Let’s Talk About the Boy Who Killed a Giant

One of the most delightfully inspiring stories of all time can be found in 1st Samuel Chapter 17; the awesome account of a small shepherd boy who brought down the giant champion intimidating his people.

King Saul was afraid. The Israelites were afraid. They thought their doom was certain.

Have you ever been threatened by giant? Have you ever had to face something so much bigger and stronger than you, that you believed it was unsolvable? Do you still have to deal with a giant today?

Your giant may be a need; for a job, life partner or the fruit of the womb. It may be a weakness; a habit you cannot break that is destroying you gradually, for instance. Or it may be your circumstances; a sickness that leaves you bedridden, or even a wayward child.

Regardless of what shape it takes, a giant is always from the enemy’s camp; what it wants to do to you is not what God desires for you.

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Let’s Talk About The Guy Who Rebuilt His Nation

In today’s world, there are so many broken walls to rebuild; in individual lives, families, organizations, and of course, countries.

Are you grieved over broken walls? Are you tired of just complaining? Do you long to play a significant role in rebuilding? Then let’s talk about Nehemiah and his building project.

A quick review of the Book of Nehemiah reveals six principles we can adopt when faced with the daunting task of building from the scratch up again.

Let’s Talk About the Wife Who Wasn’t Loved

Do you know what it feels like to be married to a man who doesn’t love you? Maybe you do. Maybe your marriage is the result of parental matchmaking gone wrong. Or maybe you were just dating and getting to know each other and you fell pregnant. Now you’ve “trapped” him with pregnancy and he believes he would not have gone to the altar with you otherwise. Or maybe he did marry you willingly, but only because he couldn’t get the woman he really wanted. Whatever may have happened, you’re in a marriage with a man who doesn’t love you, and probably loves someone else.

Or maybe, you’re not yet married and are considering marrying a man who doesn’t love you — for money, security, babies, or whatever reason. Let’s look at a few things Leah came to know only too well.

Does Your Besetting Sin Make You a Hypocrite?

The Bible makes it clear to us that the struggle between the flesh and the Spirit will not end as long as we are in these bodies. What the flesh wants is in direct opposition to what the Spirit wants (Galatians 5:17). Every true believer has a personal weakness, character flaw or habit that they want to change. So the fact that you’re still struggling with a weight, or a sin that easily trips you up, does not make you a hypocrite. You are not alone.

Is Prayer Overrated?

Today, more and more people are awakening to the truth that prayer cannot take the place of action. Faith without corresponding action is truly dead. (James 2:26)

So, do we really need to pray? Is prayer overrated?

Is It Wrong to Want Wealth?

I recently realized that one of the reasons I’m not yet wealthy is that I have never wanted to be. Not that God doesn’t want to bless me, not that Nigeria is hard, just that I never opened myself up to wealth.

Do you really want to be wealthy? This sounds like a question to which most people would answer yes. Without thinking about the question I would answer yes, too.

Only upon recent introspection did I realize that my relationship with money was not exactly healthy.

It just didn’t feel right to want lots of money. It felt unspiritual, like serving mammon. Continue reading…

Proverbs 31 Babe: The Virtue of Waking Up Early

“She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work…” Proverbs 31:15

I’m an owl. Naturally I do my best work when I’m at my desk late into the night, and in the mornings I prefer to sleep in. There is nothing wrong with this, per se; after all we can’t all be larks. Unfortunately, time is a precious commodity, and the world starts counting time in the morning. Accordingly, wise people wake up with the world- early birds who are rewarded with the proverbial worm.

A few years ago I paid attention for the first time to the fact that the Virtuous Woman of Proverbs 31 was also an early bird, and I thought, “If her results are anything to go by, joining this tribe is a move definitely worth considering.”

Now, I’m a self-made Morning Person, and I’ll share with you why and how.

Meet the Boss: Derek Nwafor, Crystal Media 360

CrystalMedia360.com is an online radio and TV station on a mission to provide a virtual information and content source for people around the world to learn how to live a wholesome, enjoyable life. It provides music, news, notices, talks and poetry that educates, informs and uplifts people.

Enjoy my interview with co-founder Derek Nwafor.

