I CAN'T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND THE NEW THEOLOGY

No matter how hard I try not to find myself in a situation where I have to poke holes into what fellow Christians do, I really find myself many times feeling guilty for not rebuking what conscience tells me is wrong. I'm sorry if any Christian brother, sister or fellow finds this offensive.

There seems to be an increasingly popular heresy being preached in churches and television screens which depicts God as some vindictive being waiting to torment "OUR ENEMIES ." That even His blessings to us is a means of getting back at those who we perceive as enemies.

What happened to "love your enemies?"

All these teachings are contrary to Biblical teaching and are a warped representation of some of the psalms of David and a failure to read the Bible in context.

The Bible from Genesis to Revelation, does not exist in fragments but is a compact WORD of GOD. If you remove as little as a letter from the Bible, I can assure you that what you're left with is not the word of God. This is why I agree with  a wise scholar who said that if you reject parts of the Bible and accept others, it's not the Bible you believe in but yourself. So that it is not possible to agree with what Paul says in his epistles and refuse to accept what James says in his write-up.

The book of Psalms has been widely preached because it is easily twisted to appeal to the faithfuls who are starved of teachings on forgiveness and repentance. This is the reason we have a more religious but more wayward society today than ever. It is common to hear pastors today preaching about how God will deal with our enemies but seldom do we hear such vigour directed towards the teaching of forgiveness and prayer for enemies. As a result we have vengeful Christians in the church today who are in the church to ask God to hurt their perceived enemies on their behalf.

Such is the confusion of the contemporary Christian. I feel that such a Christian is deluded. They believe in what they don't understand or rather something they think they understand.

Christianity and forgiveness are Siamese twins. Indeed forgiveness is the very foundation of Christianity. Christ came so that we may be forgiven. I don't understand how you can want God to shame people you've forgiven.

From Fred Arani ArapNyankuru wisdom pamphlet

CHARACTER BEFORE PRAYER

I don't know who authored this, but it's powerful, insightful, revealing, educative and full of  knowledge and wisdom. Take time to read it....

YOU CANNOT GET BY PRAYER WHAT YOU SHOULD GET BY CHARACTER & OBEDIENCE

A man’s character is his fate. Heraclitus Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States (US), said: “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”

As a clergyman, I have watched pitiably how people self-sabotage themselves by seeking spiritual solutions to character-deficit issues. They look around at everybody as suspects for their predicaments when their greatest demons lurks within them - their character.

What we often call our destiny is truly our character, and since that character can change, then destiny can be altered. Character is destiny.

Is prayer actually EVERYTHING? Many would begin to argue back and forth on this intriguing question, but my main purpose of writing this piece is not to get involved in arguments. _Arguments don’t improve the validity of a ‘truth;’ they only determine how long it would take before you realise it._

Most people believe that we can pray ourselves to success and get away with virtually anything if we become a stickler to some prayer routines. There is no amount of spiritual penance that can substitute for character. Sometimes, you need character, not prayer.

Dutch Sheets said: “Prayer is not a check request asking for things from God; it is a deposit slip- a way of depositing God’s character into our bankrupt souls.”

British writer and politician, Thomas Macaulay (1800-1859), said: “The measure of a man’s character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out.” I have often said that what would ultimately destroy a man going to high places in life is not really the enemies that are waiting for him there, but the character that followed him there.

I want to emphatically underline the fact that this write-up is not meant to trivialize prayers in any way. I have observed that many people take character for granted, while overzealously tuning on into their spiritual mode.

We have become so spiritually in tune through prayers that we neglect the place of character and our relationship with people. Many are actually ‘heavenly’ bound, but with no earthly relevance. You can speak with spiritual eloquence, pray in public and maintain a holy appearance, but it is your behavior and character that will actually trigger the manifestation of all that God has for you.

 You must learn to treat people with courtesy.

The Shunammite woman must have been praying for a child all through her life. By being hospitable to a man of God, she eventually got her much-awaited miracle. It wasn’t prayer that opened the door for her; it was her character. Assuming she wasn’t hospitable, she would have missed a critical miracle.

Many times, we pray, fast and bind demons that don’t exist when our real demons are just our greatly flawed character. _Many have insulted people that were divinely placed and orchestrated to help them fulfill their destiny._ Some people are keeping malice with their destiny helpers.

Treat people with respect.

Treat strangers with courtesy.

Never look down on anybody. God can use anyone to change your story.

Abigail Van Buren said: "The best index to a person’s character is how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and how he treats people who can’t fight back.”

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. The way we treat people we think can’t help or hurt us, like housekeepers, waiters, and secretaries, tells more about our character than how we treat people we think are important. How do you treat people?

One of the most impressive architectural feats and the greatest military defense project in history is the Great Wall of China. In 1987, UNESCO designated the Great Wall a World Heritage site, and a popular controversial claim that emerged in the 20th century holds that it is the only man-made structure that is visible from space.

