MEET JESUS' CREW : JOHN WAS A SELFISH BIGOT

All you need is a pair of reading glasses to see this!

John had a very strong personality, the type that took a bulldozer with whale-sized harrows to move... dude could die for an opinion and would go to any extent to establish his point of view – even if it meant burning down an entire village... sounds like a new testament Elijah without regards for the change in covenants...

One wouldn’t really blame this assertive bum, not with an elder brother like James around... Day in day out in the coasts of Capernaum, brawls broke out on fishing turfs and these brothers came to adapt to the coarse lifestyle of staying firm with your opinions even if you were wrong... That was the only way to earn respect on the turf... either you toughen up or you just get your “weak” self out of the way!

It was never a case of “let’s reason” but “you’ve got to see things my own way ...else”... you know the caustic drill... Business was good; money was never a problem with a large fishing trough berthing every day with tons of sea merchandise for a vibrant commercial nerve in Israel; strategic partnerships with the likes of Pete & Andy made sure, competition was low; mama had the home front on check; & everything was all dandy except for the fact that John’s bigotry had the whole dock clamouring for his skin.

No doubts, John was one of the finest around as far as fish game was concerned (That’s why the customers could not resist his merchandise) but this bigotry, brashness & strong personality was fast chopping off the good graces... The reason why Johnnie did not have to think for long to follow Jesus...

Even after hooking up with Jesus, it took a while to get his bigotry out of the way... remember when the disciples were asked to go to Samaria to prepare the way for Jesus? John & his brother suggested they call down fire from heaven to consume the entire village, just because the village would not receive their gospel... Sci-fi!

Selfishness was so ingrained in his heart that he and his brother had to chat up mama to go confront the master and tell him to arrange for thrones next to his in heaven... Hmmm... Would you tip this dude as candidate for the love portfolio in the beloved country of love? Apparently not! But Jesus did... he saw a dude whose bigotry could drive him to the ends of the earth if properly harnessed...

Same John came to be known as “John the divine”, the only one to be given that title... he so spent time immersing himself in the love of Christ that he was the only one amongst all the apostles to flesh out the love of God towards man in all his writings... No wonder he called himself the “disciple whom Jesus loved”... Doubt not that this understanding is the reason why he was the only one to stay with Jesus through his ordeal, even to the cross, after the rest had scampered and stayed scattered...

Selfish Johnnie was so transformed to the extent that even after being dropped in boiling oil... pause, rewind & replay... “boiling oil”... He came out unscathed... wow! A clear evidence that he was not just flipping pages when he wrote that “love conquers all fears, ills, persecutions & challenges...”

If anyone deserved to be given the visions in Revelations, do you think it would have be Johnnie? How could God trust a man that was once selfish to the “ISH” to proclaim this vision? God doesn’t see the way we see!

Even if you are struggling with selfishness and the weakness of bigotry (it’s not a weakness in all cases), God will still use you... are there times when you feel like you simply cannot apprehend this “Love” message? Look up the books of 1st, 2nd, & 3rd John for consolation and see a man that was once worse than you reel love like a cinema screen!

Allow the potter do his work...Your selfishness is not an excuse... Remember... Jesus never asked for golden, silver or diamond vessels... He only needed yielded vessels... yielded vessels usually bear ills but always turn out to be the best vessels for transmission...

RELOADERS

You...
Yes you... you are supposed to replenish the earth, and subdue it!
In case you never knew this, it’s Genesis 1 v 28, so you can review it & meditate...
What does that entire verse mean to you when you view it under your spiritual-scope? Does it sound like a visual joke? Or does it bring only conjugal hope? Better yet, does your spine trigger a frugal stroke just by thinking about the possibility of the ocular impossibility?

The first part of the verse says to be fruitful – meaning our seeds need to be sown; not just on any ground but on fertile mounds... nurtured through selective feeds, disciplined for proactive needs and primed to also yield purposeful seeds! Man (You) is designed to bear fruits – but these fruits cannot be fully juiced except he meditates upon the word like in David’s first Psalm... The man that that meditates upon the word is a tree planted by the rivers of water! Whoosh!

The second part says to multiply... what are the multiples of two (parents) >>> 2, 4, 6, 8... Of course, we all know that every couple gets to decide the number of kids they want... meaning, that there is an understanding of this part of the verse...

Would you agree that this is where the understanding of man’s primordial authority, vested on him by God, ends? Just the “Be fruitful & multiply” part... The “replenish the earth” & “subdue it” parts have lain fallow for far too long... only a few have been able to access this authority, why?

