A Lawyer that Hates Litigation?

What led me to ever nurture the idea of studying law was my mother's sense of justice.  She defended the weak throughout her lifetime.  And she lived and died well.   As a result of the observation of my mother's character, I took after her and developed a vision to read law, if only to be able to defend the defenceless.  However, during my 9-year training as a Lawyer starting with a Diploma, graduating to the LL.B level and finally to the point of being called to the Nigerian Bar, one thing agitated my mind. That thing is: Man's inhumanity to a fellow man!  

My exposure to the various aspects of both the criminal and civil law studies gave me unhappiness. The only aspects of the law that gave me joy was Equity.  Law is so rigid that equity  has to evolve.  An elementary example: A is owing B money.  Simply because B  is silent over it for upwards of six months, then legally he is statute-barred, meaning he may not recover his money.  So the debtor will keep vigil so the creditor will not make a demand within the period.  For good 3-4 years, arguments, adjournments, etc may continue over this 'technicality'.  In the process, the creditor is suffering more hardship in addition to the possible loss of his money.  Let's look at another social issue.  If a married woman, for any reason beyond her control, gets pregnant for another man other than her legal husband, and it is proved that the child belongs to the other man, a custom or tradition (local equivalent of the rigid law) says because the other man did not pay dowry on the woman, the man that paid the dowry is the rightful owner of the innocent child!  Yet when the child is growing up, in his step-father's house, he is subjected to all forms of turture by those who consider themselves superior by birth to him.

But equity will look at it this way: Is the man owing? then it is just fair that he pays irrespective of how long.   In the case of the latter, equity will see giving A's child to B because of dowry paid on her mother as injustice.  Thank God the position of the law today reflects that of equity in the sense that once a father acknowledges his paternity of a child, that child is free to join his father.  But alas! custom and tradition is still struggling with that and it takes unusual boldness for the child to be able to liberate him or herself from the grip of barbaric law, custom and tradition.

Some other methods of softening the rigidity of the law have evolved over the years such as the Mediation and Arbitration method and the Law Courts themselves are giving due recognition to their decisions.   The rigidity of the law as well as unGodly acts of some Lawyers who for the sake of their daily bread would take undue advantage of the rigidity of the law to mete injustice to their opponents makes me feel uncomfortable with litigation.  Rather, I prefer any method that will identify the truth and bring about justice without wasting people's time, energy and other resources.

This is the main reason why even as a Lawyer, I hate litigation like plague.  My approach is that all known humane and negotiative methodss should be exhausted.  Litigation should only be the last resort when all other methods have failed.    As I always advocate, we should allow LOVE to prevail over the rigidity  of the LAW. Good morning.

 

Choosing Between the Law and Love

When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God! But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. Luke: 13:12-14

Late Gani Fawehinmi was a man who knew the law to the letter and he used it to defend the masses. But he had what some people called a weakness.  When a Governor was ousted.  Many Lawyers argued that the process by which he was impeached was illegal because due process was not followed therefore the removal was a nullity.  The argument was more as to the speed and steps.  But Gani stood out stoutly to say that as far as he was concerned those arguments did not hold water because everybody knew that this guy ought to be outsted in the first place because he was politically irrelevant to the people.   Some people saw that as a weakness on Gani's part and that when it is expedient to him he will  apply the law and when it is not he will put the law aside.

Let's link that to the quotation above.  Jesus healed a woman on a Sabbath day.   Note that unlike what we do in modern day, the woman did not lobby or mount pressure. It pleased Jesus to heal her. But a knowledgeable LEADER of the Synagogue  says Jesus was wrong to have done that on a Sabath.  He was looking at the rules and not the effect of the action that was taken by Jesus on the lucky woman who had been crippled for more than 18 years and now saw an opportunity to be healed.  Following the law, the Leader was right but the law was inexpedient.  But following the LOVE of God which is above everything, Jesus was correct. 

When God is ready to do whatever He intends, all laws must be suspended and FAVOUR and MERCY will take over while He leaves the observers to argue out the 'rightness' or 'wrongness' of His action.   For instance, if a child purposes in his heart that he would be a punishment rather than a blessing to his family, God can raise a child out of wedlock who would be merciful to the parents the 'legitimate' child wants to punish.  He can place mercy in the heart of a total stranger to the family to cater for the parents till their grave.  He can cripple the child's ability to get wealth and make him poor.  He can just do anything to ensure that only His purpose is fulfilled in the lives of the parents the child has written off.

Therefore when there's conflict between the law and Love, the latter must prevail, irrespective of what the law says.  That was how Late Gani Fawehinmi consistently operated throughout his life.  And that's what has come to play in the above quotation.   When next you are torn between law and love, let love prevail. When next a voice tells you to consider the weakness of another, let love remind you of their strengths and do what good you have in mind for them.  Good morning.


Note:

To be a Christian, you have to free yourself from the rigidity of the law or rules.  What will should dictate your action is Love and God is Love.

