“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.40 For
my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in
him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:35-40)
In John 6:29, Jesus provides the disciples with a profound response:
believe in Him, as the one God has sent. As the chapter continues, Jesus
explains the purpose of Him coming down from heaven: to do the Father’s
will. God desires that you would live with Him forever. It’s why He
sent Jesus! While we know this as the truth of the gospel in our heads,
sometimes our hearts need to be reminded: God is not mad at you! In
fact, He loves you so much, He made a way for you to be with Him
forever! In a world where so much of our worth is found from striving
for perfection, remember this truth. God loves you just as you are,
right now. And as you walk with Him, He will continue to transform you,
from the inside out.LINK: https://godtv.com/gods-word-for-you-today-im-not-mad-at-you/
He is currently recuperating well at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital where is admitted.
Ochieng denied engaging in violent protest and called for a thorough investigation into his shooting for him to get justice.
Ochieng at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu on March 28 Image: MAURICE ALAL
Dennis Ochieng, 24, who hails from Nyang'oma in Alego, Siaya county, was shot in his chest at Kisumu Boys roundabout on Monday.
He is currently recuperating well at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital where is admitted.
Speaking
to the Star, Ochieng said, it was God who saved his life after the
bullet went through the left side of his chest leaving only particles,
which were removed by doctors during surgery on Tuesday.
"Were it not the Almighty God. It would have been a different story. He has saved me from the jaws of death," he said.
On
Wednesday, he was questioned by officers from the Independent Policing
Oversight Authority who are investigating cases of alleged police
brutality against citizens during the Azimio protests.
He has also
been visited at the hospital by human rights activists who have called
for a thorough probe into the alleged use of excessive force by police.
"The
officers have questioned me. Today I was visited by two Ipoa officers
and yesterday there was a senior one who came," he said.
Ochieng denied engaging in violent protest and called for a thorough investigation into his shooting for him to get justice.
He
said he had left work and was rushing to his residence in Nyalenda to
be with his family when he was caught in the melee between the police
and protesters.
The survivor wants the government to compensate him for the bills he has incurred since Monday.
Ochieng
is married. He said he did not expect that the peaceful demonstrations
will turn into running battles between the police and protesters.
On
Monday, one person was shot dead at Kondele while another one was
lynched by mob at Fanana area in the same area over mugging allegations.
Kevin
Odiwuor was also shot in the head at Nyalenda during the
demonstrations. He is also admitted at Kisumu County Referral Hospital.
On
Wednesday, Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong'o banned the mass action
protest in the city after consultaton with Azimio top leaders.
Human rights defender Audi Ogada has supported the ban saying goons were taking advantage of the protest to terrorise residents.
"These goons have been erecting illegal road blocks, stealing and robbing residents during demonstrations," Ogada said.
The protest has seen three deaths including a Maseno University student, who was shot by police.
"Even
though the citizens have the right to picket, it has turned chaotic as
criminals take advantage leading loss of innocent lives," he said.
Governor-elect of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori has hailed all
critical stakeholders in the state who made his victory possible during
the guber polls as he gives God all the glory after receiving his
Certificate of Return on Wednesday at INEC office in Asaba, Delta state.
TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) reports this was contained in his remarks after receiving his CoR saying:
” In the final analysis, the glory belongs to God, maker of the heaven and and the earth, and from whom all power flows.
“In due course, the Government shall be unfolding a Transition
Committee that will midwife my inauguration on May 29, 2023. Until then,
I implore all Deltans and residents to remain prayerful, peaceful, and
law abiding.
He also praised critical stakeholders such as the outgoing governor,
Ifeanyi Okowa, the immediate past governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan and
others who stood by him before and after his victory.
Read his full address below:
” I have just been presented with the Certificate of Return by the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), arising from my
emergence as the Governor-Elect of Delta State on March 20, 2023. With
the issuance of the Certificate of Return, we must now turn our
attention to ensuring a seamless and stable transition in pursuant of my
Advancing Delta agenda.
“On a day like this, it is important that I acknowledge and thank
all those who worked tirelessly to bring us to where we are today.
First, I wish to, once again, appreciate the leader of our great party,
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa under whose able and wise leadership the PDP in
Delta State has remained strong and formidable. Our massive victory may
have come to some as a surprise but not to us because we know Deltans
are happy with the excellent performance of Governor Okowa.
“Our victory is a testament to this fact; it was as comprehensive as
it was decisive; the PDP won in all the 17 Local Government Areas in the
North and South senatorial districts. In the Delta Central senatorial
district, we won in four out of the eight Local Government Areas. But
even more significant was our victory in Ethiope East Local Government
Area, which had eluded the PDP since the current democratic dispensation
began in 1999.