If replenishment means restoring, refilling, restocking, rebooting, then you deduce that God anticipated the pollution & destruction of the earth even before he started creation – destruction already existed down here even while God’s spirit was brooding over the face of deep! Isaiah says it! If subduing means to suppress our environment & pull down the strings of challenges then God expected us to face challenges & situations; expected us to defy natural laws to suit our purposes on earth... Hmmm, the earth was created for man, not the other way round!

Before creating earth, God knew the devil would want to subject it under his authority, so God programmed us with the ability to replenish anything that the devil polluted & the power to overcome all challenges; that’s why he didn’t curse the first Adam, when he fell, He only cursed the earth for his sake... That ability to subdue the earth & replenish it was subverted...

See it this way, God had warned Adam that the day he eats of the tree, his spiritual acuity would be murdered... Death... Death is a transition from one realm to another, just as life is... so, by spiritual death, that ability to replenish & subdue the earth was transited to a darkly realm, shadowed by the dominance of the devil & man was subjected to a life of servitude.

Christ came with a spiritual rebirth... the ability to replenish the earth and subdue was restored... Hitherto, only a few could subdue creation at certain times that the Holy Spirit came upon them >>> Moses parting the red sea, Joshua commanding the sun to stand still >>> Elijah replenished the earth when he prayed for rain to fall after three years >>> but Christ’s redemptive work has translated all who believe into a realm where the ability flourishes.

Phillip could teleport; defy the spatial laws of nature (Subduing); Paul raised the dead (replenishing) >>> Stories abound of Apostles walking on water, shutting the mouths of lion, surviving boiling oil unscathed, causing earthquakes and calming them (Pete)... Acts that certify the ability to replenish & subdue abound, only, many do not know! The natural thing for the Christian is what has been tagged “miraculous”

God’s original plan? Live the replenishing and subduing life! Yet, what have we today? Men that still ask God to do what he has already done for them. No intentions to get acerbic or hard on any Christian who doesn’t have the time to open “The Book” & find out how to subdue nature & replenish it... but the truth-must-needs-be-told (Now, that’s KJV)...

I think about this and understand why Paul told the Romans that the entire creature “earnestly awaits” the manifestations of the sons of God >>> when will the sons begin to squelch tsunamis & earthquakes with their words? When will they restore the depleting ozone layer? Sounds bogus but we’ve been given the ability to... The creature need not wait anymore, they need to witness the manifestations...

Manifestations are not signs of sonship, but true sons that have encountered grace‘ll manifest as the ministry of the spirit leads them... heard of John G. Lake? Kennet Hagin? They understood the ability, you can too! Through fellowship with the father! What did Jesus come to do? To show us what we could do... That’s why he said... “greater works than these shall ye do”...

but it's not by might!

Hhhhe!

MEET JESUS' CREW : THOMAS WAS A CYNIC

A chronic one...

I believe that Thomas had issues believing because he was unimaginative... Creativity was certainly a minus for him... an overbearing realist that had a knack for digging up the worst in every situation... doubt was a lifestyle; even after viewing all of Jesus’ miracles; even after witnessing Lazarus return to life, Tommy could not just bring himself to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead!

What does it take to believe that a man who had raised one from the dead could also rise from the dead? Imagination... you see! I told you Thomas’ imagination was earth low from the skies... A perfect analogy would be “pinky” – that’s if you watch cartoons...

Tommy could have grown up around “Practical” adults, who would calculate all the days of their life and live no room for providence or divine intervention... The kind that shut you up if you dare to dream about inventing stuff... They would rather you plied the conventional career routes... you know the long list! It wouldn’t be out of place to say that Thomas could hardly believe in himself!

If you cannot believe in yourself, how can you believe in another! You see Tommy’s predicament? I wonder what other influences in the city of Capernaum had eroded his imagination and clogged his mind with practicality, cynicism, realism, & mistrust. Childhood must have been boring even with his twin brother around.


Tommy was not a likely candidate for teaching people about faith...
System error! Please reboot!

How was he supposed to explain healing to his followers & tell them it was possible to defy gravity on water, when he himself could hardly grasps the reality in that? I am of the opinion that he was the first to proclaim doubt when Jesus walked on water towards them & must have been too cynical to believe that he asked Peter to request Jesus’ permission to come forth!

Given that Jesus’ neck and his disciples’ butt were wanted in Lazarus’ hometown, Tommy only saw the impending doom that would embrace them should they go down there to raise “a sleeping man that was dead”... His conclusion was, “That’s all folks, time to die... let’s also go there and embrace our spaceships to heaven”... He wasn’t trying to be sarcastic or peevish, he was just expressing himself as a realist! We are wanted in this town & if we go there, we all die! Finito!