Christianity and 'Unbelievers'

The vision of Jesus Christ which all Christians are expected to key into is to win every soul on the planet of the world to himself.  That's what the Great Commission is all about and one of the main reasons why the end of the world has not come - so that those who have not heard the Gospel should have the opportunity to do so.

The pluralism of religions however has made it more complex for today's Christian to advance this cause because there are many religions facing every man to choose from according to one's convictions.  So we have not attained that status where only Christians would dominate the world.  It still remains a vision. 

How do we attain that goal?  First we must all become born-again.  Yes.  But even the Jesus emphases the fact that that had to be by choice when he sent his 12 disciples out and asked them never to trivialise the issue of accepting him with anyone. 

Today, many Christians are faced with the dilemma on how to treat their yet-to-be converted relatives. Some have even gone to the extreme of  isolating themselves from their people simply on the grounds of religious bias.  This is wrong.  We've not attained that level where everything will be perfectly  Christianlike.

Demonstration of LOVE to ALL just as God and Jesus Christ did when they had to ignore human inconsistencies and fraternise with them is of paramount importance even in advancing the cause of Christianity.

How then should we Christians relate with our so-called unbelievers? First if you are from a muslim or even chronic paganic home, you will not be a Christian that you call yourself if you abdicate your responsibilities of caring for your parents as well as siblings and even your larger family members and by extension, your community simply because you tag them unbelievers.

What you need do is be as loving as you used to be when you were in their midst. Take good care of them.

Can't we learn from God? Does He send rains, sunshine, air, water, light, etc to believers to the exclusion of those we tagged unbelievers? Does God promote only the Xtians in their business endeavours and leave the others unattended? The largest proportion of the world's wealth, for instance, is deposited in Arab countries of the world e.g.  Saudi Arabia, Dubai!

Can't we see that God loves us all equally? Jesus sent his disciples to witness to people and instructed that they should never force anyone. Did Jesus not fraternise more with the Samaritans than his Jewish brothes who rejected him? We are to witness to them and it stops at that. Not to condemn, not to coarse.

I think these examples are enough for us to learn from.  Love God, love your neighbours (not believers only) as yourself.  It is only then you can deliver the good news message God has given you to them and they will listen to you.

Let's imbibe Christ's love today. Good morning.

Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom but fools despise it. Prov. 1:7

Pray, Plan and Work

2010 is fast disappearing. I know you are praying that 2010 will be better for you than 2009. However, what are your plans towards achieving your goals?  Whether you are a Christian or not, it doesn't matter. God is more interested interested in the practical steps you take towards achieving your goals than sitting down praying without any plan of action. 

By now serious-minded persons would have completed or be about completing their budget for 2010. In this budget they will draw a list of all they want to do in 2010.  They will monetise them i.e. put a realistic figure around them eg.

INCOMES
Expected income (from Salaries, business,
 shares dividends etc)                           100000

EXPENDITURES

Tithe/offering                                       21,000
Feeding                                                 6,000
Savings                                                10,000
Children school fees                             10,000
Land Purchase                                       5,000
Socials                                                   2,000
Clothing                                                 8,000
Utilitie bills (Nepa, Water, etc)               3,000
Shares                                                 10,000
Helping people                                      5,000
Purchase a Bicycle                                5,000
Purchase a fairly used freezer
  for selling pure water                          5,000
Miscellaneous                                     10,000
Total 2010 budget                              90,000
Budget surplus                                    10,000

Having spelt out their needs with  this budget they will go to God on New Year Eve and request for N100,000 from God for the year 2010.  Then the will bed down to work. and the monies will begin to come in. As these monies come in, they know where to channel them because they are keeping account and working with their budget.  In between, they are not likely to stray into increasing their number of wives or abnormal producing more issues than their N100,000 budget can accommodate.

However, the planless ones wil go to God and pray thus:

Lord  in 2010, prosper me, bless me, let me be above my enemies, increase me, multiply me.  They will make resolutions: in 2010, I will neither smoke nor drink alcohol, I will stop womanising. I tell you God, just watch me. 

In blessing people, God is will be more disposed toward the persons with budget than the planless ones!

Therefore, brethren, plan your lives.

Jesus Loves you. Jn. 3:16

Test the Prophet's Prophesy!

34 “If any prophet, priest, or anyone else says, ‘I have a prophecy from the Lord,’ I will punish that person along with his entire family. 35 You should keep asking each other, ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What is the Lord saying?’ 36 But stop using this phrase, ‘prophecy from the Lord.’ For people are using it to give authority to their own ideas, turning upside down the words of our God, the living God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

37 “This is what you should say to the prophets: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What is the Lord saying?’ 38 But suppose they respond, ‘This is a prophecy from the Lord!’ Then you should say, ‘This is what the Lord says: Because you have used this phrase, “prophecy from the Lord,” even though I warned you not to use it, 39 I will forget you completely. I will expel you from my presence, along with this city that I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 And I will make you an object of ridicule, and your name will be infamous throughout the ages.’”Jer. 23:34-40

Whether they come to you or you go to them, any prophet that gives you a prophesy that instead of liberating you, puts you in bondage, it is false.  REJECT them!  How do I know? It's easy.  They create fear. They give you conditions that will always make you come back to them. They involve sacrifice. Above all, they contradict the word of God.  Any prophesy where any of these factors is present is false. 