Originally conceived by Emperor Qin Shi Huang (c. 259-210 B.C.) in the 3rd Century B.C. as a means of preventing incursions from Mongolians and barbarian nomads into the Chinese Empire, the wall is one of the most extensive construction projects ever completed.

History has it that when the ancient Chinese decided to live in peace, they made the Great Wall of China; they thought no one could climb it due to its height. During the first 100 years of its existence, the Chinese were invaded thrice and every time, the hordes of enemy infantry had no need of penetrating or climbing over the wall, because each time, they bribed the guards and came through the doors.

The Chinese built the wall, but forgot the character - building of the wall-guards. Though the Great Wall has over the years become a powerful symbol of the country’s enduring strength and spirit, but it has actually been a good reminder to the Chinese of the superiority of human character.

The Chinese realized much later that the best defense against the enemy is not a fortified wall, but a fortified character. Thus, the building of human character comes before building of anything else.

Prayer is not EVERYTHING! Build relationships, and don’t ever forget that God will always use man. Be mindful of your words and how you speak to people. Work seriously on your character and attitude towards life.

I want to say emphatically that character is not optional; it is sacrosanct to the future that God has planned for you. No matter where you place prayers, character matters. The greatest fraud in life is religion without character. A man without character is recklessly alive.

William Shakespeare captured it succinctly when he said: “The fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”

Peter Schutz, the former chief executive officer of Porsche said: “HIRE CHARACTER; TRAIN SKILLS.”                     

Lastly, back in the days when Germany was divided, a huge wall separated East and West Berlin.

One day, some people in East Berlin took a truck load of garbage and dumped it on the West Berlin side.

The people of West Berlin could have done the same thing, but they didn't.

Instead they took a truck load of canned goods, bread, milk and other provisions, and neatly stacked it on the East Berlin side.

On top of this stack they placed the sign:

 “EACH GIVES WHAT HE HAS"

How very true! You can only give what you have.

What do you have inside of you?

Is it hate or love?

 Violence or peace?

 Death or life?

 Capacity to build or capacity to destroy?

What have you acquired over the years?

 Team spirit or pull down architecture ?

"EACH GIVES WHAT HE HAS"

Think about it!

Please give out the good in you always.

Author- unknown

PLEASING GOD OR MEN?

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. (KJV) Matthew 6:1-4

This is one passage of the bible that really gets me in a bad mood. The phrase "to do alms" is a general phrase meaning any form of givings and offerings. I dare say even tithes. Anyone who excludes tithes from doing alms or charitable giving especially in this era of money based tithing is greedy since that is trying to argue that only church leaders are capable of allocating resources in a way that enhances service to God which is in fact synonymous to service to humanity.

What is my contention today? Christ wants this to be a secret between you and God your Father. However, in many churches today there are envelopes distributed for this purpose where you are required to write your name and- often times- the amount. As far as alms go, members of the body of Christ (represented by the right and left hands in this teaching) are not supposed to know (be they who they may)  anything about each other's giving habits. 

The danger of this is a sin called partiality which is discussed in detail by the saint James in the second chapter of his book. 

"My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?" (KJV) James 2:1-4 

Similarly, Christ in that same passage in Matthew 6, gives us an idea of how we should pray and teaches how we should not. It is crystal clear how God wants us to pray to him. You do not need to to get a revelation to understand what that prayer means because does precisely explain before giving the prayer. Many have tried to break the prayer down to items in order to keep us stuck to their vain repetitions which our good Lord discourages. 

⁵ “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. ⁶ But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. ⁷ And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

⁸ “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. (NKJV) Matthew 6:5-8 

Here Christ makes it clear that God Knows your needs before you ask. What is He trying to avoid by this teaching? I think Christ understands here that prayer can get really selfish. See, when you spend two hours talking about yourself and and maybe your friends, where is God in the equation? God Loves Worship and He needs you to spend as little time as possible talking to him about your selfish interests and spend more time edifying yourself by tapping into the benefits of worship. In many instances Christ is seen worshiping. More than once we are told of what happens in heaven; worship first, worship next and worship finally. Do what God likes to see you do by giving, offertory, tithing, loving, and serving humanity in general.

After his prayer, the Lord adds, ¹⁴ “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (NKJV) Matthew 6:14-15 

This indeed is the purpose of prayer. REPENTANCE is a daily necessity in a Christian's life. A Christian repents when he knows he has offended God and when he does not know if he has done any offence. This way you are in good stead to evade punishment. There is no exemption of punishment for those who do not know for God has given you the power to decipher what is wrong and what is right.

THE SIN OF PARTIALITY AFFECTS MOST OF OUR CHURCHES TODAY WHETHER WE ADMIT IT OR NOT. EVEN GETTING A LEADERSHIP POSITION IN THE CHURCH TODAY DEPENDS ON THE RECORDS OF YOUR GIVINGS. Thus the "SIT THOU HERE IN A GOOD PLACE."

May Christ intercede for us that God may Forgive His Church.