Lack of imagination to reason that, Jesus’ time had not come YET... at least the good master was kind enough to intel them on future occurrences! This same lack of imagination had Tommy asking “Lord we know not where you are headed, please where is that?” even after Jesus’ said “I go to the father, to prepare a place for you”... Really dumb question right?

Dude just was not cut out for this faith stuff...hmmm.... that’s why He had gone wandering on the street, looking for some logical books on science to read when Jesus appeared to the other ten in the upper room after resurrection... have you ever asked yourself why he wasn’t there?

Now amidst his doubts and cynicism, Jesus called him on board & never ever asked him to leave his crew because he expressed doubts... Jesus knew Tommy was not trying to prove anything... Jesus saw a man that had spent a greater part of His life living in doubt, being fed doubt, studying doubt & sleeping doubt. Jesus knew if this doubt was appropriately harnessed he could learn a lot – doubt incites curiosity & curiosity begets knowledge, right?

So Jesus saw a cynic who needed a gentle prod to become a stallion of faith and he never gave up on him... If you were a boss like Jay & Tommy expressed doubts about your ability to rise from the dead even after witnessing the resurrection of Lazarus, what would you do? But Jay did not deride him, he only urged him to cease depending on his sensory perceptions to walk with him... & that was the last you heard about Tommy...

Tell you what, India received the good news of salvation because Tommy packed up his bags, emigrated out of “Doubt Island” and went hard with faith.... After seeing the risen saviour, anything was possible! Ask residents of St. Thomas in India & they would tell you Tommy was martyred with a Spear but that he resurrected... look up your Illumina Gold!

If you have heard the Gospel and doubts about the veracity of Jesus Christ still linger; MAYBE you feel you have failed Christ because you have doubted his word; Quit with the derision, Thomas walked with Christ for three years, yet he harboured doubts... Have you preached the Gospel to others & like atheists, they have mocked your good-news? Stay, & show them the last words of Christ to Tommy... “blessed are they that have not seen but believe”
Blessed!

Tell them they do not need ocular prove to believe Jesus is the saviour just as they don’t need ocular prove to know that their daddy is the daddy. How many of them have gone for DNA test to actually prove that? Tell them Christianity is a walk of Faith & not works geared by sensory perception!

Do not quit at doubt... let this doubt lead you to curiosity & your curiosity will land you in faith! Keep going hard for Christ & if you haven’t started, it’s quite easy... Click ‘I Confess’ above...forget you doubts & practical nature ... time will erase them...

Remember... Jesus never asked for golden, silver or diamond vessels... He only needed yielded vessels... yielded vessels usually bear ills but always turn out to be the best vessels for transmission...

GOD UNDERSTANDS

You get a call from an -
Uncle, promising you 20 grand
You look around and -
you can’t find anything to put on
so you borrow from
friends, family; maybe daughter or son (snickers)
& you show up thirty minutes before time
Looking all neat & without grime
Grinning just because “Uncle” promised you a dime
& 3 hours after appointment,
You are still waiting because “Uncle” is lounging
Yet you show no disappointment
Until he finally shows up & gives the farthing
Yet when you are told “service is 7 am, come fasting”
You fill your tummy & revel in farting
Then get back into bed so as to attend service -
after praise sessions...& your bed is ever at your service
Comfy...comfy...snug, so you roll & turn
& when you finally get up, you find out
That there’s nothing to wear out
Your words? “No! I cannot borrow”
So you stay back from Sunday service
Engage the sleep gear & rev it
Lying to yourself, “God Understands”
But for how long will he understand?
You forget that the blessing you garner from
one service could give you twenty drums
of the twenty grand ‘uncle’ spitefully gave
enough to last you to the grave...
oh! Ye of little understanding,
for how long will God understand?
For the few times you manage to be in church late
You do not even wait till “the grace”
Racing home to bed again
Maybe gist with friends about a football game
When you are asked “Why the haste?”... your claim
“God understands” again
For how long will he understand?
It’s time to pay tithes
But your offering envelope you hold tight
Calculating the tithe to the fraction
Nothing above, maybe a subtraction
Yeah...yeah... you need to feed
Buy clothes to dress with
A house to sleep
Again God understands
But how come you don’t understand?
That if he can give you what you have now
He can give you more
Do not be deceived into thinking
That grace is to be taken with trifling
The same measure with which you deal
Will you be dealt... for real!
& your level of dedication to His service
Determines the reward you get on the...
you know when!
For in the end, God will tell you
“I understand”

MEET JESUS' CREW : PETER WAS A MILITANT

A rugged one... how else would you explain the sword at the Garden of Gethsemane? What kind of dude goes to pray with a sword? I am certain he had a personal motto like “Always expect trouble”... my opinion OH!

