LET US GO TO CALVARY

This statement sounds like an invitation from one person to another. Probably from a shepherd to his flock or from a friend to a friend, or from a believer to a believer. It could even be from a believer to unbeliever or from unbeliever to unbeliever. When invitation like this comes to anyone, especially one who is hearing Calvary for the first time. The likely question he/she may ask is where is Calvary?

Calvary is a place of skull- in Aramaic is called Golgotha. (John 19:17-18). It is a place outside the Jewish city where criminals are crucified, it is a place of death. According to a song writer “on the way to Calvary he went for me “that is to say Christ went to Calvary on your behalf and my behalf. Since it is a place of death he went there to die the death we (the whole world) would have died

.This is not just an ordinary death but death on the cross (crucifixion). Let us look at the last lap of the journey to Calvary and what transpired. . At his trial Pilate saw nothing to be used as charge against Jesus he therefore ask the people for permission to release him. Their response was “crucified him” when he ask them for a reason the only answer they could provide is to shout louder “crucified him”. To prove his innocence of their demand he took water and wash his hands and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood” all the people answered “his blood is on us and on our children”- Matt 27:25. When the Governor wanted to grant pardon to a criminal which was customary, the people presented Barabbas as substitute for Jesus. This is why in some quarters it is said that justice was murdered at Jesus’ trial but all were part of the plan of God to redeem man. As Jesus proceeded to Calvary the following were in his entourage Notable among the women were : Jesus mother (Mary) her sister, Mary wife of Clopas and, Mary Magdalene others are :,John the beloved, the Jewish soldiers, two condemned criminals,, chief priest, teachers of the law, and the Jewish elders then Jesus and the cross. These categories of persons represent the totality of human race, the good, and the bad. This could further be classified as sympathizers and the crowd or people (those that rained abuses and spat on him, mock and beat him and eventually crucified him.).Before i continue if i may ask where do you belong?
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CROSS. Cross is made of two chunks of wood –vertical and horizontal-. The cross is similar to a Mathematical positive sign. When a vertical line is drawn across a horizontal line that means the vertical line- canceled out the horizontal line. The horizontal line represents man’s way of life in relationship to her neighbor in day to day activities, while the vertical line represent God’s love and mercy towards man. That is to say the love of God canceled out the sins of man. Put in another form the word evil was re-written as live. In other words evil (wickedness of man) was substituted with live. On the cross man- who was doomed to die now live At Calvary Jesus was crucified with two criminals on his right and left hand side. The love of God prevailed over the sin of man. No wonder Jesus was denied fear hearing. .Barabbas the condemned criminal was set free in place of Christ -the innocent- to fulfill the prophecy as recorded in Isaiah 53:5 “but he was pierce for our transgression, he was crushed for our iniquity, the punishment that brought us piece was on his shoulder and by his wound we are healed. By this act he purchase for mankind forgiveness, purity, deliverance, healing, salvation and peace.
 CALVARY OF TODAY. Since Christ has died for us at Calvary we are not dying again on the cross. The death we will die now is to die to self. What is self? St. Paul explains this in Colossian 3:5-8 “put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lost, evil desires, and greed -which is idolatry. Because of this the wrath of God is coming. You use to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourself of all such things as these, anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips”. hence Christ said to his disciples” if any man would come after me let him deny himself take up his cross and follow me .for whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. , though cross is naturally unattractive and unpalatable to carry, because Christ has made it a means of liberation and source of joy, it becomes a must for every follower of Christ. The saying “no cross no crown” is very true in this respect. There is no cross free Christianity Jesus never promises us one. In Matthew Gospel 10:38 he says” anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Every Christian has a cross to carry. But each person’s own differs from another. Crosses are every day challenges in life. It was St. John Vianney, who said, “Contradictions bring us to the foot of the cross and the cross to the gate in heaven”. Jesus knows that paths without obstacles don’t lead to any where important. the harder the conflict the more glorious triumphs “.You may be passing through difficult times now in your life, career, academic, family or marriage., the list is endless, you may have done all in your power to remedy the situation but to no avail. Don’t be discouraged Jesus as our model fell trice with his cross on the way to Calvary and did not quit the journey. Know that God sometimes allows crosses to come but the truth is that on the cross lies your crown.
 To conclude, according to the sermon by St. Peter Chrysologus (bishop) there are three things that will sustain one’s faith,in the journey of life, prayer, fasting, and mercy or alms giving. One cannot go without the other two. Prayer knocks, fasting obtains and mercy receives. Prayer clears the ground, fasting tills and plough while mercy waters. Fasting is the soul of prayer while mercy is the life blood of fasting. If you want to receive you must give, if you want to be shown mercy, you must show others mercy if you want to be loved you must love others, if you want God to feed you feed others

