Month: May 2014

Searching for the ‘Israelites’? Search no more…

2 Comments
Source-Google

She awoke with a frown on her face. The first thing she uttered was ‘what am I doing here?’. What happened to my place of comfort? Then the thoughts rushed in. She misses her favourite TV soaps. She misses her former bed. She misses going out and knowing the faces she sees approaching her. She misses knowing how to get to place A from place B. She misses everything that isn’t ‘now’.

And then while she thought about all she missed. He walked in.

He smiled and said- ‘Why are you any different from the Israelites in the Wilderness?’ She thought to herself; ‘Now that’s a bit too harsh, don’t you think?
He answered; ‘Harsh?’ Okay, let’s talk.

Compare what you are missing, to what the Israelites almost killed Moses and Aaron for in Exodus 16, are they any different?

They are just the insignificant things that you’ve focused your attention on, that now seem to be overly important compared to what is to be attained with your presence in this place. Do you think I just get bored and decide to do something funny, and then your life seems to be the best joke to crack? Nah! You should know better. 
So know this- There’s nothing, I mean NOTHING that has ever taken place [that will take place] that I am not aware of. You cannot be taught when you are on the mountain but in the valley. I am still the maker of the valley and the mountains, so I reside there. Don’t forget your previous blessings.

Source-Google



Then He asked her: ‘Is this the first time I’ve taken you from your place of comfort?’ She answered ‘No’, bowing her head in shame. So why do you think that this time will be worse than before? Considering that I am the same yesterday, today and forever. Even more, the Latter is to be better than the former, remember?

Yes! I get it. What you desire is not visible. I know human beings like the ‘instant noodles’ way. But hear this- there’s no growth in the elevator. And I don’t do elevator, you’ve to take the stairs and I will provide railings and a bounce to your feet. You won’t be walking alone. Nothing of virtue is born overnight.

So suck it up! Chin up! Wipe those tears! I see you have loads of them; how about saving them for the good times ahead [tears of joy]. Just focus on me. Thank me. Ask me what it is that I want you to learn [this will fasten the process, because once you learn what is needed, you move on to the next level]. Seek to see good in the midst of all and stop crying for the ‘Lamb stew of Egypt’. I have assorted stew for you. 

Then He left…..

This is for me and you. We may be going through a major or minor change in our lives and it looks as if nothing seems to be making sense or nothing is coming together. Let us rise above the situations and be like Job in Job 13:15 [Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face]. We should not be Christians only in the midst of the ‘good going’. Remember God is the God of the mountain and the valley. 
So this week, propose in your heart that whatever it may be, you will stand firm. God works all things together for our good. Employ patience to do its work, so you become mature and well-developed. Be encouraged!


Please share and leave your comments…Chinomnso Precious

GUEST EXCLUSIVE: Stereotypes and us!!

4 Comments
Source-Google


It is difficult to write about this one- not that one enjoys writing anyway- but writing about a thing where pangs of guilt as the victim and sometimes the wrongdoer periodically collide is not actually the most enjoyable activity to do. Ha, where do I start? Stereotype. Why do we stereotype, often with so much ease, comfort and unabashed audacity? That black is bad and white is good- why is that a preconceived theory in many of us? Why? Ok, ignorance, many seem to argue, is the main reason and I remember a recent event that perhaps gives credence to that school of thought. And yes, my brother, I realise that one could stereotype with a positive intention (stereotypes could be valid, I know) – but that does not mean it is completely right.

The problem with stereotyping- or at least the most dominant one- is that it gives you a single face of a thing and projects it as the only undiluted, unaltered face. And we all, if we want to be honest, have at least an experience of this projection.  Ok my sister, let me tell you one recent experience. My own experience. It was an evening. I remember that evening, it was six; perhaps seven o’clock, the period of the day for most when the siblings of hunger and tiredness surfaced. I had just arrived home, famished, you could almost hear the walls of my stomach contract painfully. It had been running on empty for most of the day. The doorbell rang behind me and I opened it to behold the pretty face and figure of a Caucasian blonde silhouetted at my doorway.