Check this thot -

His brother Andrew pulls the net out of the sea and their net is entangled with the net of the next fishing boat... the crew on the next boat accuses Andrew of trying to appropriate their catch and Peter, who was absorbed with keeping the sail afloat, quickly glides down, pulls his sword and...“Does anyone want to repeat that statement again?” everyone is quiet... till a brave fool allows his lips leak “Your brother is trying to steal our...” and that statement is replaced by “Aaaaaaaaah” as Peter’s sword licks the dude’s lips...

Snickers...I just made that up... but Pete was impulsive to the V, a grouchy angler driven more by his emotions than logical mind – did he have one? He never paused to think about the consequences of his actions or words before launching them... little wonder he slashed Malchus’ ear at the garden without even thinking about the fact that the soldiers that had accompanied the Pharisees outnumbered them. Same impulsiveness that had him as the winner of the race from the Garden...

Pete indeed was a militant... the precision with which he cut of Malchus’ ear attests to that... Swish...! And there you have it... ear flipping on the garden floor... gash bleeding like a fledgling fountain... A neat cut that could have only been attained by years of practice and engagements in street brawls, dock fights, bar melees & sea scuffles. Peter carried a sword everywhere he went! It wouldn’t be out of line to say that Pete always wore this Don’t-mess-with-me look... Don’t you agree?

Pete had no time for explanations... act now & think later... no time for petty issues; you wouldn’t be wrong to assume he was the one that tried chasing the children away at the coast of Judea by Jordan... Pete was a brash fisherman that had “stark illiterate” inscribed on his forehead... His Greek was like the watered down version of the Nigerian English “Pidgin”... Annas, Caiaphas & Alexander (the Chief priest & crew) perceived his illiteracy just by listening to him... If he had to study for Apostleship, Pete would have never made it through theology school... cos I seriously doubt if he could read!

Pete was also embarrassingly poignant... Luke says He wailed like a baby after the cock crowed in Annas’ house... Wailed like a baby! Dude was like forty... Imagine a forty-year-old Niger Delta militant with an AK45 in hand wailing... Grouse, huh?

Hmmm... Combine the qualities... impulsiveness; militancy; illiteracy; unstable emotions; brashness... & what do you have “A walking chaos”... How on earth is this dude supposed to preach the gospel of LOVE!
You are kidding me right?
I’m sure love must have felt like a feather-in-the-wind for him... Ask any choleric (Pete was the chief of them)... “Waste of time” they’d say! Until they meet Christ though!

Pete was a walking Chaos, yet Christ picked him! The Holy Spirit must have told Jesus... “This one will take time; but every potter knows, the toughest clays usually make the most beautiful potteries”... So when his brother brought him along, Jesus immediately called him “the rock” in line with the rocky nature of the clay that had just been dumped in his hands...

Jesus saw the passion & the strength that could lead the entire church... Rebranded him “Pete” from “Simon”... Jesus sees that in you too; he doesn’t care about your temper; your illiteracy doesn’t count neither does your impulsiveness; forget your emotions – they can be fixed; Jesus is saying once again “Follow me”...would you?

If you have heeded this call already, are you letting this same call flow from your lips to other militants? Tell them if Christ could wait patiently for Pete to overcome his militancy & break him to the point that this dude’s meekness won him an “up-side-down-crucifixion”, then he can also reboot their militancy, temper tantrums and weaknesses...

Jesus never asked for golden, silver or diamond vessels... He only needed yielded vessels... yielded vessels usually bear ills but always turn out to be the best vessels for transmission...

Yield today & show the world how they can yield too...

CINECHRIST [just foolin’ ‘round]

Christ is the “boss of all bosses” that tops the “box office”
He is the only “Solace” that doesn’t need “quantum” forces
The ways of “Horace” compared to his are losses
He’s the “Hitch” that asks for your heart gently
He doesn’t “Push” like a “Tooth-fairy”...
*He’s not yet a “Family man”
He’s still a bridegroom without a “Bestman”
Beckoning on all His “Runaway Brides”
To come on board the “Soul-plane”; the only “Flight –
That soars you above the “Clash of Titans”...
*Even Satan knows He’s got more moves than all “Street fighters”
& He doesn’t do “Mortal Kombats” cos he’s an immortal
His ways are “Unthinkable” cos He’s eternal
His majesty is “undisputed”; He’s “Le Grande”...
*Remember “Moulin Rouge” the Samaritan -
by the well?
He “Saw” through her like “Binoculars”
& remodelled her “Torque”, while speaking her “Vernacular”...
*He saves the “Lost” & redeems them from “XXX”
He defeated the “Evil Genius” dressed in “Luther, Lex”
When He died for us, so we won’t have to “die another day”
Yet we still behave like “Little Rascals” anyways
Wandering into the claws of the “Family that preys”
Cos in our “Foolhardy”, we forget that the “Terminator” doesn’t pity -
The “Braveheart”-ed...
*Jesus took up the “Mission Impossible” & didn’t
need the “A-team” to accomplish that
He rose as the Christ and became the church’s “Avatar”
He has no need for “Chakras” -
to perform any “Miracle on lane 5”
cos the Holy Spirit is his “Inside man” who strives –
for our “Salvation” & keeps us from the “Heat”
Of “Dante’s Inferno”...

