Thursday, 23 February 2023

MAN OF GOD

February 22, 2023

Following God has brought me this far-Nelson Iheagwam

The Lead of Nelson Iheagwam Ministries, Nelson Iheagwam has averred that following God passionately has brought him thus far. Iheagwam who also doubles as a pastor and gospel artiste said:”I have always known I was called. I always knew ministry is what God will have me do with my life. it’s just an inner knowing; the Holy Ghost bearing witness to what’s true about you from eternity. But a turning point was in December 2020, I woke up to pray and while praying I heard the Lord say “men saved, men trained, men sent” loudly in my spirit and that’s what birthed and drives Nelson Iheagwam Ministries and other expressions to come.I will say what has brought me this far is following God. Listening to God when He says go.In the midst of fear, uncertainties, confusion and what not; the voice of God has been a sure compass and anchor. It has steadied me, led me and helped me”.

The visionary leader also urge youths to stay away from scams and illicit activities.

“As someone who leads young people, I would advise as I usually would; Youth isn’t a time for foolishness, it isn’t a time to indulge all your passions, it’s a time to follow hard after God and make investments into your tomorrow. Any young person involved in scheming and scamming isn’t really setting the best foundations for their tomorrow.Youth is a time to set foundations and that’s what I help those who follow me to do”.

Shedding light on why his ministry’s forthcoming programme, ‘Supernatural Class’ is critical, he said:”

“At Supernatural Class we don’t just see men get things from Jesus. We see men receive the heart and the burden of the father. If men burn brighter for Jesus or have more of Jesus seen, we will have a better society. So at Supernatural Class, we don’t just see men get miracles, we see men become miracles and I mean lives radically changed for the better to look more like Jesus, So do we need more events like this? A loud yes”.

LINK: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/02/following-god-has-brought-me-this-far-nelson-iheagwam/

VANGUARD NEWS

Wednesday, 22 February 2023

PUTIN ATTACKS WESTERN MORALITY

Gender-neutral God, same-sex marriages: Putin turns moral police for West

In his state of the nation address before the Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West for not just the Ukraine war but also for destroying Catholic and family values

India Today Web Desk

New Delhi,UPDATED: Feb 21, 2023 17:21 IST

Vladimir Putin addressed the Federal Assembly on Tuesday. (Photo: Screengrab/RT)

By India Today Web Desk: A day after US President Joe Biden's surprise visit to Ukraine, Russian premier Vladimir Putin launched a frontal attack on the West, accusing it of not only "unleashing the war" but also for the degradation of Catholic and family values.

In his state of the nation address before the Federal Assembly on Tuesday, Putin said, "The Church of England is considering a version of a 'gender-neutral' God. They don’t know what they’re doing."

Recently, the Church of England said that it was considering how to refer to God without assigning a gender. However, there are no plans to abolish current services yet.

Putin also spoke about the approval of same-sex marriages in the West. "The family union is between a man and a woman," Putin said.

"They're destroying the institution of family. Their cultural-historical identity, and various perversions with regards to children. Priests are forced to recognize and officiate same-sex weddings. The family is a union between woman and man," Putin said.

LINK: https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/putin-russia-west-same-sex-marriage-gender-neutral-god-2337657-2023-02-21

ADDITIONAL MEASURES AGAINST CRIME

20 Feb

Panyaza Lesufi's plan to save Gauteng citizens from 'criminals that play God with our lives'

Zintle Mahlati

Panyaza Lesufi.

Gallo Images/Papi Morake

Panyaza Lesufi gave his first State of the Province Address.
Lesufi said criminals were acting as "God" by holding residents of Gauteng hostage.
He explained how his administration would fight against crime.

Talking tough on crime, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi wants guns registered for use in the province to be monitored via tracking devices.

Lesufi unveiled plans for vehicle licence registrations to be fitted with high-tech security features, making it hard for criminals to duplicate.

