TWENTY MINUTES TO LIVE

The other end of the line was silent and all Prof Timmy could hear was his wife’s sobs… he couldn’t bring himself to imagine the emotional anguish she was suffering… She was not crying because he had melanoma… but because he wouldn’t give up his stupid atheistic theories…

Timothy Doug a.k.a Prof Timmy had just been told by his oncologist that his melanoma had finally worn down his immunity and he had barely minutes to live… from his last chemo the degeneration had become so rapid that the results today had thrown the oncologist aback…

Prof Timmy had married Linda right out of the university - Both of them where Philosophy majors and favoured atheistic schools of thought. However, five years down the line, Linda had an epiphany, accepted Christ and spent the next 24 years pleading, cajoling, arguing with, and wearying her husband to join her school of thought.

Out of a need to be the man of the home, Prof Timmy had stayed stubborn throughout those years… He was the most loving husband, friend and brother that Linda could have asked for but they always differed on this note… their kids all favoured their mum’s school of thought – a condition that further emasculated Prof Timmy’s pride.

“Did he mention how long you have?” Linda finally asked amidst sobs

“Minutes” Prof Timmy responded with a lump in his throat

More silence… his oncologist stared as Prof Timmy wiped a lone tear off his cheeks

Prof Timmy finally asked the question he had avoided for the last 34 years

“Is it accurate that unregenerate humans end up in eternal anguish?”

 The other end was silent for a while… Linda couldn’t fathom why her atheist husband was asking about hell… so she waited for a repeat

“Darling… did you hear me?” Prof Timmy reiterated his question

“It is true” Linda’s smile even in tears could be felt through the air waves

“I don’t want to be separated from you for eternity” Prof Timmy continued as tears flowed freely down his cheeks “Even if it’s for the joy of seeing you in the afterlife… I want to receive that thing that has brought you peace in the last 24 years” ***

This was about 9 months ago… and Prof Timmy is still breathing… his healing process started the moment he accepted Christ… Do not wait until it’s too late before you accept Christ.

ADAM & STEVE

Steve entered the Hotel suite gingerly… not quite sure about what he could or could not touch… the

opulence was beyond compare. All his life, he had only read about such grandeur in books… the ones he even saw on TV didn’t feel as magnificent. He shut the door behind him and wandered into the presidential suite…

 “Steve is that you?” Adam’s voice echoed from the bathroom 

 “Good afternoon sir” Steve’s stuttered in fear and intimidation 

“I’ll be with you shortly… or do you care for a bubble bath?” Adam asked 

 The last two words struck alarm bells in Steve’s spirit. The last time he checked lifestyle lingua, bubble baths were for ladies. Or did it mean something entirely different in this palatial ambience? Curiosity pulled his guts and he walked past too many gold and glass items before arriving at the Jacuzzi… 

His lifestyle intellect was still prime… Adam was soaking in the Jacuzzi alone, sipping from a glass of champagne… Holy God… Steve thought… he had outdone himself this time around. 

 Steve had really thought he was favoured when the producer (Adam) called him aside after his auditions and told Steve he looked right for lead role. Adam had given him his room Key Card and room number… “Meet me by three pm for further arrangements”… Steve never knew “further” would be this far 

“Come on… Hop in” Adam urged 

“Where?” Steve puzzled 

“Quit acting like a novice… let’s have fun before we seal the deal” Adam purred like a cat seeking attention

“Oh… if it’s this kind of fun sir… I am a novice” Steve retorted sarcastically 

“What do you think I gave you my key card for?” Adam quizzed and rose from the Jacuzzi… covered in suds but nude enough for too much to be seen… the awe of the opulence around Steve lifted as a righteous anger washed over him… 

Steve didn’t care how things were done in Lagos, but he sure knew how spiritual matters where settled. Adam’s condition wasn’t a psychological mishap, this was a demonic oppression… and Steve had spent years working spiritual dynamics in the hamlets surrounding Awka before God asked him to move to Lagos and start a media ministry… 

Filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit Steve barked thunderously “You master in every form of lewdness, licentiousness and lustful and perverted emotions, will you not cease leading young men astray…? Now behold the hand of the Lord is upon you and you have been struck with leprosy until you denounce the rule of that demon over your life” 

Straightaway Adam’s skin paled and sores broke out on his skin… Adam shrieked in horror as he stumbled out of the Jacuzzi and ran towards Steve. 