*He doesn’t fly the “Air Force One” – No!
He rolls with “Chariots of Fire”
He’s the mystery in the “Chronicles of Narnia”
Yet so real, you can taste him like “Salt”
His meaning defines “Speed” without a fault
& when you board his “Taxi” you just can’t halt...
*He’s such an open “Legend” yet the “Seeker” couldn’t find him
You can “Lie to me” but you can’t deceive him
Cos He sees through you even if you are “Fashionista”
You just can’t “Beat this” his swag, No!
He has this ill-fashion “Detoxifiers” in his presence, so -
the “Devil wears a Prada” “Tuxedo” -
just so he can “Step-up” into the “Rings of the Lord”
and lay “Accusations” against the redeemed of the Lord...
*But Christ always wins the “Devil’s advocate”
& doesn’t need ”The Jury” to decide his case
His “Judgement” is as quick as his breath -
which goes “Round the world in less than sixty seconds”
You too can testify that this awesomeness belittles “Bruce Almighty”
This same breath renews you like the “Eagle”...
*He knew everything yet behaved like “The man who knew so little”
Has the “Basic Instinct” for every discipline, even pottery
We all know he’s the “Potter” that moulded “Harry”
even though the dude chose to be a good “Resident evil”...
*Christ loves all, even the “Seat-fillers” & “Ordinary people”
He did before “10,000BC” & will still do even after “2012AD”
When he will stir the rage of “Poseidon” & lock up “Hades”...
*He could have lived “Lavida Loca” & not wince
but that would have led him to the “Original sin”;
the “Engine” that drives the “Soul train”
on which you were “Passenger 57”
but like a “Man on fire”, He switched lanes
so you could get saved before “Hour eleven”
& offered himself a “Silenced Lamb”
Allow Him be your “Dark knight”, but not like batman
Let him redeem your “Gotham City”
& awaken you, the “Sleeping beauty”
Forget the devil’s lure; he is not the “Gamer”
but just an “Imposter”
He can only tempt you with the “Pretty Woman”
But you need not fret, for we have angels as “Bodyguards”
They make us “Bullet”-proof & “fireproof”
& we have the “whole nine yards” -
of the Bible to show us the “spotlight”
the words within are “blades” with which you can live right...
*You can live like the “King of New York”
Enjoying loads of “Babe” for your buffet pork
& have “Maids in Manhattan” –
dressed in “Royal” garbs and patterns
Even though you haven’t “Come to America”
Just believe that Christ is the highest & “Last Don”
“The Last man standing” with the “Double Barrel” gun -
of righteousness...accept him & you’ll be “Bedazzled”
beyond every “Supernatural” spectacle...
*I might just be “fooling around”, but this could be –
your “Last Chance” to make “The Band” – it’s free ...
Please, embrace “The Passion of Christ”

MEET JESUS’ CREW : MATTHEW WAS AN “ALAGBARA”

Matthew was a local champion with a lot of repute (mostly ill); he was what you would call a typical “Alagbara” in Lagos... An “Alagbara” is like a head of touts or an overseer appointed by the government to amass revenue through taxation in certain areas. He was in charge of taxation in Capernaum and must have had many boys under him like the present day “Alagbara”.

This guy was abhorred by traders and commuters alike, due to high and cutthroat taxation; think about the kind of comments that trailed him when his hummer (wagon) pulled by... “Inconsiderate fool”, “thief”, “devil incarnate”...you know the rest...

Matthew and his boys were full of trick & frauds for extorting money from folks that hawk with trays, push good carts, bus & taxi drivers, roadside traders, stall owners, herders, public dirt removers, & even pedestrians... this crew could even tax students & children! It was that bad.

The public could not do anything about it because, Matthew was appointed by the Roman Government and had their full backing even when it was obvious that he was exceeding his thread limit... even when the government knew he was not making full returns of the revenue that was coming in... So, on both ends (the public & his employees) he was not trusted... matter of fact Matthew was despised!

