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Is it True that God Only Looks at the Heart?

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I can imagine the frustrated look on Jesse's face when all his sons were being rejected one by one after they were deemed unfit for the Anointing. The argument from the Lord’s prophet was that, “ The Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart ” ( 1 Sam 16:7 ). Interestingly, this story has become famous among the modern professing Christian, especially as a defence mechanism against criticism. It brings to my mind a particular lady in my community. She was commended by all of us for her good efforts towards helping others within our neighbourhood. Notwithstanding that she was also a member of this big worldwide denomination that shall remain nameless at this time. Then one day she found herself lashing out at a group of friends for “judging” her, she said. Apparently, it all started when she was seen dressed in something that can be defined as “inappropriate clothing” by the standard of Christianity. Hence her apparent ou...

The Importance of a Biblical Church Structure

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I have come to realise that, aside from getting the gospel wrong, 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 is one of the easiest ways to drift into something that resembles a religious cult. When a church adopts what is essentially a Roman Catholic–style leadership mindset, it almost inevitably 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 and replaces Him, functionally, with one man—the Pope, General Overseer, Lead Pastor, or whatever title is preferred. Other pastors and leaders then become subordinate to this individual, and the entire structure begins to orbit around a single personality. Some may object that such leaders are not 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 called “the head of the church.” But the reality is this: 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 . And history has shown, again a...

“The Bible Has Been Changed Over Time” How Do You Respond?

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Have you noticed that we now live in a world where everyone is a specialist in everything? And the first victim in all this is, of course, Christianity. I have never seen a religion with as many experts as our Christian Faith. The Christian Bible, in particular, is by far the most criticised literature in all of eternity. And the target? The inspiration of Scripture: the idea that the Bible is the Word of God. Consult the modern-day philosopher like Joshua Maponga. Give ear to Muslim theologians like Shabir Ally, and I can assure you that you will hear them consistently attack the reliability of Scripture. Their outcry? “The Bible, as we have it, has been tampered with.” What they mean is that the book that you carry to church Sunday after Sunday is a bastard version of itself. It might have contained the words of God sometime in the past, but unfortunately, there has been so much copying that it has lost its original content. That argument, I admit, sounds very compelling. Enough to p...

Current State of the Christian Church Around the World: Growth or Decline?

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Way beyond our local church walls, far above our doctrinal differences, well over our national boundaries and far ahead of our tribal divisions remains an unbreakable bond of all the disciples of Christ. Its a vast community of believers scattered in all corners of the earth. My hope is that by the end of this document, you will have a rough idea of what the Lord is doing in the Church beyond your vicinity. It is an update, sort of, of the current state of the Christian message around the globe, whether it's accelerating or deteriorating. Maybe it might stir your faith in some way, who knows, perhaps you might even have something to pray about.  Asia Historically, the Christian Faith has found a great opposition in most Asian countries, particularly the Far East. It's still punishable by jail, torture or worse, to possess a Bible in North Korea. Similarly, in China, there is still not much improvement from the terrible things that the Christian churches suffered in the 70s unde...

Things that Ministers Struggle With

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I have said it before that being a minister of this great Gospel is far more important than being a pilot, way critical than being a doctor, certainly much more serious than being a policeman. Ministry is the only profession that deals with the eternal well-being of souls. Something that world professionals know nothing about. Try to imagine how dark this world would be if there was no longer any Gospel preachers. Now, as vital as your Pastor is, for example, he, alongside every other servant of the Most High, faces many struggles, most of which are private-never to be known. The point of this document is to bring these things to your Christian knowledge, hoping that next time you find yourself in prayer, your spiritual leaders will receive a fair share of your petitions on their behalf. Insecurity This is simply a lack of confidence about one’s standing before the people of God. Sometimes it has to do with what that pastor has, or doesn’t have, in comparison with other pastors. Insec...

My Serious Concerns About the Passion Translation

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Bible versions are one of those things that God’s people are emotionally attached to. For example, I am presently very much attached to the ESV, it is that Bible that somewhat resonates with my Christian spirit. Hence I do not bring this presentation to attack your favorite spiritual tool. After all, every believer has a right to carry a Bible translation that they feel better brings them closer to the Lord Jesus. Nonetheless, we must also be allowed to express our concerns about any matter in the Christian faith. That is how we grow one another through this great journey headed to the celestial City. The matter at hand is about the Passion Translation Bible. I have outlined my worries below, hoping that God’s people will read this thoughtfully and critically. Translation method The word, “translation” means taking one piece of writing from one language to another, as accurately as humanly possible. That is how all our Bibles are made – they are a product of Hebrew & Greek the orig...

Which is the Best Christian Denomination?

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A church denomination is a company of believers that identify themselves by a certain belief system within the Christian Faith. They usually have their unique way of practising Christianity that is upheld by every local assembly which bears the name of that group and passed down from generation to generation. Anglican, Methodist, Pentecostal, ZCC, Catholic, Presbyterian etc. are all examples of denominations. Do you know that there are over 41,000 church denominations that own the Christian title? That, without counting all the ones that are being formed as we speak. And I have also excluded the obvious cults. All these denominations, mind you, claim to be right in terms of upholding the purity of the Christian doctrine. Even more shocking is the fact that they all don't agree with one another. Actually, there is so much hostility that a believer would demand to know the denomination you belong to before they can decide to associate with your spiritual self. In some places, you can...