“Please help me… I didn’t mean it” 

Before he got to Steve… Steve barked again “Stay in the name of Jesus” and Adam met an invisible brick wall… he fell backwards and thrashed… 

“Denounce that evil spirit and receive your healing now” Steve barked again… 

“I denounce homosexuality… please help me” Adam shrieked as a thousand heats pierced his skin 

“please I’m dying… help me… I denounce it” “You demon of homo-sexuality… you perverted philia… by the authority in the name of Jesus, come out now!” Steve barked at the demon that was raging in Adam Adam twisted a thousand times before finally lying still… 

*** 

Homosexuality is not a natural disposition and it’s not a psychological defect; it is a demonic possession… Tell the ones (both male and female) you know to seek Jesus and He will heal them.

MIRROR MIRROR OF THE WORD

There Mike stood… staring at the dusty Bible he had just pulled out from the abandoned book shelf… He

had no idea who owned the Bible but had an inkling of how it had gotten into the bookshelf…

He grew up to know a studious preacher dad and an assiduous mum who spent 12 hours at work & 3 hours in the kitchen every week day – and her weekends where spent in community services. He never had anyone show him the ropes about anything from age 14. 

“Everything you need to learn about life is in the Bible” his dad would drum into his ears… the same words that drove him away from church… from the bible and from everything that was attached to Jesus. It was a rebellion against the factors that took away his parents’ love. 

 He got a call that his parents had an accident earlier that day while driving to a village in Osun State for missions. He didn’t feel pity or sadness when he heard the news; the only emotion that crossed his mind was an inexplicable calm. On his 19th birthday he had finally gathered the balls to walk away from home and not look back… and his relationship with his parents had grown worse from that day. 

“How could Christian parents be this mean?” Mike would tell anyone who cared to listen. 

He had arrived his parents abode late in the evening to avoid anyone in the estate seeing him. The ‘50s mini-duplex was deserted. 

As Mike considered the Bible, he observed that the edges were glowing. A phenomenon he hadn’t heard of before. He reached out and opened it carefully, ready to take to his heels if anything popped out of it. As the cover opened a bright light pierced through the semi darkness and Mike had to shield his eyes from the penetrating light. 

He stayed that way for about twenty seconds until he felt his eyes had adjusted to the brightness. He finally opened them and saw a glowing mirror suspended mid-air over the spot where the Bible had lain. He saw what looked like a human form in the mirror… but the image was shrivelled and looked infected with all sorts of skin irritations… it looked dead 

On close observation he realized that image had the same features he had… the mole on his nose was there and the eye-colour was the same. In fright he quickly observed his arm to see if he had any infections on it… his research showed different… so why did he look like a corpse on the mirror in front of him? 

He stepped closer to the mirror and observed faint letterings in the foreground… he mouthed the words “…as we continue to behold as in a mirror the glory of God, we are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in an ever increasing splendour…” 

As he mouthed these words… he saw part of the shrivelled face in the mirror peel off. And the skin under that part looked like a visual effects from a Sci-fi flick – it glowed. In confusion Mike mouthed the words again… yet again another portion of the shrivelled face peeled off revealing more glory on the image… and he could see the shrivelled skin float away into oblivion 

So Mike kept repeating the verse until the entire image was alive with glory… then the mirror collapsed like a folding pamphlet… once again it was the old dusty Bible… but Mike couldn’t stop mouthing the words, because he felt lighter every time he said them and he felt all the hate he felt for his parents fade away into oblivion…

ORIENTATION OF A KING VII

Grunts… perspiration… heaves… snorts… clangs of weapons… the Israeli camp was rank with

consternation. Ever since that 17 year old kid had walked down the hillside of Ella, every Israeli soldier had soaked their undercoat in anticipation of the slavery that awaited the entire nation of Israel. Why had King Saul allowed this runt represent them?

“Today the world will know that there is a God in Israel” The ruddy 17 year old screamed over the substantial tension “… because I will cut off your head and feed it to the birds of the air” 

The 11 ft. tall uncircumcised Philistine was enraged when he heard this. He had threatened Israel for over two weeks and no one had dared to whisper a word until this runt of a creature showed his face. His rage was hinged on Saul’s insolence… sending a kid to his early death… what was the strategy? 