Life must have been miserable amidst all the “owambe” (typical Yoruba parties) that he organised... inviting roman officials to come enjoy good wine and lush meals facilitated by what Nigerians would call “blood money”... you ask how? How do you explain the fact that a man that has so much wealth would abandon all of his “hard earned money” to follow a “common teacher” who simply said “follow me”?

Yep, he was making money, rubbing shoulders with crème of the society (Romans) even though with a crass background, had a lot of boys, had max protection (thugs were at his beck & call), & could access the temple because he was from the tribe of Levi... Yet when he slept at night, the ceiling was as far as the skies, the bed gnawed at him, the sheets were too cold even with the warmth of his wife, and sleep just kept playing hide & seek... every night was - “Aaaaaaaah, SOS!”

The “God sized space” in his heart kept growing... no amount of taxation and connection could fill that... Nope! So, when Jesus called... He knew it was time to flip the pages because the present ones were too boring – you could call them a “white-wall-stare”...

When the Holy Spirit told Jesus “that’s the next one”... Jesus must have wondered “H.S are you sure about this dude? Everyone hates him!” & the Holy Spirit must have replied “See” & showed Jesus the potentials of this apparently discipleship menace...

Hence, Jesus saw through the facade of the “Alagbara”, the fake smiles, and the pomp at the lavish “owambes”... Jesus saw through the fog of sin that had accumulated over Matthew’s suffocating conscience... Jesus saw a heart that could make disciples of Ethiopia & Parthia... Jesus saw a Historian that could understand Greek & Aramaic and write in both languages fluently... one that could use tachygraphy (a medieval form of short hand); a skill needed for the quick recording of his long sermons...

So, Jesus called him not because of what he was, but what he could be... Jesus called Matthew not because of His wealth and pomp, but because of the wealth that he would pass on to the nations of the world when he wrote down the first and a detailed gospel... Jesus called Matthew & reversed the hearse for him – because dude was headed to the coffin & eternal damnation....

Guess what? He didn’t make a mistake, God never does... Mathew ended up writing the most detailed Synoptic Gospel, evangelized Ethiopia & Parthia and was so radical that a halberd (an axe blade & pick with a spearhead on top attached to a long handle) thrust through his belly was the only thing that could stop him after much persecutions... Now, dude is chilling in his mansion in Heaven... everything he gave up on earth for the sake of the gospel & more were waiting for him in heaven... “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, right?”

Matthew was a leader of thugs & hated scoundrels... He was an extortionist... His own people despised Him... Yet Jesus called him and cleaned him up... Today you see him as a fresh apostle but he was not always like that... he was once coarse & screwed up!

Listen & You’ll hear “Follow me”... that’s Jesus calling... lay aside all things & pursue this cause... let the world hear this calling through your lips and help them garner wealth in heavenly places... help them... help them reverse the hearse... help them change the course of the curse of death... let them know that Jesus has paid the minimum wage of sin (death)... how will they know if no one tells them?

Jesus never asked for golden, silver or diamond vessels... He only needed yielded vessels... yielded vessels usually bear ills but always turn out to be the best vessels for transmission...

WELCOME TO ZION

Maybe you did not realize what you signed up for when you declared yourself a Christian... maybe you do know but need a reminder & a reawakening...
Probably you just returned from your long sojourn in search of self & you have finally stepped into the Christian fold...
Here is your official welcome note... It’s from DAD!
He sends it with loads of berry regards

Dear... (Your name),

Welcome... welcome to the land of surplus
According to your knowledge of the word plus -
your consistency in the walk -
with the spirit according to the grace & not to works

Welcome to righteousness, without measure, ingrained in your consciousness... welcome, welcome to victory that erases your defeat history...

welcome to divine health -
that defies all illnesses on earth
welcome to irretrievable wealth
that experiences neither decay nor dearth

Welcome to love; that is what holds us together in this land – It is our bond, our language... Welcome to faith: I’m certain you picked up a faith pouch at the gate of salvation... It’s the currency with which we operate in this land & the only mobile that’s available for transportation here...

Welcome...Welcome to the Word
Your milk, your bread, your meat, your diet, your sword
By it you grow, develop & reach upward... by it you battle as you fast-forward
Welcome to prayer & tongues; your direct line to the president Jesus... your passport
to “Island Miraculous”.

Welcome...Welcome to miracles, wrought when we battle; not with physical armour but with spiritual pomp & ardour... Welcome to peace that surpasses UN’s peace; a home that sets you at ease... Welcome to the home of “More than Conquerors”, where we spend & build with splendour...