Let's share the writer's experience.  One day he visited a supposed man of God who prophesied everything good about his intending wife. At the tail end of his prophesy, he said that his would-be partner had familiar spirit and that after the 3rd child, nothing can be done to prevent her from dying.  The writer, then responded. "That cannot be from God for that's not my Jesus promises me".  The 'Prophet' agreed and the matter was laid to rest. 
Worried, however, a friend who was there asked the Prophet what can be done to avert the impending catastrophe.  The 'man of God' made a list of many things that would be used to sacrifice.  The writer refused to perform the sacrifice. 

As they were returning from the journey and while the writer was driving, the Lord reminded him in a flash,  of the vision he gave to him through a dream sometimes in the past.  Honestly, speaking the picture and overall description of the place and prophet was 100% in agreement.  What is most important was that in that dream, at the tail end of the prophet's prophesy, the writer disagreed with him. And precisely how it was in the dream was how it happened in the physical on the day of its manifestation. Therefore, most often,if we are close to God, He speaks to us in advance!

Today, his wife has more than three children and she's living and strong in the Lord. That's it. SACRIFICE is a major requirement for them to easily catch their preys.  With the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross, any other form of animal sacrifice or food sacrifice etc is been erased.  Plead the blood of Jesus instead and go ahead and do what you want to do with the confidence that the Lord is on your side. The prophesied calamity won't happen unless you subscribe to it. Good morning.

====================================

 Be your own Prophet.  If you are close to God, God will reveal things to you in advance such that they will only be confirmed by God through others. 

BETRAYAL OF TRUST.

Couples, align your marital relationship with the will of God for marriage. Read below Pastor Adeboye's "Open Heavens" of November 27th.  Good morning.

QUOTE

And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed" (Gen 2:25) Read: Malachi 2:14-15

Unfaithfulness and all the divisions of fornication can terminate oneness. Marriage is not an end but a means to certain glorious ends. Marriage without oneness is a fiasco. Marriage is like securing admission into a university to undertake a doctorate degree. Admission into the programme is good but not everything. It is one thing to be admitted for such a programme but another thing to graduate with a doctorate degree. Oneness is one of the purposes of a Christian marriage. If you are married and you do not attain this, you have failed. Raising godly seeds is another purpose of marriage. It is not enough to have children. Eli had children but he failed woefully. Many other patriarchs of old had children but could not accomplish this end of marriage - to raise godly seeds. But Abraham raised Isaac as a godly seed. Are you achieving any ends of

According to today's reading, another factor working against the achievement of oneness between a couple is marital treachery. This involves deceiving your spouse, or not being loyal to the one who trusts you. Betraying the trust of your partner works against oneness. Some husbands find it difficult to declare their financial receipts to their wives. They fear that if their wives got to know how much they earn, their demands would increase. To prevent them from knowing, they become perpetual liars. Also, some women are very secretive about their financial standing. If you cannot be open to your spouse on financial matters, you will be truncating your journey into oneness. It is sin to lie to your spouse. Whether he or she knows you are lying or not, does not prevent the lie from hindering what should deliver your greatest benefit to you in marriage - oneness! Some people still hide very crucial information from their partner. If you are supposed to be one body, is it not foolish to think that you can hide certain important things from yourself? In Genesis 2:25, Adam and Eve were open to each other and were not afraid. What is preventing you from being totally open with your partner? Ask God to deal with it today.

Spend at least one hour with your partner and talk on things you have kept from each other. A partner who cannot forgive the spouse of wrong doing cannot enter Heaven. In spite of the wrong, forgive!

UNQUOTE

 "My people perish from lack of knowledge. "Hos. 4:6ff Seek for true kowledge. read your Bible always. Obtain a copy of Daddy Adeboye's Open Heavens and read every morning. Buy Christian Literatures and read them. Above all endeavour to share your own experiences with others who will benefit from them.

Justice, not Rituals!

Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside? 41 

So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over.

42 “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,* but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. Luke 11:40-42.

Every worshipper wants to please God whatever the motive behind that - either for one blessing or the other or for healing or receive one favour or another.  Very few people consider serving God on their own simply because He must be served. 

Let's take two religions: Christianity and Islam (Did I hear someone saying what does Pastor Yemi got to do with Islam?) That's what am about talking about - Protests, protests and protests!!! Have these people forgotten that, religion apart, these people are our brothers and sisters? Have they forgotten that everybody is entitled to choose whichever religion he or she prefers. Have they forgotten that Jesus fraternise more with the Samaritans who accepted him than his Jewish brethren?  Why must religion therefore be a ground for discrimination?