Was there even a strategy? Kunle and Eti Smith were also in the trenches by the hillside, dressed in full armour, arms in dirt and ready to charge at the sign of any hope that victory was sure. Two of them were probably the only ones in the trenches that believed Goliath would fall that day… because they’d heard the story over and over… they knew it even in their dreams. 

Kunle Captained a battalion and Eti was his armour bearer. The boy had learnt to wield a sword at a very early age and could sneak into enemy territory without attracting attention because he was just a kid. 

“How did David know he was going to cut off Goliath’s head dad?” Eti asked his father “he didn’t have any sword on him” 

“He was putting God on the spot” Kunle replied 

Goliath’s rage could not be contained anymore, so he pushed his armour bearer aside and charged forward. The whole valley shook as his huge feet trampled what was left of the grasses. Though Eti knew the story by heart, he couldn’t help but marvel at the boldness with which David ran forward to meet Goliath. 

“Why did David run forward?” he asked his father

“That’s what faith does son” Kunle responded “True faith nudges you to act in accordance with what you believe” 

In an instant David had swung his catapult and Goliath was falling forward… and the rest would have been history but Eti couldn’t help asking 

“Following the law of Physics dad, Goliath should have fallen backwards because the force came from the front” 

“You mistake the stone for the force son” Kunle smiled knowingly “the force that struck Goliath was behind him… when David made that challenge… God was stirred by the faith of that Kid and sent his angels to slay that braggart from behind” 

Kunle turned to his battalion and screamed “What are you waiting for? We’ve been served Philistine skunk for dinner” 

Then he charged forward with Eti in front…

YOU'VE GOT ME

Coach Straus droned on but Simone had zoned out… his mind was burnt… no, charred was the word.

Thirteen games in a row and he had not netted any goal yet (not even in training)… since the 2013 season started. What good was a striker who didn’t convert chances? He was the most expensive player on the planet right now and the previous season had seen him win UEFA footballer of the year … with 57 goals that season

His thoughts were tied up in knots at too many points… his nights were wrapped up in too many layers that by the time he finished unravelling them, his alarm would clang 05:00… meals were poison and he was fast losing weight. 

He had complained to the Team Psychologist… visited different psychotherapist after the first five games of the season without goals and they all said the same thing… he was in top shape… but he knew different. 

It sounded distant, but he could recognize the coach’s voice… he jerked in surprise as a team mate poked him

“Simone…Simone?” Coach Strauss was saying “are you okay?” 

“Sorry coach… I don’t think I can play the second half?” Simone asked with confusion inscribed on his face 

“Where have you been the whole time?” Coach Strauss asked in dismay “I already said you were off the team till you got your groove back” 

This was the height… Simone knew his team depended solely on him… and if Coach Strauss had decided to bench him till he started scoring in trainings… then he too had given up on Simone. He watched the team roll out for second-half but didn’t move an inch… nobody cared enough to bother him. 

When the last man had gone out he went to his locker and started clearing out his stuff… he needed a break and he didn’t care what his contract said, he was going to hide away for the next two weeks. Then he found an old diary his mum had bought him when he first moved to Spain… the year he signed his contract with Madrid… 

The first page stopped him cold… it was a prayer… it read “Dear God, thank you for the opportunity to play in the world’s biggest club… if you will crown me with the title of UEFA’s best in this club… I will publicly declare your son Jesus as the saviour of the world… if I don’t, take my groove away” 

Realization washed over him like fish in hot oil… he had reneged on his word… he was responsible for the goal drought he was facing… 

Straightaway he tossed everything back into the locker… slammed it shut… swiftly changed into a clean jersey… and rushed out… with a smile 

He knew what had to be done… suddenly; life wasn’t so terrible anymore…

JESUS STARE

The undulating terrain held nothing but scare for Jones. It was rugged and narrow… the race course was

helmed in by fierce menacing barbs, thorns and gigantic briers. Another rider throttled past him on a dirt bike – the rider wasn’t looking at the terrain, but at something in front of him which Jones couldn’t make out.

There was a distant glare that could barely pass for a bush lamp. Jones knew that was the finish line but he wasn’t sure if the rider was actually staring at the glare… it was so tiny. 