On Monday, he revealed a list of priorities, which he said needed to be tackled to save the citizens of Gauteng from "criminals that play God with our lives'".

Lesufi was giving his first State of the Province Address.

He was sworn in as premier in 2022 following the resignation of his predecessor, David Makhura.

He has about a year left in his short term before the 2024 national elections, which are predicted to be tough for the ANC.

Lesufi has long decried the state of crime in Gauteng and how residents are being held hostage by criminals.

His speech on Monday spoke to this concern, with the bulk of its introduction littered with promises to Gauteng's citizens that safety would return.

READ | Gauteng premier moots tighter gun control after AKA, Motsoane murders

Lesufi said that, to tackle crime, his administration would be spending over R700 million in the next few months on several projects.

He said about 400 new cars would be handed to the province's law enforcement agencies, while 180 drones would be added to fight crime in areas unreachable by the police.

To loud applause from the ANC caucus at Johannesburg City Hall, Lesufi said another plan was to issue "electronic panic buttons" to citizens, which they could use to alert SAPS when a crime occurred.

The ANC Gauteng provincial leader said the devices would be linked to police control centres in each community.

Lesufi also made other bold promises in his speech.

READ | Lesufi’s ambitious plan to tackle crime

He said to tackle crime further, the provincial government would change legislation to allow additional features to be added to registered licence plates.

This feature would make it harder for criminals to duplicate licence plates.

Lesufi said guns registered in Gauteng would be fitted with tracking devices.

He said every gun used illegally was once legal, and no weapon in Gauteng should roam the streets untracked.

"Our province is home to heartless criminals who do as they wish. Our situation is out of control," Lesufi said.

NATION IN PRAYER

Our country is in bad state, only God can help us - Raila

He called out Ruto, his DP for pretending to be praying for the country every Sunday.

In Summary

He thanked the clergy who had come to pray with them
Raila spoke during the Azimio prayer rally at the Jeevanjee Gardens in Nairobi, on Wednesday.

Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga now says that the country under President William Ruto’s leadership is in a bad state.

According to Raila, only God can help Kenyans.

“Today is our prayer day. We agreed as Azimio that we set aside a day to meet Kenyans for prayers and to talk to God. Our country is in a bad state and that is why we are saying only God can help us,” he said.

“I want, on behalf of my fellow leaders here, to thank the clergy who have come to pray for us.”

The former Prime Minister called out President William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua for pretending to be holding prayer rallies, yet they continue to do 'bad things'.

"Every Sunday they go to church pretending to be praying but they do a lot of evil after that," he said.

Raila spoke during the Azimio prayer rally at the Jeevanjee Gardens in Nairobi, on Wednesday.

LINK: https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2023-02-22-our-country-is-in-bad-state-only-god-can-help-us-raila/

Monday, 20 February 2023

CALLING ON GOD

Naira, Fuel Scarcity: Remain Calm, Keep Faith in God, Cleric Appeals to Nigerians

Nigeria | 8 hours ago

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

The National Amir and Spiritual Leader of Daaru-r-Rahmat (DARMAT) Islamic Society of Nigeria, Imaam Muali Musbahudeen Olawale, has appealed to Nigerians to continue to remain calm and keep faith in God view of the current situation in the country.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, at the weekend, following protests that greeted some parts of the country over shortage of new naira notes and fuel scarcity, Olawale said, “though the situation was worrisome and sympathetic, but this is our country and we should avoid anything that may lead to the breaking of law and order.”

He said: “It is disheartening to note that the current situation came at the time the country is still facing economic challenges and this present situation has compounded the sufferings of the masses.
“The ugly development has caused a lot of havoc in the life of the wellbeing of the people to the extent that, meeting ends meet at this period is really unbearable.

“Many household and families have been put into serious sufferings despite the fact that they could not pay the children schools fees talk less of meeting the families’ obligations.”
Olawale added, “The current situation in our dear country has created lots of confusion, hitch, havoc, destruction of life and properties with unrest here and there.