In Christianity, because of the desire to serve God in a deeper manner, Christianity broke into pieces from its original Church: the Catholic.  Every other church after Catholic is a Protestant. They protested at what was happening in their roots and went ahead and set their own churches so as to serve God in the way they feel is acceptable to Him.  So these protests brought about the Anglican, the Methodists, the Baptists and many orthodox churches.  From amongst these orthodox churches broke away another set of Protestants - the Pentecostals which is the most rampant in our society today. From amongst each group there are further protestant breakaways.  All these churches have their set values but what is common with them all is that they all realise that they too make their own mistakes and those who disagree with them will also break away. Today gay marriage has torn the Anglican Church into two - another protest!

In the Muslim world, because of protests, for Islamic religion itself is a Protestant movement during the period Christianity went into coma for over 400 years.  So within Islam itself, there are protests upon protests which led to the factionalisation of that religion.  Today you have many groups: the Islamiyahs, the Ahmadiyas, and one of the latest movement is the NASFAT group which is the 'modern' movement that is trying to make that religion more flexible especially to accommodate the youths.

All these protests are about rules that should govern man to make him acceptable to God.  People however forget that these rules don't save.In the process they left that which is most important - justice - which is obtained through demonstration of love to other people.   This is the very 1st leg of our movement towards salvation.

What God wants is that we should demonstrate love for one another and this is best demonstrated in how well we support one another in time of need that we a capable to render, how forgiving we are both in the spirit and in the physical, how we care for the less priviledged amidst us, etc.  The 2nd leg of our salvation borders upon, having demonstrated love for ourselves, we should fellowship with God so He can continue to inspire us to do good (for no man is on his own good) so in the end He adds His grace to make us fit for our Heavenly homes.

Jesus who knows it all makes this message clear to us that there's nothing wrong with setting up rules but such rules must not supersede love!   The rule of tithing, which  is still very much a part of the New Testament,offering, regular attendance in worshipping centres and observation of various man-made doctrines without demonstration of love to one another amounts to nothing. Therefore readers, start demonstrating love from today to everyone you come across irrespective of their religious, social, geographical, race, origin or biases. That is the essence of our fellowship with God.  Good morning.

If you are not in Christ, you are missing a lot John 3:16."For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosever believes in  him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Go All Out for Knowledge

We all agree that knowledge is power.  Even the Bible in Hos.4:6ff emphasises the negative implication of ignorance.  The current statistics of newspaper publication in Nigeria shows that the highest number of newspapers published by the leading Newspaper "The Punch" is so far 24,000 per day while others release far less.

Let's be conservative, assuming that the total population of Nigeria is 100m and altogether the total newspapers released to the country say by 10 functional newspaper organisations is 24,000*10=240,000 i.e. 0.24% .  This means that if all of us buy and read all the newspapers published, only 0.24% of the population would have had access to knowledge!  Our attitude towards the greatest information bank that God ever revealed to man "The Internet" is so disgusting.  How many of us that have e-mail addresses ever open it at least once a week?  How many of us use Google, yahoo, and many other available search engines to source for information.  How many of us blog? How many of us have their own functional operating websites?  How many of us have unhindered access to formal education? Faceboom Twiter, Google Reader are all social networks that can make or unmake somebody.  Go there for knowledge but most importantly contribute to knowledge yourself.

No wonder because of our level of our level of ignorance, no African person dies of any natural cause except that someone somewhere had marked them for death and have succeeded.  No wonder we prefer the  path of get-rich-quick to wealth creation to gradual and transparent ways.  We move from one "Be a Millionaire" promo to another.  The folly of it all is that because of ignorance we believe that robbing Peter to pay Paul is the fastest way. We are also ignorant of the fact that non of this organisations is ready to release a kobo from their treasuries to make anybody a millionaire just free like that.  Instead, they capitalise upon our ignorance. When they make N10m from our over-prized SMS messages they will release N1m to somebody and back that 'gesture' up with high publicity.

If I have my way, I'll ask Government to ban any form of gambling but even if I did, won't you kick against that?

The cost of ignorance is far more than that of being enlightened. 

I therefore charge you to decide today to join the 0.24% who have access to and are prepared to make use of good information.  Read good books, go to the internet and search for any topic of your choice and research upon it and release your findings to the world!  Read daily energiser  daily. Read your Bible daily. Read something about your profession to update your skills regularly.  Good morning.

Anyone staying away from Jesus is missing a lot! Don't be one of them for Jesus Loves you John 3:16.

UNITY

“Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart.

Every Nigerian knows  the negative effects of the Nigerian civil war on all of us: many lives were lost. Prior to the war, Nigerians, irrespective of their geographical locations saw themselves as Nigerians.  Anyone can live anywhere. Today, people don't have sense of total security anymore.  Armed robbery and other terrible crimes were not as rampant as it is today compared to pre-civil war era.  Just name them, the bad side is numerous.  The only achievement was that we came back together finally as one but this time around, we're not as trusting as we used to be to ourselves. 