‘Can I speak to you for a moment’?, she asked. Well, if anyone can, with those admirable features of yours certainly you’ll be top of the list, I replied. Ok, that wasn’t the actual reply, but a weak smile and nod was my reply.  You see, I was still hungry. Then she started speaking. She was a volunteer, representing a charity organisation assisting the needy in various countries across the world. It was a large organisation, ubiquitous across developing regions, and it had hundreds volunteers- trained professionals of relevant fields- helping out. And they survived on generous donations from kind members of the public. She was calm, she was articulate, she was knowledgeable, she was passionate, spewing out possibly hundreds of words per minute- the perfect salesperson. No, I must find a loophole using a strength- details.  You see, I am a bit too competitive.

Where are your volunteers working, what specific countries, I asked. Her face lit up, obviously fully aware of the answers. ‘Oh, countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Africa….’. ‘Africa’, she reeled out as from an imaginary list, her countenance now overcome with a seeming default sense of pity and sadness. Well, she could have continued if I did not stop her- of course I wouldn’t miss that opportunity to offer an education. ‘Countries like Africa you say?’, I queried. ‘Yes’, she replied oblivious of the new course of the conversation, ‘we have volunteers in Africa, they need food, water and medicine…’. Pity, more natural pity from her. I cringed. She had fallen guilty of stereotyping the continent of Africa as one country, with all parts of the ‘country’ in need of food, water and medicine. All parts of it struggling to survive, needing and surviving on kind volunteers from thousands of miles away. ‘Well, that’s wrong’, I started. ‘Africa is not a country. It is a continent of 53 different countries’. My tone was a bit forceful, instructive. But her eyes lit up, willing to learn. So I tell her more. 

I tell her that Africa isn’t a country, but a continent. A colourful continent. One of diverse people and culture and varying histories. And a growing army of able, educated, passionate young people. I tell her that her charity organisation, could be in Africa, but in just a couple of countries in Africa. I show her pictures of modern streets and skyscrapers, pictures from Nigeria and asked if her charity organisation could be in such a place- she said no. I tell her about Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Namibia, Kenya and a few other places- she conceded that she was wrong, slightly shame-faced. She innocently blamed it on the one-sided Western media, that seeks to cast sadness on what is beautiful because it was, black. I smiled, the smirk of victory obvious in whatever facial expression I had on. And I continued, a lame attempt to undo whatever the anti-African revisionists had done…

You see, that thing called stereotype, that often initial and sustained practice of using one side of a thing to represent the whole has somehow stuck with mankind for a while. A long while. I remember- in my first zoo visit as a child- checking to see if I can notice the cleverness and craftiness of ‘mbe’ the tortoise- as the children storybooks I read had described it as cunning, wiry and dishonest. Of course it wasn’t- or rather I couldn’t see it from merely  looking. Or gazing with careful concern, if I could see the ‘proudness’ of the colourful peacock, because the books I had read said it was so. Well, I couldn’t. These are things I recall, rather hilariously anyway. It goes further. I remember being questioned in my first place of student internship why my English Language was apparently so good and thought process apparently good too. It wasn’t consistent with the belief my superiors had, that the Northern part of Nigeria- where I had my initial education- had students in schools who were totally inept at every strand of learning. Or why I wasn’t ‘quiet’ and ‘reserved’ in team meetings. At that time, I was defensive and understandably so- what else is more preposterous as ignorant stereotypes? Reflecting on those incidents, I would have treated them with perhaps, some genuine sense of pity.

Stereotypes are usually preconceived; a story a person knows about a thing without actually having an experience with the thing. and to insist on only one story about a thing so strongly, isn’t just right. You see, I struggled with stereotypes while growing as a child; prejudice and other forms of discrimination still faced me much later, but none as frequent as being a victim of first hand stereotype. Hence my understanding of the mind of the perpetrator- usually ignorant – and the silent sufferings of the victims. And I understood my new friend; she listened, she smiled and she accepted the new education. More importantly she accepted that it is right and important for one to challenge stereotype where they exist, and correct them. She accepted that while this may be a difficult task, owing to the huge influence of the media on our minds, in one’s small sphere of influence such correction can be made, one at time. She accepted that in the face of more persuasive information, the stereotyped mind can be aligned to what is right. She accepted that she has a duty, armed with the right information, to challenge stereotypes. 