“No doubt, everyone is under pressure and frustration just because everything is muddled. As a patriot and responsible citizen, let us keep our faith firm and always be patient while addressing an issue in the society.
“Avoid been provoked by any one because this could lead to high blood pressure and sudden attacks.
“We should love one another and praying for our leaders to get it right.”

He noted that, “The instruments of our encyclopedia (Qur’an) takes good care of everything in all our affairs as best mankind on the earth that says and very soon will your Lord give you so that you shall be well pleased (Q93:5).

“Let us believe that Allah (SWT) will surely avert all our challenges as a nation very soon.
“I’m very sure we all aware of earthquake in Turkey that claimed life of thousands people and other problem in Syria.”
Olawale, therefore prayed that, “May Allah (SWT) deliver all of us from these unbearable challenges.”

LINK: https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2023/02/20/naira-fuel-scarcity-remain-calm-keep-faith-in-god-cleric-appeals-to-nigerians/\

THIS DAY

All Woman 4 GOD

God is with us

Shelly-Ann MAIR-HARRIS

Feb 20, 2023 12:16 am

Mair-Harris and her circle.

IN December I shared how God sent an angel to pay my $15,000 bill at the gas station when my card declined due to connectivity issues. God continues to remind me that it's not that trouble won't happen, but rather that He will be with us as we go through.

Recently I was heading out to church on the north-south leg of Highway 2000, on a clear and sunny Sunday morning with my precious daughters, when my front left tyre exploded, ripping to shreds, or as some would say, it blew out.

The car lost control and swerved, exacerbated by the angle of the descent along with the speed at which we were driving. But interestingly, a second or two after I also felt like I was given control. I felt an unusual ability to navigate, miraculously avoid the concrete median, apply the brake without flipping over, slowly and calmly 'rimming it' towards the soft shoulder. The whole experience may have lasted 10 to 20 seconds but in a way, it felt like we were in slow motion.

A few seconds in, I felt prompted to speak or pronounce words of calm to my daughters in the back. "We are okay. We are slowing down. We will not collide. We will take our time to pull over." That was the grace of God overshadowing me in the face of an unexpected crisis.

We did experience the words I spoke â€” we slowed down and pulled over and we were okay. Safe on the soft shoulder we jumped out to look at the tyre. It was nothing short of God's grace that guided us during that frightening experience. It has become yet another metaphor for how challenges can confront or beset you from out of nowhere, yet God's providence and grace are sufficient.

I am grateful that in that moment when the tyre crumbled, no cars were close behind us or approaching. I'm also grateful that we had a safe soft shoulder at the section of the highway where the incident happened. If there was no soft shoulder, where would I have been able to steer the car to?

I also extremely thankful for my beloved big brother who, as always, quickly came to my rescue with wisdom, know-how, and a smile. I'm thankful for my Christian brothers who, upon hearing, left church to take the long trek on the toll and were the first on the scene to comfort and start the process to change the tyre. I'm also thankful for my pastor and church family who took a moment to pray for us when they heard.

God is indeed with us. I'm reminded that He is with us by His spirit that gives us unusual peace and abilities in times of crisis. He is also with us through the presence of beautiful people, who are his hands, feet and broad shoulder in times like these.

As we navigate life this year let us remember to count our blessings and place our trust in our Immanuel God. And let us be the people carrying His love, His help, and His presence to others in times of trouble.

Passionate about faith and women's empowerment, Shelly-Ann Mair-Harris is the author of several publications including God's Woman and The Goodies on Her Tray. A woman of faith for several years, she is the creator of Family and Faith Magazine and Women & Faith. She is also a podcaster, an award-winning playwright and poet, as well as a trained and experienced media, marketing, employee engagement, change management and strategic communications professional. Send comments to womenandfaithcommunity@gmail.com.

The busted tyre.