“Let me also thank our former Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan for
his exemplary courage and statesmanship. Dr Uduaghan was in the trenches
with us; he went out of his way to reconcile aggrieved persons in order
to ensure that the party was united going into this battle. Thank you,
sir, for your leadership and commitment.
” I thank the Chairman of our party, Barrister Kingsley Esiso for his
doggedness. I doff my hat to the elders/founding fathers of our party,
all the members of the campaign council, party leaders at various
levels, and the various support groups that stood solidly behind me.
“My gratitude also goes to civil servants, retirees, organized
labour, youths, professionals, student groups, traditional rulers,
religious leaders, artisans, market women, and all those who laboured in
one way or the other for this victory.
“Thank you all for staying the course. I assure you that your labour shall not be in vain.
“Let me specially appreciate my wife, my Children and family
members for their prayers, support, encouragement and steadfastness all
through the electioneering process . May God bless for this show of love
and care.
” In the final analysis, the glory belongs to God, maker of the heaven and the earth, and from whom all power flows.
“In due course, the Government shall be unfolding a Transition
Committee that will midwife my inauguration on May 29, 2023. Until then,
I implore all Deltans and residents to remain prayerful, peaceful, and
law abiding.
“By God’s grace, we shall do MORE to ADVANCE Delta State.
On July 22, spirits will be lifted at the Catherine Hall
Entertainment Complex in Montego Bay as Minister Marion Hall promises a
divine cultural experience to those who will converge for the annual
Reggae Sumfest production.
“I’m adding Jesus Christ to the show,” she told The Gleaner,
while admitting that she did not want “anyone to get it twisted thinking
they gonna come and see the Lady Saw behaviour … . No, no, none of
that”.
Early last year, Skatta Burrell, popular music producer and a member
of the Downsound Entertainment group, the organisers of the music
festival announced, that he would love to book Hall for the 2022 staging
of the event. However, she quickly rejected the idea, noting that she
would not be gracing the stage unless Gospel Night was returned to the
calendar.
Recalling her grand exit from dancehall in 2015, the musical minister
said that she knew Reggae Sumfest 2015 was going to be the last time
she would close Dancehall Night, so this year, she is booked on the
diverse roster, which features primarily conscious reggae entertainers.
“I’m very excited. I know the fans are excited. I’m the only female
to ever close that event, and when I closed out on Dancehall Night, I
walked away knowing that I was gonna walk away from the industry. So to
come back as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, wow! I know that
the Devil was just trying to twist me up, turn me, and tell me, ‘You
shouldn’t do this or that’. I’m coming in and coming in hard. So demons,
I’m telling you right now, you gotta leave that territory. I’m taking
dominion over Montego Bay that night,” Hall said.
She continued: “Studying the Bible, when I look at Jesus Christ and
the people who He dwell among and hang out with, He said, ‘I didn’t come
to call the righteous but sinners, unto repentance’. You don’t just win
souls in the Church, the souls that are already saved. God is looking
for lost souls, and wherever He leads, I will follow. Don’t get it
twisted now. I’m not boring. My performance at Sumfest won’t be boring.
It’s gonna be epic.”
After much deliberation and collaboration with Downsound
Entertainment to produce new music, Hall is excited to engage
festival-goers, and she has been mentally and spiritually preparing
herself for the stage. She revealed that when she was saved, she was
confused, “and people were pulling east, west, north, south, and there
were some things that I thought I shouldn’t do and that I shouldn’t go
to some places,” but over the years, she has made peace with the choices
to give her life to God and continue music but use it to minister the
gospel.
“I’ve been talking to the Lord about it already, and I know I gotta
go into prayer and fasting to prepare, and that’s why I make sure I get
the night that I chose to go on, you know. Bless the name of the Lord.
Yeah because listen, God didn’t take all the fire out of me. He added
more fire in me,” she shared.
Some of that fire is visible in her latest singles, Sorry To Hurt Your Feelings and I’m Doing Better,
which is a production of Downsound Records (DSR). Speaking about her
collaboration with the label, the dancehall icon-turned-minister
explained that the original plans were to record two tracks, but this
has evolved into the production of a full project after she, along with
DSR principal Joe Bogdanovich, went to Nashville, Tennessee, to meet
with Grammy Award-winning musician Gramps Morgan and his guitarist for a
studio session.
She said: “We didn’t plan for it … . I’m just too talented. To put me
in a studio with Gramps Morgan’s guitarist, I mean, every time I opened
my mouth, it was just something that was irresistible. I think he had,
like, 30 guitars in the studio, and before we knew it, we ended up with
five tracks, and I recorded three of them when we were planning to only
do two, one there and one with another producer. Safe to say, it seems
like we’re gonna have an album.”