Just as Jesus says in Luke 11:17 quoted above a family splintered by feuding will fall apart.  Many homes are seriously in disunity today because of 'feuding'.  They look more for faults than for something good.  They suspect instead of trusting themselves. Every member of such families knows love but no one wants to extend love. They become envious of themselves and the family scatters. 

I say some of our troubles lie in the fact that we don't treasure the word of God.  If we do and we continuously search for the truth, the word would have prevented us from feuding.  It would have given us the courage to extend love and our lives would have been more peaceful.  

Nigerians, we are a family. In our origins we have families.  In our offices, our colleagues are our families. In our worship centres, we are families. Indeed anywhere we are we have families.  Let's make peace wherever we are.  That's God's will for us. Not doing it is the source of sorrows we have. Good morning.

NB

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LET'S FORGIVE OURSELVES

This passage is copied from Pastor Adeboye's Open Heavens (with the red statement in bracket added by me) of Tuesday, November 24, 2009.  It is important we read books of this nature everyday to nurture our lives. Please use it. Share it. Good morning.
Quote

BRANDED AS WICKED?

Memorise: "Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me" (Matt 18:32)

Read: Matthew 18:23-35

"Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me" (Matthew 18:32). One powerful bait that is destroying the church today and putting many into Satan's trap is unforgiveness. If you still harbor unforgiveness, bitterness or grudges against anyone, especially fellow believers, you are treading on very dangerous grounds.  (it is even worse when you do it with unbelievers who by their very nature enjoy and are ever ready to sting like a scorpion or bite you like a serpent! Through unforgiveness with anyone, your unknown to you, your own life is being cut short and they will live theirs in full after you are gone!) Let us learn from today's reading.

The first thing that unforgiveness does is that it changes your name in a negative way. It is good to have a name change. In fact, until you change your name from sinner to saint, you can never partake of Abrahamic covenant blessings. The father of faith had a name change from Abram to Abraham, his wife from Sarai to Sarah; his grand son from Jacob to Israel. Here, their new names brought Heaven's favour, broke barriers and caused them to fulfil destiny. But when your name is changed because of unforgiveness, it works against you on every side, and puts your trip to your destiny in reverse gear.

The Lord called this unforgiving servant a wicked person. That changed everything! If you are wise, you will be very concerned about what the Lord calls you. The name the Lord calls you is what Heaven calls you. The name the Lord calls you is what will determine how the Heavenly hosts and the satanic forces will relate with you. If you cannot forgive someone who offended you, God calls you a wicked fellow. The terrible thing about this is that, that fellow would be judged like anyone who never knew God. Apart from unforgiveness, maltreating fellow believers, using your position or office to intimidate, oppress and deny them their rights, make you a wicked fellow. Refusing to feed the flock and cater for them as expected by the Lord, but leisurely spending your time to the detriment of the sheep makes you wicked. Lodging workers salaries in fixed deposits, so that you can earn some interest for yourself, at their expense, makes you wicked. Inability to call a spade a spade just because the offender is of the same tribe makes you a wicked person and puts you under divine curse. Knowing the right thing to do but deliberately refraining from it, makes you a wicked fellow. Are you branded wicked by Heaven? Repent and restitute your ways today.

Ask God to destroy every root of wickedness in your life Unquote

 

Anything LIke Illegitimate Child?

Anything like illegitimate child?  Is there truly a fatherless child?  Is a child's behaviour a reflection of the circumstances of his birth?

In order to keep family intact and avoid sexual immorality, almost all cultures is rightly against women producing children through extra-marital relationships.  Except Christianity that insists on fidelity, the man is however, one way or the other, traditionally, permitted to produce children from all sources.

All cultures also frown at 'divorce' just as the Bible does. In a traditional setting, even the death of a man is not allowed to end the marital relationship of the widow to the family.  She' expected to be attended to by another male member of the family whether she likes it or not.

However, to every rule, there has always been exceptions.  By my training as a Lawyer, I have observed that these exceptions, most often become even more important to oberve than the rules themselves.  The principle of exceptions is abundantly practised in God's dealings with all His creatures.  For instance, He has had to reverse the irreversibles by making dry bones to receive flesh. He has caused Red Sea to part for His children to pass while to His enemies, he applied the rule and they got drowned. He has to allow a bush to burn without the grass consumed. Today the strictest warning is for believers to marry believers.  But sometimes, God permits it to happen the other way round and yet He glorified Himself in it. The biblical Ruth's story is an exemplary one where God bestowed FAVOUR to an woman from paganic origin. Such examples are limitless in the Bible.

Let's return to the issue of the so-called illegitimate children. We've had uncontrollable circumstances that had led to children being born out of wedlock.  If discovered, such children have, by tradition, been treated with disdain, some ostracised from the normal setting.  They are called all sorts of names: 'bastard, illegitimate, illegal, etc'.  In some cultures, they are even outrightly cast away. So, many otherwise God-ordained prosperous lives have been ruined in this process.