LINK: https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/all-woman/god-is-with-us/

Friday, 17 February 2023

GOD IS EVERYWHERE

What a ministry for people with disabilities taught me about the problem of evil—and God’s response to it

Sam Sawyer, S.J. February 16, 2023

Image via Mustard Seed.

“He is here” and “Thank you, Lord.” It is the second day of our visit, and we have seen these words at least 10 times already on the walls of chapels and near the entrances of other apostolates we have toured.

These phrases are painted on either side of the gate of a place named Jacob’s Ladder, about an hour outside of Kingston, Jamaica, run by a ministry called Mustard Seed Communities. The organization was founded in 1978, the same year I was born. I had encountered it briefly more than 20 years ago, during a service immersion trip to Kingston during my undergraduate years, but I am back now because of a colleague. Traug Keller, who became president of America Media at the same time as I started as editor in chief, has been involved with Mustard Seed and served on its board for years, and he invited a group of us to go to Jamaica and see its work. We made the trip at the end of January.

Mustard Seed Communities began as a response to the needs of abandoned and disabled children in Jamaica. As those children have grown, so has Mustard Seed, to continue to care for their needs and offer them a dignified place to live. It has expanded as well, to serve other needs in Jamaica and in places as far away as Zimbabwe.

Not just in slogans, but in the evident joy of a deep friendship: “He is here” and “Thank you, Lord.”

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Jacob’s Ladder, which we visited on our second day in Jamaica, is built on land that used to be a bauxite mine, carpeted in the brilliant green that covers the mountains that we drove through to get there. It is not a building but a village, or actually a set of small villages: not only homes, but a community for the people who are at the heart of Mustard Seed Communities. More than one hundred people living with disabilities make their homes there, sharing the space with the staff of caregivers, cooks and farm workers who keep the place running. In addition to the small residential villages, each with seven or eight homes circling a small green, there are fields and greenhouses, providing food for Jacob’s Ladder and other Mustard Seed sites as well.

One of the women we met there came to Jacob’s Ladder when a state-run home shut down, and she has been there almost since its start 15 years ago. She shares her home with friends with whom she has been together for more than a decade. Her disability leaves her unable to walk easily, but she gestures at one of her friends, who is blind and mostly does not speak, and says, “She’s my legs. I’m her eyes.”

Not just in slogans, but in the evident joy of a deep friendship: “He is here” and “Thank you, Lord.”

Rather than delivering an answer to us, God instead invites us into the one that is being given and will not be fully complete until all things are made new.

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There were more challenging sights during our visit, as well. Children at the central Mustard Seed apostolate, called My Father’s House, who lived with feeding tubes, whose limbs were twisted with cerebral palsy or heads enlarged by hydrocephalus—loved profoundly and cared for well, but whose needs will always require more intensive assistance. But there were also other joys, such as seeing a toddler who had recently learned to walk, albeit with a posture different from the norm, determined to lead her caregivers on a chase.

Any priest, and most likely anyone who has been willing to share their faith with others, has been asked about the problem of evil. Why does an all-good and all-powerful God allow suffering? How can the pain of a child be compatible with a God who loves us?

I have learned, over 18 years as a Jesuit and eight as a priest, to stop trying to answer that question with any kind of an explanation. Because it is not a question looking for a reason; the point is exactly that no reason could possibly be a justifiable answer.

But what I sometimes suggest instead—with fear and trembling, when I can say it without sounding too sure about it and it seems that hearts are vulnerable and brave enough to hear it—is that Christianity itself is God’s response to that question, not first as a doctrine but as an offering. That the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and the community of the church that is his body are what God is doing in response to evil and suffering in the world. Rather than delivering an answer to us, God instead invites us into the one that is being given and will not be fully complete until all things are made new.

“He is here” does not just mean that Christ can be found in the face of any human being and especially in those most in need, though that claim is both true and beautiful. “He is here” also means that God has chosen solidarity with humanity, both with human suffering and with human love. And that solidarity, God’s with us and ours with each other, is the shape of salvation itself.

For that, thank you, Lord.

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