Be Your Own Best Friend in 2018 and Beyond

Sometimes, we take self-love and self-care for granted. We get caught up with taking care of other people and other things, without pausing to take care of our own selves.

This goes beyond hair, skin, nails, diet or weight. When was the last time you took care of your spirit and your soul?

That new best friend who will come into your life and help the new you emerge, is you.

Revisiting the Christ in Christmas

It is the season of nativity plays all across the world. In the run up to Christmas, children, and their unfortunate parents, are pulled to a stage to portray a well-known albeit poorly understood story. This writer went one step further this year, from attending such a play to starring in one. As the Angel Gabriel, I had the enviable job of announcing the incredulous — a Virgin is to conceive and birth a son — credibly enough to be believed by cast and audience. Fiction for some, an interesting tale for others, and a source of wondrous joy for others still.

The story of Jesus has baffled many and it is hard to understand, why seeing as he is one of the most researched characters in history. If the accounts of the gospel writers are accurate, and there is research to show that they are, then Jesus was either crazy, a fraud or omniscient. His words distressed some of his audience so significantly they sought to seize and kill him multiple times. If he was simply mad, then I don’t suspect anyone would have paid much attention. Who, after all, chases after a harmless lunatic? If he was a fraud, then he should have been caught out sooner rather than later. The Gospel accounts state that twelve men, and some, left their day jobs to follow him night and day for three and a half years. Then, they put their lives in danger afterwards to tell his story. Many died telling that story. No one sacrifices their life for a lie. If, however, he was omniscient, then we should have been listening since yesterday.

I have always considered myself something of a truth seeker. Those who profess to speak the truth have always been worth listening to. Truth is one word that featured quite prominently in Jesus’ more famous descriptions of himself. It is one thing for someone to profess to speak the truth, it is quite another for that person to declare himself the truth. Yet, the Carpenter’s Son, as some called him, would make many a bold assertion about his identity. As a teenager exploring the boundaries of the faith of the family I was born into, I did ask many questions of Jesus. On one such evening, while at University and walking back from my lectures, I looked up into the night sky and asked, “Lord, where are you? Why don’t you make yourself more apparent?” I wish I could say I heard a voice from the sky saying, “Thou shalt do your homework”. What I got however was something less dramatic. It was a simple thought which basically said, “Are you seeking without that which is within?” It is a profound thought which explains the wondrous joy for those others at this time of the year.

The story of man has been a search for God. Over millennia, we have gone from discovering what we thought was God to creating him. Man’s idea of god has ranged from the morning sun to statues of bronze to the modern day concepts of science or ideology. What the statues and science have in common is their limitation in the fixing of the human soul. A god worth its name would inspire faith in men to do more good, give hope to those who had none, and love those who were unworthy.

It is these ideas that Jesus spoke of with jarring conviction. Jesus spoke of a God who couldn’t wait to be reconciled with his creation. The God he presented was and is unlike anything or anyone ever described. He would forgive the repentant regardless of what crimes had been committed and give them a fresh start; He would see beyond the actions of men to their hearts, testing their motives and proving their authenticity; He would chase after the one lost sheep and bring it home. And in keeping with the message he preached, Jesus would turn no one away. He would strengthen weak arms, restore lost lives, and love those who would murder him. His story is tragic, yet joyful; hopeless yet full of hope. If ever there was a God man needed, this was it. And what’s more, Jesus would declare that man no longer needed to seek God. God had found man. And He would come into the accepting heart and be to Him what nothing else on earth ever could — a friend for now and all time.

Ordinarily, the story of a baby born in a manger 2000 years ago should not merit a mention in the family tree, not to speak of the Bible. Yet, this was no ordinary baby. Love was the name of his game and he would play it until his final breath. Love your neighbour as yourself, he would preach. One of his disciples would later write, “God is Love”. As we celebrate the season with friends and family, and consider what we feel towards those dearest and closest to us, let us remember the One who thinks more of us than mere masses of carbon and consider his gift of love to us. The Carpenter’s Son is still worth considering.

 

 Osita Egbubine is a believer in the capacity of every human being to lead a fulfilling, purpose-driven life. He tweets via @ositane.

 

Also by Osita Egbubine: Beware the “Little” Vices and How a Son Stands