CHILDREN,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, PRECIOUS GIFTH TO THE FAMILY

Family is made up of man-father-, woman-wife-, and children in alignment with the divine arrangement -God the father, Son and Holy Spirit .It is a place to share love- because God originator of families is love -, Family is a place to live in peace with one another. Every happy home is a blend of love, peace, validation of one another and protection of each member’s interest. It is the nature of persons to makes it a safe and desirable place to live in.
 Marriage is a prerequisite to family life, so we cannot discuss Family without making reference to marriage.   God instituted marriage as seen in John Gospel Chapter 2. In Gen.1:28 God bless man saying“be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish on the sea, the bird of the air, and over every living creature that move upon the earth” that means children and all other earthly things are gift from God. From here you will deduce that God gave man the gift of sexuality and fertility. Children are the fruits of these gifts.
 Let us look at the benefits of the gift of children to the family.
 Children are source of joy. This can be seen in the life of Joseph. ”Joseph named his first born Manasseh and said ‘it is because God has made me forget all my trouble and my father’s household “the second son he named Ephraim and said ‘it is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering’ (Gen.41:51-52) This joy is not so much appreciated by families that do not experience any delay in child bearing compared to those that it takes years  to have their first issue. In (1samuel.1:1-12) we saw Hannah a woman who was made to sorrow because of her childlessness. She did not allow the sorrow to take her away from God but rather it made her to be desperate. But her desperation brought dedication and commitment to God rather than to something else.
 Children are gift but with responsibility. Every recipient of this gift must manage it according to the plan and purpose of the giver.-God. This is where use/abuse comes to play. Children are blessing.-Psalm 127:3. God has use them to bless families, they should be made to be a blessing to the family and to others. They are source of comfort and are to be made instruments of comfort. For this to be possible energy must be extended. Work must be done on them. They have to be brought up according to God’s standard in order to escape the wrath of God.
  Children are products of sexuality Sexuality as a gift should not be a license for procreation and enjoyment only, thereby down playing on self-control which eventually leads to unintended pregnancies,in the soceity it is labeled “unwanted”. As the name implies, Families make effort to do away with these type of pregnancies, by ,the use of contraceptives and other ungodly birth control methods.. The consequences of this is increase in abortion, abandoned baby syndrome, baby factories, Choosing the gender before birth is also becoming an issue. If the baby is not a male child it is aborted. This was adopted in an Asian country in the past but today the young men have no women to marry.
 For children to be blessings and source of comfort to the family, there must be good parenting. This will be well understood considering the following headings: ENVIRONMENT, RELIGION, EDUCATION,.DISCIPLINE.
 ENABLING ENVIRONMENT. An enabling home environment is one where the child has all he/she needs to thrive, this include physical needs such as food, clothing, shelter and protection. It is a warm, loving, sensory rich environment where the child’s physical, emotional and spiritual needs are provided for by the family and community.
  RELIGION. The family that prays together stays together. Family prayer releases divine power that makes family members stick to one another, love and care for each other. Homes where parents do not have favorites make the children feel loved equally and united. Joseph in the book of Genesis was the subject of envy by his siblings because his father loved him specially and gave him a coat of many colors. The word of God should be shared daily in the home. It brings the presence of God to the home and the joy that accompanies God’s presence becomes the portion of every member of the family. The Bible also provides moral instructions which keep the children and the entire family on the path of righteousness.
 FORMAL/INFORMAL EDUCATION. The children should be helped to acquire academic skills and develop good interpersonal skills. This is achieved by talking respectfully to them, being empathetic with them and learning to see things from their own perspective. The family is where you learn to respect other people’s views, spending good quality time together. This has a way of revealing the nature of each member of the family as each person talks about his/her likes and dislikes challenges and fears in life. It is also an important place for parents to teach valuable life lessons to their children by making them know the need to be cautious in the use of language, appreciative in little things, remorseful, truthfulness forgiveness and other values that will make them succeed in life (.proverbs 22 :6,).
 DISCIPLINE . Children should be disciplined when the need arises. But this should be done with love The best way to discipline a child is to live exemplary lives as parents.” Do not withhold discipline from a child, if you punish them with the rod they will not die” “punish them with the rod and save them from death” (proverbs 23:13-14) “Endure hardship as discipline. God is treating you as his children for what children are not disciplined by their father? if you are not disciplined-and everyone undergoes discipline- then you are not legitimate- not true sons and daughters at all.( Hebrew: 12:7-8).
 In the world we live today, there is no ideal family. The only ideal family that ever lived on earth is that of Jesus ,Mary and Joseph., we need to work hard to make our families if not exactly like theirs but close to theirs. The family is a domestic church. When families are built to standard, then we will have a church and when the church is near perfection then we will have a better society. GOOD CHILDREN ARE MADE