Hall said she truly enjoyed working with the DSR principal. From her
dancehall years until now, she believes the focus has been on producing
quality music.
“Even when I was in dancehall, he was always a respectable person,
and he knows what he’s looking for. I think Joe wanted to do something
that he had never done before, and I wasn’t even expecting Joe. The Lord
told me about a door. He said to me, there’s an open door that I’ve set
before you that no man can shut. I remember him using His own words. He
said before I get to that door, I have to go through some other doors.
They are doors where disappointment lies, you know, pain and heartaches
and all kinds of setbacks and delays,” she said.
“He told me to continue walking, so I was expecting the door to open
from the inside, like inside of the church, you know? But it opened from
the outside. So I’m just working with what God sent my way. God will
send a raven to feed his people. So I just bless God for Joe and, you
know, it’s good music. It’s clean music. It’s godly music,” Hall
affirmed.
CITIZENS Coalition
for Change (CCC) President Nelson Chamisa’s ‘God Is In It’ mantra has
riled some of his supporters who have demanded that he do more than just
bank on Jehovah’s intervention in the Zimbabwean crisis.
Chamisa had
reacted to Al Jazeera’s Gold Mafia documentary by posting a verse
Saturday morning, accompanied by the now common statement.
“The wise acknowledge and seek their God. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their ways are vile. God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God. Psalm 53:1-2 Blessed Sabbath,” said Chamisa in a tweet that had #GodIsInIt
THE WISE ACKNOWLEDGE & SEEK THEIR GOD…The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their ways are vile…God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God. Psalm 53:1-2 Blessed Sabbath! #Godisinit
Earlier on he had said: “The fish rots from the head, the Al Jazeera documentary exposes the extent of the rot at the top, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. This clearly shows how corrupt, rotten and broken leadership has destroyed a jewel and great country. Zimbabwe is not poor, it’s just poorly governed!”
A number of
supporters however were not keen on hearing the Word, arguing they were
either tired of him sharing bible verses with little to no action and
that his actions were ‘deflating’ them.
Chamisa has not
waivered despite past criticism. He has maintained that no CCC plan will
be publicised and that his party will operate in relative secrecy so as
to thwart any possible infiltration.
He has credited
that for attacks on his person and the party by state security agencies
and Zanu PF members, which he has said show they are on the right path.
“This is the time you need to be going guns blazing on the Gold Mafia. All Chamisa does is preach versesnxaaa. You don’t get the work you need to do to win for sure.Masses are like school kids it is emphasis and repetition of message that will do wonders,” said a Twitter user, Walle, in response.
Dude seriously .This the time you need to be going guns blazing on the gold mafias. Its chamisa he does what preach verses.nxaaa. You
dont get the work you need to do win for sure.Masses are like school
kids its emphasis and repetition of message that wil do wondèrs
The Gold Mafia is a
four-part documentary on how high-ranking officials, including
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Special Envoy Uebert Angel and niece
Henrietta Rushwaya are working with corrupt individuals to launder money
using government’s mineral serve Fidelity Printers and Refinery.
It is a two-year-long investigation whose first episode was released Thursday.
“We
need action now; we have had enough of these verses. By now I would
have thought the communication department would have held a press
conference expressing the masses’ anger. Please lead!!” said Kay Jaricha.
We need action now, we have had enough of these
verses. By now I would have thought the communication department would
have held a press conference expressing the masses anger. Please lead!!
American reality star, Blac Chyna removes ‘demonic’ tattoo, implants, fillers after finding God
After removing her face fillers and implants, Blac Chyna continued
her epic make-under ‘healing journey’ by having the Baphomet tattoo she
got in 2021 lasered off her left hip.
According to Daily Mail, Washington, DC-born 34-year-old shared two
videos documenting her road trip to Henderson, NV and subsequent visit
to Clear Out Ink over the weekend.
‘I am releasing all negative energy that is holding me back,’ Blac – who boasts 21.8M, social media followers – explained.
‘It gots to come off. Do you know what I mean? I’m about to have no
mark of the beast – anything like that. When I first got the tattoo,
that is not what it meant to me. I just don’t want anything negative or
demonic on my body anymore.’
Not today, Satan! After removing her face fillers and implants, Blac
Chyna continued her epic make-under ‘healing journey’ by having the
Baphomet tattoo she got in 2021 lasered off her left hip
‘I just don’t want anything negative or demonic on my body anymore’:
The star documented the removal process on her Instagram account
Pricing at Clear Out Ink starts at $100/treatment, but it can take as
little as three or as high as 12+ laser sessions (spaced six-eight
weeks apart) to totally remove the offending ink.
