By Ovundah Nyeche.

Fridays could be sunny, and turbulent.

Fridays could be the day when the crown, instead of sitting right on your head, digs deep into your skin, cause damage and  gives you a bloody face.

Fridays could be the day when those you trust betray and blackmail you. When those you hugged leave you for better options.

Fridays could be the day when those you gave your all, conspire to pull you down.

Fridays could be day when the storm and rain pull down everything you have worked so hard for.

Friday could be the day when those you could bet your life to stand by you, turned their backs against you and watched you suffer but did nothing and laughed you to scorn.

Fridays could be the day when the dog you are feeding, finishes its food and turns back to bite you; and all you have left is an empty plate, bloody hand and a broken heart.

Never to worry…

Fridays never last forever.

Wet handkerchiefs don’t stay wet for ever.

Even those wounds can heal.

Fridays are planting days.

Fridays are days when the blacksmith puts the impure gold in the hot crucible.

Fridays never last forever.

Sunday is coming.

Sunday will come.

It won’t end this way.

Thank you Jesus for everything.

And yes don’t go through Fridays without Jesus, He knows first hand what Fridays feel like and He will never leave or forsake you.

God bless you.

I hope to hear from you.

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I write about a lot of subjects, but one area I develop cold feet is when it has to do with the Church. Many times after writing about the Church I end up deleting all I have written​. Peradventure the write up may generate so much heat, perhaps people can see these write ups and use it as a tool to attack the church, perhaps those whose hearts are bruised may attack and think my case is hopeless.

But maybe the courage I developed today, after seeing a message, well a WhatsApp message. This post is in no way a generalization, but an observation.

One scripture that pricks my heart so much is this:

Revelation 2:4-5 KJV

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

What was the first love of the Nigerian church? “Love for community”. Mary Slessor would leave Scotland her country of birth, and come to Nigeria not minding the horror and  scourge of malaria; She would invest her life in the ancient city of Calabar plagued by killing of twins, widespread human sacrifice and lack of Western education.

She would eat local diet, learn how to speak Efik, save hundreds of twins left to die in the bush, she would help stop the determination of innocence by drinking of poison, adopt four native children and do all within her power to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

She was a driving force behind the establishment of the Hope Waddell Training Institute in Calabar, which provided practical vocational training to Efiks and has so many notable Nigerians as alumni, the school is still standing today.

Go through the history books and you will see how the early Christians invested in education, health, industry, leadership, morals and character. In fact the schools that held sway in the past had missionary roots.

The early church was so engrossed with the progress of the community where they were situated. In fact in the first church, members sold properties to help support fellow church members. Widows were supported and Stephen and Phillip who were full of the Holy Spirit were assigned with the task of sharing food to widows.

Today however, this is not usually the case, these days we have bigger churches but fewer morals, richer churches but a poorer society, more powerful church leaders but more corrupt national leaders. We have more people rushing to church to prosper, but less actually hungry for God, we prefer our enemies dead than them accepting Christ, we prefer politics to the enthronement of Jesus Christ.

We have members in churches who cannot afford quality education, members with no handiwork looking for miracle jobs, members with little education hoping someone more qualified is dislodged for them, members with poor work ethics.

We have members conformed in the image and likeness of their pastors, than in the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. We have rich churches in poor communities that do not feel what these communities feel. We have churches detached from the dreams and aspirations of people in their community.

This post in no way looks down on the great work being done by many Christian churches, no I know a lot of churches are involved in helping out, but this is a genuine call to do more.

This is a call for the church to start proffering solutions to the many societal questions begging for answers. This is a call to church leaders to start talking sense to their members who occupy sensitive leadership positions; this is a time for them to explain our part in civic responsibility and national transformation, and stress the importance of dignity in labour.

I will stop here for today, and get ready for the bullets that would follow.

In another news

Matthew 7:21-23 NLT

Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.
On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’
But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.

Let’s get back to our first love and start “Christianizing” Nigeria; and yes the church is you and I.

Credits : Wikipedia

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In the hands of the ‘untrained’ the stethoscope could best be described as an ornament, but in the hands and ears of the trained the stethoscope means a lot.

It is meant to be used by medical professionals, but don’t tell this to this excited ‘untrained mother’. She was on a journey to visit someone she had never seen or met before.

She clutched tightly to her stethoscope, she had lost her son 8 months ago in a skiing accident and before his death she had agreed to donate some of his organs.

A woman in the heart transplant waiting list with no hope and counting her final days on earth was promptly alerted and after proper matching in the hospital and pre-medication the heart of this young boy was transplanted to this woman.

Through providence the mother of the deceased young boy found out the recipient of her son’s heart and they agreed to meet and as she met the recipient all she saw was her son in a different body. She hugged the recipient and kissed her.

All she requested for was to listen to the heartbeat of the woman, her son’s heartbeat, she was not a health professional, but with the stethoscope she smiled as she listened to the son’s heart beat ,lub, dub, lub, dub in the body of this woman.

When we give our lives to Christ, when we commit ourselves to Him, we just like Paul can say ‘I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me’

Yes the old body is there, but the new man dwells in us and you know what God is so excited. In fact there is joy in heaven and as He comes with His ‘stethoscope’ and auscultates us, all He hears and sees in us, is His son Christ who gave his life for us.

If you have not given your life to Christ do that today, He loves you so much and took your place on the cross. Your life is not yours, but a gift, your body is not yours, it’s His temple, you are simply a caretaker and will surely give an account of what you did or did not do with it. God is calling you, respond to him today. Stop procrastinating, tomorrow may be too late.

If you have committed your life to Christ, align yourself to Him, daily feed on His Word, never forsake the gathering of fellow believers, mind the company you keep ‘ Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners’, depend on the Holy Spirit, have a lifestyle of gratitude and live your life in the realization that He lives in you.

Do have a great day ahead and may God bless you richly.

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