While the writer is in total support of law and order plus traditions, customs and cultures that are not repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience, he however believes that God has peculiar ways of doing His things.  We cannot question Him as to why certain things happen to us. 

The reality is that whether we believe it or not, they have happened and can neither prevent them from happening nor reverse them when they do happen. However, contrary to human 'rejection and discrimination' syndrome, every child is His child, irrespective of whether they are born in or outside wedlock, legally or illegally! Let me explain:  Jephtah in the Bible was born to an Harlort.  Just as we continue to do today, his brothers openely rejected him.  But to fulfill his destiny, God decided to create an environment where this 'bastard' child became the only person that could save his father's household.  When his appointed time came, he was practically begged by those who had rejected him to come an fulfil his God-ordained destiny. This time around, he demanded what rightly belongs to him - the acknowledgement that he is a bona fide member of the family - before doing so. He was granted all his deserved rights.  Then he saved his race and was installed as the Chief of that family.

Jesus Christ was accused of being an 'illegitimate' child simply because tradition demands that a child's biological origin must be capable of being scientifically proved.  But God sent him as a saviour of the world and today all of us are worshipping him.

The greatest American President, Abraham Lincoln was born to a mother whose biological origin was in doubt.  Lincoln even has something to say about people tagged 'illegitimate' children. He said that such children have more better things to offer than the so-called 'legitimate' children. 

You don't know our Biblical Jephtah at all, neither did you know Abraham Lincoln of America. but I'll tell you about somebody (a Nigerian)  you know very well.  He was born out of wedlock but God is using him today as a vessel of honour to His own glory.  He has has a gift for you.  In haste to receive it? Wait a minute.  Let's answer the questions posed above first.

Does a child's circumstances of birth reflect his behaviour?  I say a CAPITAL "NO"!  Every child is born empty. He reflects in his latter life what his parents and the society in general sow in him.  So a biologically 'legitimate' child may be led to crime while a biologically 'illegitimate' may be well raised.  The latter will do humanity a world of good while the latter can cause sorrow to the entire world! 

Every child has a father, known or unknown to him. So there's no fatherless child.  God is the father of all and does not discriminate against any. The word 'illegitimacy' has been outlawed by our 1979 Federal Republic of Nigeria's constitution - thanks to Late Prof. (Mrs.) Jadesola Akande's bill that led to that development.

Above all we are all ADOPTED children!  God adopted us all through Jesus Christ.  That's why irrespective of our backgrounds, we are all joint heirs with Christ.  We are his children. Or better still, whether male or female we are his wives.  Therefore let's stop discriminating against children because of the circumstances of their birth! 

Oga Pastor, are you now encouraging women to go hailwire, gathering children from everywhere?  CAPITAL 'NO' sir and ma. Any woman who does  that on her own will surely pay the penalty, if not here, but hereafter.

Then what are you saying?  Let women stick to their 'legitimate' husbands.  But IF FOR ANY REASON BEYOND THEIR CONTROL, THEY STRAYED OUT, (which admittedly happens in rare cases), LET THE INNOCENT PRODUCTS OF SUCH RELATIONSHIPS LIVE THEIR NORMAL COURSE OF LIVES UNPERTURBED. THAT'S WHY HOW THEY ARE DESTINED TO COME AND THEY HAVE A PURPOSE FOR GOD.

Oh, forgot the man you want to introduce to me? No.  Just click here and read his story yourself and follow it to the end. If you fail to get inspired then something must be wrong somewhere. Good morning.  Please fill the survey question on the right hand corner top of this page. Thanks.

Where Did You Go Today?

Having devotged your Monday to Friday to work and Saturday to socials etc, today being Sunday ought to be dedicated to the worship of the Almighty God.  But how did you spend the day?  Were you sleeping all through or got glued to the TV?  Is it time to visit friends and relations? Is it time to 'relax' in a beer parlour and 'enjoy' yourself? 

That you are able to do all these is simply because He has granted you the grace to do so, notwithstanding the fact that you did not seem to recognise this fact.

Please spend your Sundays serving God!  Next week, ensure you do better than this week!  Remain blessed.

2010 Year of Prayer Without Plan?

All nations and organisations have their annual life cycles. They are guided by their visions to prepare a business plan for the year.  This business plan is finally summarised in monetary forms. They call it budget.  As they progress through a particular year, at about the 4th quarter of the ongoing year, they begin again to prepare the plans for the following year. A practical example is Lagos State Governor Fashola who has already presented before the State and Nigeria at large, his Government's plans for 2010.

Unfortunately in our private lives what we know most is a faith-based vague mental picture of what we are expecting at any point in time.  Majority of us never sat down to write them down so we can follow them up as Gov. Fashola has shown to us by example. That's why, we are never guided about our financial expectations vis a vis our expected expenditures.  Almost all expenditures come to us as a surprise.

Are you going into 2010 without a WRITTEN DOWN plans?  Are you going to Church to pray on New Year eve for God's blessings without having a slight Idea as to what you intend to do with such blessings?
Remember faith without work, is useless.  Also life without plans is like groping in the dark!