The Black Hamptons actress didn’t just remove the Baphomet either,
she also had smaller pieces ‘Jay’ (for YBN Almighty Jay) and ‘Stevenson’
(for Tyga) removed.
The former stripper recently candidly revealed to DailyMail how
getting baptized and reconnecting with God inspired her dramatic
physical and mental make-under, which has seen her dissolving her
filler, quitting her ‘degrading’ OnlyFans career, and shedding her
infamous stage name in favour of embracing her birth name.
The 34-year-old reality star, who is now going by Angela White,
explained that – following her baptism in May last year – she came to
the realization that continuing to share very X-rated images and videos
on the ‘degrading’ platform was not ‘what God will want me to do’.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa – South
Africa will host the inaugural CAF African Schools Football Championship
tagged CAF school championship at King Zwelithini Stadium, CAF
announced this week.
The soccer spectacle will take place at Durban’s King Zwelithini Stadium from 05-08 April 2023.
According to CAF, the first year of the Programme a historic and
first of its kind Schools Programme that has attracted over 44 000 boys
and girls in 41 African countries under the age of 15 to not only
compete on the field but to be empowered through a number of
programmes aimed at capacity building.
Also revealed is that this is a culmination of a journey that started
with Schools competition at National level and then Zonal Phase.
Moreover, the Continental Phase of the competition will see some of
the top schools in Africa compete for the ultimate prize in what is
expected to be a weekend of festivities in KwaZulu-Natal, Durban. The
Final will be played on Saturday, 08 April 2023.
CAF General Secretary General, Veron Mosengo-Omba commented: “We are
excited to reach this state and to see what started as a vision being
implemented and benefiting the young people in Africa. It is history in
the making.
The CAF African Schools Football
Championship is very important to CAF, it is important to Africa and it
is very important to CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe. For the first
time, CAF is not just talking about developing the youth, but we are
investing in a tangible way to the future of Africa. We are giving hope,
we are giving a platform.”
On the Final in Durban, Mosengo-Omba added: “Following extensive
consultation that also included inviting Member Associations to submit
applications to host, South Africa’s Durban was given the go-ahead. We
have a lot of confident that we will work together with SAFA, with South
African Government and KwaZulu Natal to ensure that this is a
success.”
CAF President’s Dr Motsepe’s Vision to Invest in Youth: The CAF
African Schools Football Championship was first announced by CAF
President Dr Patrice Motsepe in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire in April 2021.
At the announcement, Dr Motsepe had said: “The best investment we can
make to ensure that African football is amongst the best in the world
and self-sustaining, is to invest in schools’ football and youth
football development infrastructure for boys and girls at club and
national level. This is one of my key focus areas as President of
CAF.”
And since its launch in Mozambique last year, the CAF African Schools
Football Championship has already impacted many lives. Thanks to a
donation of USD 10 million by the Motsepe Foundation that will go
intoprizes of Schools at National, Zonal and Continental level, Schools
will be able to use the money for Development projects, CAF noted.
THE Akwa Ibom State governor-elect , Pastor Umo Eno of the People’s
Democratic Party PDP has dedicated his victory to God for for the Grace
He has shown him, and for the strength to carry on in the face of
several challenges.
Pastor Eno who stated this in his victory speech made available to
newsmen shortly after he was declared winner of the election on Sunday
by the electoral umpire, reiterated that he would not disappoint his
political father, Governor Udom Emmanuel and Akwa Ibom people.
He added that the leaders and stakeholders of his party the PDP,
as well as his campaign team deserved a huge pat on the back for staying
true to their convictions and their unyielding dedication to the
party’s victory at the polls.
His words: ” Fellow Akwaibomites, I stand here, humbled yet
energized by the massive support and overwhelming vote of confidence in
my capacity to be your Servant-Leader in the next four years that you
showed me yesterday, at the polls. It was peaceful, credible, fair and a
ringing expression of the will of our people.
“You came out massively to vote for the continuation of the peace
and security of lives and property we have enjoyed in the last almost
eight years; the continuation of a Christ-centric leadership, of
humility in governance, compassion, competence, character and
development across all sectors.
“You did this, so our children and generations yet unborn will
enjoy the dividends of democracy and live happily, in brotherhood, love
and unity.
“I dedicate this victory to God, for the Grace He has shown me, for
the strength to carry on, in the face of several challenges and for the
inner peace to keep moving with my eyes clearly set on the ball and not
to be distracted. to “THAT SAME GOD’ be all the glory!.
