Of God and Mankind

John 5:5-6   “There was a certain man there who had suffered with a deep-seated and lingering disorder for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, Do you want to become well? [Are you really in earnest about getting well?]” Dear people of God, have you ever pondered over the question our Lord Jesus Christ asked the paralysed man at the pool of Bethesda in today’s lead Bible text? Why would Jesus, Who could heal someone, ask why the man wanted to be well? Jesus asked that question for two reasons: (1) He knew as we are told that the man had been in that condition for a long time, 38 years, even before the Lord Jesus came to earth as a human being and (2) Jesus wanted to be sure the man had not given up on any desire of wanting to get well. Notice that in his response, the man told Jesus how much effort he had been making, albeit fruitless, to enter the...

Dear friend, I once heard a parson say, "God created you without your permission but God needs your permission to save you." Now think about this statement very deeply because it contains a whole lot of meanings, one of which we will discuss today. Someone may decide to argue against this statement and ask why God would need anyone's permission. Well, the answer is because God gave every human being FREEWILL. With freewill, you learn to decide on whatever you want to do. However, you must also realize that every decision comes with consequences here on earth and even after one dies. So the person who exercises his or her freewill to take the wrong decisions here on earth will always get into trouble one way or the other.  In severe cases, the person may end up in jail for the wrong decisions like stealing, fighting, murder, etc. Now, if that person dies without a change of behaviour and MOST IMPORTANTLY, without having Jesus Christ as his or her ...

Matthew 16:19  “I (Jesus) will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.” Dear people of God, today’s lead Holy Bible text is very significant for Christians.  Another way of saying it is that whatsoever you permit or allow on earth is permitted or allowed in heaven; whatsoever you do not permit or allow on earth is not allowed or permitted in heaven. You see the Lord loves us so much that He has given us who believe here on earth so much authority than we can ever imagine.  This is what Paul was speaking of in his letter to the Ephesians in Eph. 1:19, And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and FOR US WHO BELIEVE, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, ...

2 Chronicles 7:14 14 “If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.” Dear people of God, on January 25, 2017, I re-posted a WhatsApp message I received. It was a message whose author is a female pastor in Nigeria who said God asked her to write the message and post it and state that it be shared the same way she had posted a message sometime recently calling for fasting and prayers in Nigeria for the current bloodshed and terrorism in many different parts of the land. According to the pastor, God said before any fasting and prayers take place, people must have an inward purging or repentance for their many sins. God is angry at the horrible sins self professed Christians and pastors in Nigeria are committing. Let me list some of the sins God says self professed Christians and pastors in Nigeria a...