Go to God with what you intend to achieve in 2010 and how much you need to achieve them. Pray to God to provide the amount. Then start the new year working hard to realise the budget. This is a meaningful prayer.

How do I budget? Order for a copy of my book "Family Budgeting, A Must for Your Home".  It's only N500 (book+shipping). If you are not satisfied with what you read then please don't order!

Why Do You Run to God?

Except for those who were born to religious homes, majority of us approach God or whatever what we believe in (through Jesus, Mohammed, Ifa, Amadiora, etc) simply because we are facing some challenges in life that are bigger than us and we need help or better still for security reasons. Some of us do so because we want wealth or we want to know in advance what tomorrow holds for us. Only very insignificant number is serving God because they consider that behind everything visible, there's an invisible God who ought to be worshipped.

Let us share these facts with outselves. Not even Jesus give you money if you go to him simply because you need money. He will expect you to labour to get money. If Jesus tarries, and compulsorily you must die a physical death in this world, but you go to Jesus to protect you from dying, you are joking. When it is your appointed time to go, by whatever means, you will give up the ghost. If you run to Jesus because you don't want to face hardship in life, you are in a wrong place. Indeed I assure you, your hardship will increase for going to Jesus. The only thing is that if you truly believe in him, you will overcome them all. However, you can't run away from the pains of hardship. Jesus himself could do nothing about suffering pains to attain our salvation. Neither was John able to save himself from being beheaded nor did Jesus Christ save him.

Then why must I serve God, Serve Him because he must be served. He is awesome and holds the key to your life. Serve Him because He is the invisible hands behind all visible things. But you will worsen your story however, if you go to lesser gods first which is where many people are today. These gods can't help themselves WITHOUT ADDING SORROW to it. They will end up turning you to criminals.

So accept Jesus with his own lighter yokes and free yourselves from the heavy yokes of weaker gods. Good morning.
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A Precious Xmas Gift for You!

(click here!)

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Let's Encourage One Another - Daily Energiser's Special Feature

I once gave out a copy of my autobiography “Better Tomorrow” to a colleague named Mary. After reading it, she said, to me: “your book is so much like Ben Carson’s “Gifted Hands” I have just read – so blessing, so practical” Indeed, I’d bring the book for you to read.” And she did. As at then, I’ve only heard of Ben Carson’s great writings but have never read any of them. After reading “Gifted Hands”, I got the many messages Mary was trying to pass across to me. The greatest of which are that Bennie and I are a product of harsh environments and would want to share such to encourage others who care to be encouraged.

Not only that, as a Minister in Charge of Teenagers in our Church, I had organised seminars based on “Gifted Hands” where we read the entire book itself and listened to its digital audio. We have discussed it extensively and all my teenage children in the church had been inspired by Ben’s life. I have bought it as prize gifts. Finally, convinced that Ben Carson’s life story is more than just a story book, I ensured that the children met physically with Ben Carson at Tafawa Balewa Square sometime in 2008 when he was in Nigeria.

This much I did with Ben Carson’s book. Much more have I done with my own book “Better Tomorrow” earlier mentioned with these lucky children and I am happy to see them inspired. Thereafter, I have read Bennie's “Take The Risks”. I am currently reading “Think Big” anxious to read “The Big Picture” and any book Ben would ever write when am alive. I have shared some important statistics on risks analysis model B/WA (any many of Ben's important postulations with you my readers through daily energiser.

The greatest challenge we have in our part of the world is that we take things for granted. No doubt many of us are very knowledgeable but we deprive those who would have benefited (including our biological children) from that wealth of knowledge the opportunity to do so by not sharing them either writing or through seminars. Many young people’s lives would have today been transformed for the better if only we imbibe this.

No doubt Ben and I are identical in the sense that whatever we know we wish to share to advance other people. My discovery is that we are probably ruled by our life’s experiences but I tend to disagree with myself because there are many people who grew up in worse situations (who later overcame) and whose lives would have advanced the world but who refused to share such experiences.

How many Nigerian Doctors today will share their medical practice experiences with their juniors talkless of the younger generation who would have become better doctors than they are? This is applicable to other professionals as it is to medicine.

Why don’t we all, for once, set aside whatever is inhibiting us from blessing others and begin from now to reach out to others to inspire them. There’s nothing more inspiring than real-life experiences that are shared with those who are still in the waiting to experience such. Those inspired will be grateful for what you did for them and they are likely to copy you to inspire others. This is the essence of man’s existence! Hear what Ben says about sharing experiences in the introductory part of his book “Think Big”: ”God endowed me with ability but I would never have been cognizant of those gifts or used them of others had not taken time to SHARE their talents by giving their best to me”.

How do I share my experiences? Tell it to those nearest to you. Start with your own children. Write them in book form for those who are far away. BLOG THEM to the entire world just as I am blogging my daily energiser to you.  Organise seminars. Share them in your worship centres. Tell them to friends, colleagues, etc.

