EVANGEL AFRICA

If there is something that Africa has become famous for, it is the weird things that are happening under the umbrella of Christianity. Some of these things are so ridiculous so much that you would imagine that no normal human will ever give them attention. Amazing is enough, these lunatic beliefs and doctrines are the very things that have been embraced joyfully by the most intelligent/educated souls among us. With much embarrassment, I bring to light another doctrine that has also surfaced over these past years, I think. It’s the gospel of the firstborns. It says that there is a spirit (or whatever), that attacks every firstborn in every family. And of course, the next story is that a powerful “man of God” needs to deliver you if you are the firstborn of your household, otherwise, that spirit is going affect the whole bloodline through you. I personally know a certain family that was told to contribute moneys each, then give it to the Church so as to break those kinds of curses. Ther...

I have spent a great deal of my time whining and complaining about the challenges of this Christian ministry. Even more than that, many times I find myself biting my nails; probably wondering why false prophets seem to be the ones having large crowds following while most truth preachers that I know seem to languish in rejection and isolation. However, no matter how difficult this ministry work may seem to be from another angle, I can’t help but relieve the joys and thrills of being a faithful Gospel minister.   Peace of mind The other definition for this is what is described as a “clear conscience”. There is nothing as satisfying to the soul as a life that is lived to please the Master – to do what is right when necessary; regardless of who claps hands or not, in spite of who agrees or disagrees. My greatest desire is to come to the end of my life with zero regrets, but to say with Paul, “I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men, for I did not shrin...

I was surfing the internet as usual, then some video got my attention. It was a church service – sort of – and the senior preacher was at the peak of his message. These were his words that were getting into the ears of a very attentive audience; “ There are dimensions of Christ that must be captured in the realms of God. The diversities of Christ are infinite. In other words, you have to break out of the limitations of theologians and religious teachers and realize that Jesus is captured in different realms. Jesus is captured in different civilizations, differently. If you don’t know who Jesus is in the realms of the Spirit, you will miss the power that controls the forces that rule in that dimension ”   Well, English is certainly not my first language, but I don’t think I would have understood what the above statement is all about, even if I had grown up across the street from the Queen of England’s palace. The only thing I picked up is that Jesus is so far away, and so complicate...

Now, let’s talk about Bible colleges, seminaries and religious schools. I got stirred about this issue after picking a small pamphlet that went as far as demonizing all Bible schools as inspired by the devil. According to the false prophet who wrote that thing, true ministers are those who directly receive the Word from God and are directly enabled by the Holy Spirit to minister, no need for religious schools (he was speaking of himself, of course). Well, from that angle, his argument seems quite compelling and certainly irrefutable. However, I can’t help but discover that such statements come from folks who entirely misunderstand the purpose of Bible Schools. What they miss is that no Bible College ever calls anyone to ministry, nor do they ever claim to give ministry gifts to anyone, all that is exclusively a direct work of the Holy Spirit. The purpose of these institutions is to take men who are already called into ministry, so they could help and guide them to study more about tha...

I understand that many of us are greatly influenced by this consumer approach to Christianity that makes Jesus the almighty servant, whose job is to run around fulfilling all our worldly dreams and selfish desires. That is not biblical Christianity at all, no matter how popular it is around us. The true Gospel, beloved, is costly; it requires and demands something of value on our part . Before I go far with this, let me be clear that salvation in Christ is completely free. You can’t and you don’t pay anything to be forgiven. No amount of “seed money”, good works, or anything else can wash your sins. You just have to “behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” It’s Him who fully purchased our redemption at great cost to Himself. Nevertheless, once you take that step of repentance, it means you have decided that your life is no longer yours, but His to please and to serve. That is where the cost factor applies. Consider the fact that if ever you want to be committed to ...

“ Judge not lest ye be judged ” is undoubtedly the most quoted and perhaps the most loved verse from the King James Bible. It is, of course, taken from Matthew 7:1 , but my question is: is this the only verse in the Bible that talks about judging? If not, what does the rest of Scripture say about this?   The word Judge in biblical terms means two things; firstly, to judge is to condemn someone based on a certain righteous standard they might have failed to attain. That kind of judgment is reserved only for the Almighty Himself, whose throne of judgment we will all stand before, not many days from now. The second type of judging something or someone has to do with making a distinction between truth and error , what is right and what is wrong. The right term for this is the word “discernment”. This kind of judgment is part of our daily Christian life. We all must examine, test and observe everything in light of the truth that is already revealed in the Christian Bible. In other words...

I couldn’t manage to attend church one Sunday because I was on duty. When evening came, I asked one of the believers about how church was, and what the Word was about. She went on to inform me that the message was about sharing the Gospel with others; that we must make disciples. My next question was, “Do you think people really want to do that; do they honestly care about spreading the Gospel?” In all honesty, her answer was, “No, it is just talk, because even that person who was ministering also doesn’t do that.” This is my concern today, that the words “Let us tell others about Jesus, let’s spread the Gospel, let’s make disciples” have all become nothing but old slogans that mean nothing.   Resources at our disposal It’s easy for us to complain about the evil that has come through technology. Yet, I cannot help but thank God for technology, because there are a whole lot of gadgets and toys that make our lives easy, most particularly if we want to really spread this good message....