“Let me specifically thank my political Father, the Leader of our
party, our dear Governor, His Excellency, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, for seeing
in me, what others may not have seen.
” Thank you Your Excellency, for standing by me, for leading the
troop for the continuation of good governance, for insisting that what
God has started in Akwa Ibom State, must continue and the story be told
in more enchanting chapters.
“I pledge to you, Your Excellency and our dear people who have
bought into your vision that I will not disappoint in this onerous task
God has placed on my shoulders. Like you have shown, I am coming
thoroughly prepared to hit the ground running from Day One”
The incoming governor of Akwa Ibom State, also thanked the first
Lady, and his Campaigner-in Chief, Martha Udom Emmanuel for the long
hours, the soaring speeches at campaigns which ultimately manifested in
the massive victory he got during the Saturday poll.
He equally thanked his wife, children, and their spouses, his
siblings, grand-children, and extended family for the comfort,
unwavering support and prayers they provided him in the face of vile,
manufactured lies and propaganda that were concocted against him.
“I know how emotionally traumatized those moments may have been,
but the battle is over now, and I bear no grudges. Let me thank the
Church, and Fathers in Faith for your prayers and intercessions.
“I am one of you, and I pledge to continue to run a
Christ-Centric administration where good will always trump evil, and
where morality and good conscience will form the building blocks of our
administration.
“To the youths of Akwa Ibom State, thank you for maintaining the
peace and taking ownership of the collective destiny and aspirations of
our people to live in peace. By your avowed dedication to end violence
and embrace peace, we were able to have a very peaceful elections
yesterday. Kudos to you all!”, Pastor Stated.
Continuing, he commended hisopponents for putting up a good
fight, adding “In any political contest, a winner must emerge . And
today, it has pleased God to place me as the winner of this contest.
” I hereby extend an olive branch and my hand of fellowship to all my
brothers who contested with me, to join me in building the Akwa Ibom
State where the symphonies of peace, development, love, unity and
brotherhood would continue to ring louder and bind us all even deeper
together.
” As a pastor, I harbor no hate or animosity towards any one. As
Abraham Lincoln once said, “with malice towards none, with charity for
all”, I promise to run an all-inclusive government, where no one would
be punished or victimized on account of holding a different political
opinion.
“We are all Akwaibomites first and foremost before our political
labels. Political parties are vehicles to attain power, they cannot
substitute the bond of unity and brotherhood we have all shared for
centuries. It is a known fact that politics may have created a gulf of
alienation in some sections of our society.
“I hereby pledge to set up a Reconciliation Committee to bring
our brothers and sisters together and look at things that deepen our
unity than those that divide us. Akwa Ibom is Rising and it will always
be!
“As we all join hands with one voice to kick-start this journey
of our next phase growth and development as a State, I therefore, once
again implore us all to jettison all forms of bickering, hatred, malice,
blackmail, pull-down syndrome and their attendant retrogressive
tendencies, so that we can jointly build the AkwaIbom of our
dreams.Thank you for this great opportunity to serve”.
Mayor
Adams called on New Yorkers to transform the city into “a place of God”
Thursday — the latest in a series of faith-based remarks that have
defied conventions set by his City Hall predecessors.
Adams,
who was speaking at a faith-based summit on mental health, posed much
of his speech in the form of questions that boiled down to one focal
point: How does one reshape New York City into a place that exudes an
aura of faith and God?
“How
do we take a city that is the center of the power of America and turn
it into a city, when you enter it, everyone sees faith and sees God?”
the mayor said during Thursday’s confab, held at Columbia University’s
Teachers College. “Our challenge is not economics. Our challenge is not
finance. Our challenge is faith. People have lost their faith.”
Mayor Eric Adams speaks at the Greater Allen A.ME. Cathedral of New York on Sunday, January 9, 2022. (Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)
Since making those statements, he’s taken more than one question from reporters on the topic, has floated the idea of encouraging spiritual exchanges between houses of worship,
and on Wednesday, during an appearance at a gun violence summit hosted
by national faith leaders, he called on clerics to be part of a “major
recruitment campaign” to get young people to become police officers.
“We
should be part of the rallying call of having good, God-fearing young
men and women play this awesome role of public safety in our city,” he
said at that event.
Front
page of the New York Daily News for March 1, 2023: In speech to faith
leaders, Adams dismisses need to separate church and state. Mayor Adams,
speaking Tuesday (above), made comments that could be at odds with the
established constitutional provisions separating religion and
government. (New York Daily News)
The
mayor’s most recent predecessors — former Mayors Bill de Blasio and
Michael Bloomberg — were typically more restrained when speaking on
faith and rarely detailed their own personal experiences with religion.