And she did promised me that she would do just that. It was a win-win at the end. I was delighted that I had changed a mindset and she was delighted that she had received some real information- and the donation from me!

Okechukwu Okorie

What are we testing?

6 Comments
Image from Google

In this day and time, no one person wants to be less equipped for whatever endeavour that is sought to be achieved. Be it, career-wise, academics-wise, relationships-wise and so on. 

But I find it quite disturbing that all these ‘physical’ aspects are more attended to, than the key aspect- spiritual walk-wise. Okay! what’s my point?

So it’s no news that with the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, we are privileged to seek to have the spirit of discernment. And believe me, it is really needed now than ever before. If the bible never mentioned it, I would have paid a visit to God and asked to make a vital submission, that is intrinsically needed for the Christian walk and general living, really. Well! There’s no need imagining such/wishing such, the ‘all knowing’ delivered, as always.

In as much as, he has done His part, why is it still difficult for us to do ours? [please feel free to make your thoughts known in the comment section]

So 1 John 4:1 [MSG] says- My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world. I don’t think any other translation could have simplified it any better for me. Testing the spirit is very crucial to the very existence of a man’s spiritual walk with God. I am a firm believer that the lack of ‘testing the spirit’ results in ‘avoidable bondage’

The only reason I can think of, for the decreasing request and application of the spirit of discernment is  ‘sheer laziness’. How? Let me explain: Brother A/Sister B goes to XYZ church. Pastor EFG has given countless prophecies about Brother A’s/Sister B’s family and career , and everything has manifested as he said it. Brother A/Sister B becomes comfortable with leaving all their affairs in the hands of Pastor EFG, and don’t see any reason to test whatever it is that Pastor EFG says, after all, it always comes to pass. Then, Pastor EFG becomes the new Holy spirit, Jesus and God. Why bother going directly to God, when Pastor EFG has the answers? 

This isn’t only experienced with the pastor and member cycle, it could be a spiritual confidant, prayer partner, tongue-speaking, devil-casting,vision-seeing brother/sister. But predominantly, it is the pastor and member cycle that occurs. 

Image from Google


I may not be able to describe exactly how God felt when He said He will spit out lukewarm believers, but I think I can understand the underlying reasons behind such statement. This spirit to discern/test is one that a prophet in 1 kings 13 needed, and his story would have been different from what it was. It is funny [I don’t know if that’s the right word] how the person who told the (1st) prophet lies, was an old prophet too.

This testing of the spirit is not only a present-day ‘challenge’ for believers, it started a long time ago. 


If you remember the story of the slave girl and Paul in the bible in Acts 16:16-18, where the slave girl told the truth about who Paul and Silas were, but with a contrary spirit; she was psychic. This time the girl was not telling a lie, but still the contrariety was going to lead to confusion, and God is not an author of confusion, hence the casting out of the demon.

We need to test EVERY spirit, whether the truth is being said or not, let the spirit be TESTED.


I remember the case of the  ‘eat the grass and you will be closer to God’ congregation story, that took place early this year [January to be precise]. I won’t even bother analysing the event. But this one thing I know: nowhere in the bible did God say for you to draw near to me, you have to munch some grass. I stand to be corrected, if wrong!

A pastor/Elder/G.O/Priest is not God. We, Christians should gallantly test all spirits. When you become a child of God, you become a priest and have the power to communicate with God to know what He will do or have you do. Let us not make men and women who occupy certain spiritual positions, God over all our affairs. However, let us not disrespect them/the anointing that comes with their position either. There’s that balance, that needs to be attained.

Testing ALL spirits can prevent several nights of ‘binding and casting’ prayers or even worse outcomes like that of the prophet in 1 Kings 13. We need to ask God for the spirit of discernment, it is very important in this day and time. May God help us all. Amen!

OPEN SECRET-testing the spirit cannot be accomplished without the Holy Spirit and reading of the bible.

What other reasons do you think prevent Christians from testing the Spirit? If the Spirit is not being tested, what do you think is being tested now? 




P.S  I thank God for journey mercies with my moving. I moved to Canada safe and sound, and met my family in good health as well. It’s a new beginning for me. A fresh start. I’m gradually settling in, and I am optimistic of what tomorrow holds as God is in control of tomorrow. Thank you for your patience.