Welcome to wisdom
A fundamental right for all translated into this kingdom
Wisdom that imputes unto you freedom

Welcome to my clan... Welcome the clan of God where everyone’s surname is God... Your family members are trillionaires & zillionaires...Welcome to the land where men defy natural laws; where grace avails all rights hindered by the law; where everyone is a possessor of the heaven & earth...Welcome to the new birth

Everything here belongs to you
Just believe & all things will be possible to you
Welcome to where I want you
Where I created you to be
Welcome... welcome to all... welcome... welcome from all in Zion...
Welcome to Zion... Welcome Home
Hey! The Holy Spirit will show you around.... He’s your official aid

Signed...
GOD
(Daddy)

As the courier of this message, I guarantee you that everything above is the truth... I live there, my address is MED247, Missions field, Zion!

STREET CORNER PRAYER

He heard, He heard
The words & the strums of the cord
From the tongue & the breath of the lungs
The wails & travails plus the mourns
Of that scorn in rags...clothes so torn
& called corn because his feet had corns
That scorn was a beggar whose guitar strummed -
night & day with a prayer song
His song was “thy kingdom come & save us from -
this body, this form that brings us scorn”
night & day... yet he strummed
yet he slept even as his heart drummed
with meditations that sought levitations
to the presence of the king of creation...
out in the cold nights he cared not for the storm
indifferent he was about the sun
his heart’s song only was the form, the form -
that was perishable...the form that brought kings scorn

ambulance after ambulance had come & gone
sirens had become an hourly song
emergencies...emergencies...none was fun
& still he strummed “thy kingdom come
& save us from, this form that brings us scorn”
So he sung till the salvation had begun
The ambulance began to return
Without the sirens...not even one
Finally his kingdom had come
To save the form that had brought all scorn
Smiles wore some...laughter cried some
The failing heart had been made strong
The bleeding hands & feet had heard the song
Of the scorn & heard his solemn strum
Gone was the tumour...tears made humour
Spirit had been imparted in humus
This good news brought rumour
That He heard, He heard
The words & the strums of the cords
Of the scorn by the corner called corn
Indeed He heard
For different was the scorn’s song
“thank you God, for your kingdom has come,
Thank you God for you have heard my song

Thank you God for you have rewarded my scorn”
As you go home today, check the street corner for scorn
Toss a dime but don’t miss the song
It might not be fun but mime the strum
& let your thought’s gravitations
Follow his song’s navigations
As you hunk your horn
If you can, buy some bread for this weary head
& wet the throat of this raspy breath
Don’t shed a tear but dare to care
For the street corner’s scorn
For the next ambulance might be yours
& don’t forget
that he hears, hears
the words & strums of the cords
from the guitar & tongue of the scorn with corns

PEACIFIED

When my phone rings
& some bad news the caller brings
Like John 14 v 1 my heart won’t be troubled
Because I roll with the king of kings
& every storm ceases when he speaks to the winds
So, if John 14 v 27 is true, then I cannot be troubled

When the global economy
Experiences a downturn, I’ll think of Deuteronomy –
18 v 8 & the 17th verse of Isaiah 48
My wealth surpasses the cadre of money
It is a deep-seated peace found in the journey –
of faith; Numbers 6 v 27 educates

When the evil one inhabits -
seeming friends & breeds ill habits -
such as disappointments & heartbreaks,
The wisdom of proverbs remind me that I am on earth in transit
& that glory waits beyond this raging Atlantic...
So, I remix I Cor. 15 v 14; to peace I’ll awake

Nothing perturbs this tender flower
As it blooms every hour
Be it high noon, monsoon, or hurricane
My peace survives every shower
I did not attain it by might oh! Not by my power
I found the secret in the II Peter 1 v 2 hurricanes

Believe me when I say, nothing troubles my day
‘cos I continually stay
In the ministry of the word & I pray!
Peace is real, be not dismayed
Maybe you should look up Philippians 4 v 7 today

COME HOME!

There he lay with the swine, fighting the snouts with his lips, grovelling for grime & his thoughts went back to when he used to dine at his father’s table with gold cutleries... the scent of sweet wine battled the stench of the pigsty as the pigs stumped at his callous hands...

Royalty stripped naked & robed in slime... he saw a juicy piece of yam that had little grime on it and reached for it, but his reach was just a few eons too late as a boar splattered the piece with a wealthy helping of dung... Shucks!... a bit of the dung embraced his hands & he rose in search of a water gouge... at least he could get his thirst slaked devoid of the pigs taste...