Adams, who was raised in the Church of God in Christ,
a Pentecostal denomination, has offered a different approach and drawn
criticism in the process. Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the
New York Civil Liberties Union, said earlier this month that his
remarks continued “to raise concerns that he doesn’t respect the
separation of church and state.”
Thursday’s
comments on faith in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights were broad in
scope — and more personal than some of his previous statements.
Adams
described his childhood and how his mother, who died weeks before his
inauguration, would emphasize the importance of people feeling and
seeing God when they walked into their home.
“Mommy
used to say to the six of us, she says, ‘When people walk into this
house, do they feel God? Do they see God? Do they feel the energy of
God?’” he said. “So here’s my question. Our home is New York City. When
people walk into this city, when they get off the bus, when the asylum
seekers come in, when they enter the city for the first time at JFK or
Amtrak — do they feel God?”
New
York City Mayor Eric Adams host the annual Interfaith Breakfast at the
New York Public Library on Tuesday, February 28, 2023. (Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)
Adams attempted to then answer his own question with another rhetorical flourish pointed at the asylum seeker crisis he’s struggled to address since last year and the city’s continuing homelessness dilemma.
“If
this was a home of God, we would not be asking the question, what are
we going to do with our asylum seekers,” he said. “If this was a home of
God, we would not be asking the question of what are we doing with the
young men and women who are growing up in homeless shelters that have
not even seen someone come in and minister to them.”
Adams
has repeatedly called on the federal government to pony up more cash to
house and provide other services for the more than 40,000 migrants
who’ve come to the city since last year seeking asylum. And earlier this
week, he approved a form of ministry, albeit secular, for people living
in homeless shelters in the form of a law that now requires the city to provide mental health services to women and children living in family homeless shelters.
But other, broader issues, he suggested on Thursday, remain unresolved.
He
said he’s fearful of what’s happening in the city and in the country as
a whole — and pointed to the easy access children have to cannabis
products, cosmetic surgery and phone-based apps like TikTok as
bellwethers which show the country is moving in the wrong direction.
“They
don’t allow the TikTok that our children are looking at. They don’t
allow it in China. They only have education TikTok. Our babies are
waking up every day in the morning, on their way to school, stopping
into stores and bodegas and buying gummy bears and Skittles laced with
cannabis and sitting inside the classroom,” he said. “We are seeing the
erosion of the foundation of our future.”
Oral Roberts players celebrate after winning the Summit League, March 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Josh Jurgens)
College basketball fans may be in for a treat.
Two of the hottest teams in the country are set for a showdown in the
2023 men’s basketball NCAA Tournament, as No. 12-seed Oral Roberts
(30-4) will clash with No. 5-seed Duke (26-8) on Thursday evening in one
of the most intriguing matchups of the first round.
The Blue Devils have won nine in a row, including three in three days
to capture the ACC Tournament title. Not to be outdone, the Golden
Eagles won the most games in school history, went undefeated in
conference play and have come out victorious in their last 17 contests,
the last three coming in the Summit League Tournament to guarantee their spot in the field of 68.
After capturing the Summit League title last week with a 92-58 drubbing of North Dakota State, Oral Roberts’ sixth-year head coach Paul Mills had one thing on his mind as he opened his postgame press conference.
“God is good,” he said.
“We are thankful. I’m thankful that I get to coach these guys, and they
made shots tonight. I got an incredible group of guys.”
Neither Mills nor his Golden Eagles are strangers to March success, as college basketball fans remember well Oral Roberts’ incredible run to the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed two years ago. Mills led that team to a 75-72 OT win against No. 2-seed Ohio State
in the first round, followed by an 81-78 victory over No. 7-seed
Florida in the second. They fell just short of an Elite Eight berth in a
72-70 defeat to No. 3-seed Arkansas.
Five players from that unforgettable team are still on this year’s roster,
including senior leader and ORU’s leading scorer, Max Abmas (22.3 ppg).
He was relied on heavily in 2021, and this season has been no
different. Abmas, who has been known to post on social media about his faith in God, indicated on Instagram that he was placing his trust in God’s timing before his final season in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Abmas, Mills and others in the Golden Eagles program feel free to share
about their faith openly at Oral Roberts, a private evangelical
university founded in 1963 by the famous evangelist of the same name.
“As a globally recognized, Holy-Spirit-empowered university, we
develop whole leaders for the whole world through a unique Whole Person
education,” the school’s website says.
“Students come to ORU not to ‘stay’ in their faith but to GROW in faith
and to become the Spirit-empowered leaders they are called to be.”