In the next few days, I am going to do what I am preaching by sharing a few chapters of my book "Better Tomorrow" through "Daily Energiser". If they bless you, use it to bless others...

Good morning.



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Let's Make the World Better

And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.
Luke 8:15

Without the word of God that is melting down our iron hearts, man is not better than wild animals. Ironically even with the heart-melting words of God that we hear, imagine how we still behave. The Bible says a man who commits adultery lacks understanding. But imagine a 'sane' man or woman practising homosexualism or lesbianism! Imagine a Church of God admitting them for 'weddings'. Imagine man kidnapping fellow man for ritual and feeding purposes! Imagine a man in authority fixing public funds in his private accounts first before giving any thought to serving the public that elected him to the post. This same man pays his tithes, offerings and is offered the highest seats in the front of our churches! There's no end to imagining the barbarism of man.

One just wonders what the world would have been like if there's no word of God. It would have been wilder than the world of the wildest animals!

Looking at what Jesus teaches us in the passage above is that it is not the much of the sermons we hear nor our regularity in worship centres, but those who retain in their hearts and DO what they heard from the word of God are people that are Godly. I am searching out myself. How about you? This life can be a better place for all if only we do what is right. Good morning.



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Disappointed in Christ?

20 John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to him, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’ ” And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.*’”

The challenge before believers is that contrary their expectations, things are never rosy even in spite of their belief in Christ. This has disappointed many. John the Baptist got to this point and he had to ask questions. Many of us are asking such questions today. Jesus' answer did not even seem to help him. Why? Because it is a struggle with destiny. John has fulfilled his destiny by proclaiming Christ. It does not matter to God and Jesus really how he died! Jesus cried allowed "My God, My God why do you forsake me!". He was forsaken by God because be has to fulfil destiny.

Are you asking questions about what is happening to you now? Find out first whether you have fulfilled your purpose. It may not matter to God what's happening now to you, if it has to do with fulfilling your destiny. As for me I have accepted this Jesus whether he comes to my rescue or not. How about you? Good morning.

Accessing God's Compassion

"At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer* was sick and near death. When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.”... "“I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!”. Luke 7:3-5 & 9

There's no rigid rule by which a man is saved. However Humility faith and work are very close to the heart of God. This kind (even to his slave!) humble (before Jesus) Roman Officer was valued by the people (because of his good works - 'he even built us a synagogue'. Jesus saw faith in him because he assured Jesus that whatever he says he believed it will happen. So man and God (Jesus) testified to the works and faith of this man. Both testimonies earned him a miracle.

How are you remembered today by God and by man? Assuming these two criteria were to be used to assess you today for a potential miracle, can your faith and works earn you God's compassion? Good morning.



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Always Doing Wrong!

Why are we always doing the opposite, even when it is obvious that we are injuring ourselves? Let's take a few examples:

Worship God. We worship idols!
Trust in me. We trust in our ability!
God wants us to love but we prefer to hate!
God wants us to give but we prefer to receive!
Brown Sugar, Schacarin and honey are safer for anyone above 40 years but we prefer the white Sugar instead!
Unripe plantain is better for us but we prefer the ripe ones!
Vegegable soup is better for us but we prefer Fried Stew
From above 40, or those with traces of raised bp, salt alternative is better than Salt but we prefer Salt itself
Exercise is good for the body but we don't exercise!
Abakaliki and Ofada local rice are better for us but we prefer Uncle Benz!
Boiled Egg is better but we prefer fried one!
Hard work is better but some prefer to be lazy or to cheat!
"Drink water from your own well.., but we prefer someone to do so from someone else's well!
Husbands, love your wives and provide for them. They become dependent upon their women and beat them up on top of it!
Wives, SUBMIT to your husbands. They challenge their husbands
Stay away from cultism but youths enjoy joining them!
Anger destroys our health and takes people to hell but we find it hard not to be angry!
Love your children but instead we provoke them!
Love your enemy but we prefer to hate them!
Go for knowledge but people prefer ignorance!
Retire early but we prefer to alter our ages to retire late!
Corruption is bad we all know but all of us are engaged in one form of corruption or the other! We justify it when it favours us!
(Please expand the list as you deem fit)
A labourer deserves his wages. Masters exploit and do not pay their workers!

There must be something intrinsically wrong with man that makes him never to accept what benefits except that which destroys him! We are all guilty! Aren't we? Good morning.



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Genuine Love Covers Offences

Rom. 3:23 tells us "For all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God". But John 3:16 makes us understand that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God always practically demonstrates what He means when He asks us to do or not to do something. If He were to make use of our sins, according to Rom. 3:23, no one would qualify for salvation. But because His love covereth the multitude of our sins, John 3:16 gave us salvation and even makes it voluntary "whosoever believes in Him".

It is our own turn to let go the sins of our fellow brethren and deal with them in love. It is only in love there's gain. Counting of sins against outselves produces anger and anger produces bad things like poor state of health and finally hell. Good morning.




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