This was the third rider that he had seen do that while riding past him. What were they staring at? Jones had tripped into thorny boundaries about three times. By the third time, his riding gear was riddled with innumerable cuts and his helmet was gone. He had managed to pull himself up just before sliding into the gaping darkness beyond the barbs, thorns and briers. 

“How could anyone call this The Beautiful Race?” Jones grumbled as he pulled out a prick from his left arm.

 Another rider approached and Jones observed again that he was staring into oblivion but his riding was steady. He decided he was going find out what these guys were staring at. As the rider’s bike hopped over the crest, Jones screamed 

“What are you staring at?”

 “The Manual” The rider’s scream sounded muffled from under the helmet… and Jones noticed that the rider almost tripped when he took his eyes off whatever he was staring at… but he regained balance as soon as he resumed staring. 

Jones then remembered the manual all riders were asked to buy at the beginning of the race. He had bought one but didn’t bother opening it because he didn’t need any quack telling him about dirt bike racing. Unknown to him, this was no ordinary racing… this was “The Beautiful Race”

 Jones ransacked his pocket and found the tiny manual. He opened it. Even though the light was fast fading, he could make out the words like it was bright day light. The first thing he saw was “NEVER LOOK AT THE TERRAIN”… what sort of stupid manual was this? How were you to race on a terrain without looking at it? How was one meant to negotiate the crest and troughs? 

But he continued “…KEEP YOUR EYES LOCKED ON THE LIGHT”… then it hit Jones like a cyclone… Hebrews 12:2 – Looking away from all that will distract to Jesus, the leader and source of our faith and also its finisher. 

Jones realized that the other riders where steady because the never took their eyes off the LIGHT. JESUS is that Light. Without constantly staring him, we all fall into the thorns lining the race course!

ORIENTATION OF A KING VI

“Why won’t you even look at me” Cleopatra rubbed Joseph’s chin gently and he shrunk back. 

“The mere thought of your suggestions are underserving of my God and master” Joseph drew close to the only exit from this gaping abyss of lust. “What is it about me?”

 “Why don’t you ask yourself that question?” Cleopatra drew near him again 

“This is wrong against God” Joseph whispered with tears in his eyes… he knew this was absolutely wrong and was also aware of the fact that his refusal would get him sacked. Madame Cleopatra had threatened over and over, used every tactic in the book but he had not given in.

It had started with subtle gifts and niceties… then it advanced to body rubs… subsequently aggravating to open requests. Joseph was caught in between his integrity to God, his loyalty to Potiphar (his master) and the grim claws of this evil seductress. He knew without a doubt that the surest bet was God, so his tears were not out of weakness but out of the realization that God wasn’t done training him for where he was going to. 

Joseph’s tears were a show of anger that he still had flaws that needed testing. He had contemplated telling his master several times but would Potiphar believe a common Israeli slave over his wife of fifteen years? 

Kunle Smith knew what would follow immediately and turned to Eti. “Watch carefully, son… someday this might be you” he whispered. Kunle had brought his son through Time Warp to witness this classic temptation theatre. The media was rank with tons of sensual material and Kunle needed his boy ready to overcome. 

They stood under the covers of the heavy Egyptian blinds yet their vision wasn’t hindered by the covers. Two time-frames had been merged… but only the parties from the present year could traverse both time-frames. 

Cleopatra grabbed Joseph by the waist in a lock that was definitely powered by hell. She pulled him like a possessed tigress and succeeded in getting him to the bed despite Joseph’s manly strength…

Eti shut his eyes in disgust and youthful innocence but Kunle tapped the boy on the shoulders “the best part is here son” urging Eti to open his eyes. 

At that instant, Joseph elbowed Cleopatra in the gut. She yelped like a wounded dog and released her grip temporarily. As Joseph took off towards the door, Cleopatra regained strength and reached for his coat… and the coat felt this was the appropriate time to be rent… on the right shoulder 

SO Joseph fled the sin scene leaving behind the coat of proof… that he was either guilty or innocent. 

“Dad” Eti whispered to his dad “Why was Cleopatra so particular about Joseph” 

“The destiny of the world lay in the integrity of Joseph’s heart” Kunle replied “and God allowed him to be taken through series of temptations to be sure that particular character was sealed in his heart”

“Did Joseph know this?”

 “Sure… remember his dreams?” Kunle replied “The devil’s greatest battle with you will come when he knows you’ve discovered your world changing purpose in Christ”