In October 2021, Mills was a guest on the Sports Spectrum Podcast
and he discussed his team’s memorable March Madness run, the lessons
he’s learned along the way, and the platform he has to share about his
faith in Christ.
“My job is to empty [my cup] and to make sure that I’m invested and
I’ve poured into those guys and loved those guys, and those guys have no
doubt,” Mills said. “Like, ‘Not only was he organized and passionate,
but he loved us. That dude emptied his cup.’ … It’s my job to empty my
cup. I just want to show up every day, love my guys, invest in my guys
and empty my cup.”
Raised in Aldine, Texas, the son of a preacher, Mills learned from an
early age that coaching combined his love for basketball and his love
for serving others in Christ. It was the perfect fit for him. After 14
years as an assistant to Scott Drew at Baylor, Mills was handed the reigns at Oral Roberts.
“We always knew there was a sovereign God who presented
opportunities, and it was our job (to speak the Gospel),” Mills said on
the podcast. “Matthew
tells us, ‘Let your light shine before men, so that they may praise
your Father who is in Heaven.’ We just wanted to be light, and if ever
we were given the opportunity, we wanted to make sure that glory was
given in the right way and to the right Person.”
With the media attention that comes from an NCAA Tournament bid and a
matchup against the powerhouse Blue Devils, Mills hopes for many more
opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus. The first-round game is
set to tip off at 7:10 p.m. ET on Thursday from the Amway Center in
Orlando, Florida. The winner will face either Tennessee or Louisiana on Saturday.
Stress, anxiety, and worry accomplish and solve nothing. The Bible tells us, “An anxious heart weighs a man down...”
(Proverbs 12:25, NIV). It’s like pushing the gas pedal on a car while
it remains in park. It revs up the engine and makes a lot of noise but
goes nowhere. Ongoing unhealthy stress produces negative effects in our
lives such as:
• Physical issues like headaches, muscle tension and aches,
restlessness, high blood pressure, upset stomach and nausea, tiredness,
fatigue, and sleep disorders. Stress leading to anxiety has been linked
to six of the leading causes of death.
• Physical health problems like heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, and cirrhosis of the liver.
• Emotional issues such as fear, anger, being constantly irritated,
sadness, depression, and a general feeling of being overwhelmed
resulting in panic attacks and sometimes prompting suicide.
Some of us need to take this stress thing in hand. The good news is that Jesus wants to restore our lives. He said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (NIV). God gives us rest from our stress as a gift.
There’s a distinct difference between what Jesus offers us and what
the current modern thinking offers us. In this era much of what is
offered for stress enables us to cope a little better with it. Exercise
for example, will help us cope, and while we should exercise, it doesn’t
offer a cure for the stress. Proper diet will also make life better but
it’s not a cure. It’s like constantly taking medication but never being
cured. Jesus said, “I will give you rest”; in Christ there is a place that we can find peace even when things are not going right. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” John 14:27 (NIV). He can give us a peace that the world cannot manufacture.
When feelings of overwhelm and stress come, regardless of the source,
the first thing we need to do is to remember the faithfulness of God.
We often underestimate the power of doing this. God has been faithful in
unprecedented ways to all of us at one time or the other. There were
situations in our past that were impossible and should have ended our
lives, our futures, or our careers, but God stepped in. We’re so
practiced at allowing our present circumstances to cast shade on the
goodness of God in the past, that we need to deliberately remind
ourselves. We are too practiced at forgetting, too practiced at looking
at the glass as half empty instead of half full, and too practiced at
forgetting the miracles God has done in our lives. Choose to remember
the faithfulness of God.
King David, when under stress said: “Why am I discouraged? Why is
my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again — my
Saviour and my God! … each day the LORD pours His unfailing love upon
me…” Psalm 42:5 and 8a (NLT). David practised recounting God’s
faithfulness. If He did it before, He will do it again. Praise and
thanksgiving are keys to breakthrough. God is enthroned on the praises
of His people. When we start to praise, it invites His presence into our
situation and brings us peace.
Recognise that the God who saved you before will save you again. The
Lord is enthroned in our praises and the answer to the thing causing us
stress is in Him.
Take part in TGC’s Read the Bible initiative, where we’re encouraging Christians and churches to read together through God’s Word in a year.
As a young boy, I watched my grandmother die from cancer. I remember
vividly her hair slowly falling out from chemo, her body emaciated as it
succumbed to the disease, and the nurse comforting me as I crumpled
into a ball outside the door where she took her last breath. I remember
even more vividly her singing “Amazing Grace” and speaking about God’s
faithfulness during the whole ordeal.