The gouge had its source beyond the fence of the main building sealed off so the pigs could not gain access but it was clean enough for him... ‘clean’ for him had become a relative existence... So, down he went on his knees, but he barely touched the earth when a group of pigs struggling for “nothing” ran through the gouge unsettling it & hitting him in the butt... “Could heaven really be this mean?” he thought as he lay flat, his face buried in the now murky gouge!

Dusk had arrived and the moon was on duty, so it shone in the settling gouge as he stared at ‘The Prince’ that could not even afford a sip of clean water... enter his thoughts... frazzled, incoherent, lack-ridden, slimy, replete with hallucinations of death, mangled & twisted like a schizophrenic’s, deluded & lost... there he lay with the swine...

The settling cold drove him to his luggage in search of any thick clothing for a shield and he found a worn coat that he had barely used because he despised it... he could not even remember packing it... Upon shaking it, out fell a note... it read!

“Dear son, I love you & will always love you, no matter what you have done or will do... I put this note here knowing that when you had exhausted the ones you love, you will come to its warmth... I knew you would exhaust the wealth & would be too proud to come home, so I put it here as an insurance bill for you... Nothing can stop you from being a member of this family... Please come home... your room is still yours, the family still wants you, your rights still await you & I could never denounce you because I love you... Please come home”

So he packed up & waved goodbye to the pigs, because those were the only ‘homies’, ‘friends’, ‘pals’, ‘paddies’, ‘boys & gals’, & ‘back-up’ that he found he had after all the happy moments, enjoyments, flexing, partying, and earthly investments.

Are you a backslidden Christian? Have you abandoned your beautiful home in search of things that will soon fade away? Have you forgotten those lovely words you once said, “Dear Lord Jesus, I declare you as my Lord and personal saviour”? Do you feel your sins are too thick to be wiped away? Come Home! Please come home

Come Home... because your father has never stopped loving you... nothing you have done will make him stop... So stop running away from home... It is comfortable here... It is cosy & you can put your mind to rest! You can cease from the struggle for fame, wealth, beauty & achievements... You can be at ease at home!

Please Come Home! Dad is waiting, his arms are wide open and he is preparing a slamming welcome party for you...

I’M STILL HERE

It’s okay to hurt... but it’s not okay to think he doesn’t love you because you hurt... that he even loves the fact that you hurt...
That He even wants you to hurt
I took a walk with Him down the path of hurt & I tabled my hurts
before him & He smiled piercingly with hurt
& Responded, thus -
“When you tears abound, I’ll welcome you without a frown...
Yeah, it feels like no one understands your miry ground; sincerely that’s a personal fable because every ounce of pain that grips you was once my hound...
Do not forget that I walked the same ground
Upon which you stand... that’s how I got my crown
Yeah! Friends abandoned on temptation’s mount
but that’s what Gethsemane was all about...
my best friends that were closer than my brother’s left me hanging... how does that sound –
for hurt?”
with that I let go of His hand
& he got hold of it again...whispering
“Are you still there? Because I am still here”
He asked me
“Are you tempted by fame
Is hunger besetting you; wealth-thirst the same? These were the exact things the devil tempted me with when He came...

For forty days that felt more like forty years every form of torture, pain, disease, infirmity attacked my bodily frame...
The Bible might not have mentioned them, but I too was tempted with booze, smoke logs, pornography’s lounge, red light district, religiosity, anger, frustration, tons & tons of beautiful dames
Every dirty, mangy, stinking, slimy, puke-evoking demon came
They had an attack roster for forty days that felt like forty years... just for my mission’s acclaim... yep! Their scroungy acts were for my acclaim...
All of them I overcame
That’s how I got my name
You see, there’s nothing really new in the game
Been there, done that... & I’ll go through it again -
just for you... but that won’t bring me glory again... what you face is for your glory; for I have predestined, called, & justified you, so you can be glorified in the final analysis in the presence of my glory
So rejoice when the pains, trials, tribulations, temptations & hurts come... do not flee from your glory”

Once again I let go of his hand -
because this weight is too much for me to bear... I can no longer stand
I try to run away... I accuse Him of unfairness but I don’t curse... just cannot curse my man
Then he grabs my hand again
Whispering once again
“Are you still there? Cos I’m still here
I’ve always been here & will always be here...
I understand everything you face... How you want to run from this cross...that’s why I availed my grace
That’s why I sent the comforter in my place...
Stay baby, hold on to him, do not release the embrace
I promise you this day...as you hear me; hear this; read this; you will not be disgraced
I see farther than you can, so stay
I know your end but you don’t, so stay
Cos I’m still here, I’ll always be here!”

I’m sure by you now, you know my shirt was drenched before he finished... truth, He’s here... & He’s there... wherever you are... wherever there is... He is there!