Phd.

John 20:20-28
There are some people that will never bow to pressure until some persons whom they have great respect for, a friend, family member, etc steps in. This is one reason why we employ the help of some people to intercede on our behalf.
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SUCCUMBED TO THE PRESSURE OF CHALLENGES
by Very Rev Fr Edmund Emakpor Phd.

Jeremiah 14:13-19
Life is full of challenges; these challenges will put pressure on us. It is either we will be defeated or succumb to the pressure or we shall overcome. To succumb means to fail, to resist pressure, temptation or some other negative force.
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THE PRESSURE OF LAMENT
by Very Rev Fr Edmund Emakpor Phd.

Jeremiah 15:10-18
One way to express sorrow, grief, loss, regret, and pain is to lament. This is when some people express their emotions by mourning aloud or grieve visibly or with sound. Lament is an expression of any form of calamity, such as defeat in battle, exile, illness, or death.
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