It took decades to understand what my grandmother was teaching me
those last few months of her life: humans are humans and God is God.
Our place is to trust him, not to try to be him.
The book of Job teaches us the same lesson. Why does God restore Job?
I won’t bury the answer: God is God and he does what he wants. He wants
to restore Job. This is what the entire book drives at. Job’s
restoration rests completely on God’s sovereignty and nothing Job (or
anyone else) does.
When we reach the book’s final eight verses—after more than 41
chapters of dense poetry—we’re at risk of missing this point. At first
read, we may think the book of Job is about suffering. This theme does
play a significant role in Job’s narrative, but ultimately Job’s
suffering and the long diatribes about what causes suffering, who should
experience it, and how to avoid it are just vehicles to deliver the
book’s larger theological message.
The real issue Job, his friends, and we today must face is that humans cannot control—or even influence—God.
Job Doesn’t Deserve Suffering
We know Job is a sinner (Rom. 3:23),
but the book’s prologue sets readers up to be shocked at what unfolds,
for it introduces Job as “a man of complete integrity, who feared God
and turned away from evil” (1:1, CSB). Verse 3 recounts Job’s enormous
wealth and seems to imply it results from Job’s uprightness—an
interpretation consistent with the blessings for obedience described in
God’s covenant with Israel (Deut. 28:1–14).
The real issue Job, his friends, and we today must face is that humans cannot control—or even influence—God.
Job isn’t privy to God’s assessment of his character or the
conversation between Yahweh and the adversary in chapter 1. But his
primary complaint throughout the book is that he doesn’t deserve to
suffer as he is because he’s committed no sin to provoke such an
exacting punishment. Job’s friends, on the other hand, argue his
suffering is proof he’s being punished for some sin. Readers know Job is
right, but as he, his friends, and we will discover, that isn’t the
point. The point is both Job and his friends are operating with a wrong
view of God.
There’s a faulty presupposition underlying both Job’s insistence
he doesn’t deserve to suffer and his friends’ insistence he obviously
does: that humans can control through our actions whether God blesses or
curses us. It’s true, as Deuteronomy 28 and even New Testament passages like 1 Corinthians 11 make clear, that God does have categories of reward and discipline that are related to a person’s choices. But the parties in the book of Job assumed more than this.
They had a mechanistic view of the relationship between suffering and sin, blessing and obedience. They assumed blessing is always a reward for obedience and suffering is always a punishment for sin. Conversely they assumed that obedience always results in blessing while sin always
results in suffering. Such a view reduces God to a cosmic candy machine
that can be manipulated through the right sort of actions. This
elevates humans and lowers God. That’s why Yahweh rebukes Job’s friends
and why Job must repent.
Job Doesn’t Deserve Restoration
The book of Job ends where it began—recounting Job’s enormous wealth and many children, which are clear markers of blessing (Deut. 28:1–14).
It’s as if the author flashes a smile and offers readers the posttest.
Perhaps the audience can be forgiven for thinking Job deserved the
blessings he received in chapter 1. But will the error persist? Have we
gotten all this way and still don’t understand? Or, having read of Job’s
ordeal and Yahweh’s incredible self-revelation, will we agree with Job
that God is free to do whatever he deems good and right in his infinite
wisdom and justice?
Having read of Job’s ordeal and Yahweh’s incredible
self-revelation, will we agree God is free to do whatever he deems good
and right?
Chapter 42 doesn’t explain God’s restoration of Job. Job certainly
repents for talking out of turn: “I had heard of you by the hearing of
the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent
in dust and ashes” (42:5–6). And yet the book still holds Yahweh
responsible for the evil done to Job: his friends “showed him sympathy
and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him” (42:11, emphasis mine). We know from other Scriptures (e.g., Gen. 3; 1 John 1:5; James 1:13) that Yahweh doesn’t cause evil, but this passage and others (e.g., Amos 3:6)
make it clear God is sovereign over evil and uses it for his purposes.
It’s part of the mystery of God that humans can’t unravel.
Yahweh doesn’t explain his reasons for “all the evil” he brought
upon Job. He offers no rationale for why he “blessed the latter days of
Job more than his beginning” (42:12). He just does it, and to interpret
the book’s ending as dependent upon Job in any way runs against the
grain of the preceding narrative, especially against how Job interprets
his encounter with Yahweh.
When we finish reading Job, we still have questions about
suffering and God’s purposes in the world, but it’s at least clear an
experience of blessing or cursing isn’t an appropriate way to measure a person’s righteousness. God is free to bless or curse as he sees fit.
LINK: https://godtv.com/gods-word-for-you-today-im-not-mad-at-you/
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