BENEFITS OF ONIONS AS A GIFT OF NATURE 44452664

Onion as vegetables has so many uses that are of great importance to human health.

The juice of onion is use to cure blurred vision and ear pain. When it is eaten raw, it helps to keep the heart healthy. It reduces inflammation of joints and pains .It has the ability to liquefy mucus and reduce its formation, thereby making respiration to function normally. It also prevents cold and flu. It helps to increase sperm count and sperm mortality daily .It protect the body from Atherosclerosis Ostereoporosis. It is used for the treatment of anemia, because it contains high amount of iron. It helps control sugar level in the body which treats diabetes. It also increases insulin. Tooth disorder could be relieved by intake of onions A substance present in onions called chondrocytes help in proper bone formation and corrective tissue. Onion is very rich in sulfur which promotes hair growth. Studies had shown that applying onion juice on scalp twice a week for two months will stimulate hair growth. A substance called Quercetin present in onion has an anti-oxidants and anti-allergy properties. Onions contain Chromium, which assist in regulating blood pressure. When eaten raw, it lowers blood pressure. Eating raw onions regularly can significantly lower cholesterol and help prevent heart attacks or heart problem.

WHAT YOU SAY IS NOT WHAT GOD SAYS

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NATURE AND ITS BENEFICIAL CONTENT

After God has created the world he behold it saw everything and confirm that it was good. The tree was the center focus of creation. it was to serve as source of food and balm for healing No wonder in the Holy Bible ( Ezekiel 11:12) God said “their fruits will serve for food and their leaves for healing “that is to say God has originally made provision for our up-keep. but today we have abandoned the gift of nature and followed our own ways in determining what to eat.. After God has created Adam and Eve, he put them in a garden to feed from the trees. and their fruits. There is no record anywhere that they were hungry or sick. but today with the advent of science and technology man has shifted from fruits and vegetables to junk food –food that are at the mercy of preservatives-.. Why not reverse to the original food, to reduce or totally eliminate multifarious sicknesses ravaging the world..Let us use Daniel and his friends in exile at Babylon as case study. When they were chosen by the king of Babylon to serve as his officials. These were the words of Daniel,. ‘Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael. and Azariah “please test your servant for ten days give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food”( Daniel 1:11-13)at the end of ten days they look healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. (Daniel 1:15). For those who want to be healthy and well nourished, this is a food for thought. Let me begin this series by showcasing the benefits of banana

THOSE THAT KNOW THEIR GOD SHALL DO GREAT EXPLOITS

PSALM 34:9-10 Exploit means daring ,great achievement. In other words we will do something great or have great achievement if we know our GOD. Exploit is not limited to material possession, it could be spiritual (Acts 2:41) Peter preached the Gospel and about 3,000 souls were saved, 2Kings 13 :15-24 Elisha bones brought to life a dead person, also in Acts 19:12’God did extraordinary miracles through Paul so that even handkerchief and aprons that has touched him were taken to the sick and their sickness were cured and the evil spirit left them.. in Acts 5:15 peter’s shadow healed the sick. In John 10:14 Jesus said ‘I am the Good shepherd I know my sheep and my sheep knows me’ and in John 10:27 ‘my sheep listen to my voice I know them and they follow me. Psalm 23:1 says, ‘the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. In psalm 34:10 ‘fear the lord you saints for those who fear him .lack nothing. The lion may grow weak and hungry but those who seek the lord lack no good thing. The question now is do you know this God? What does it take to know this God Matt 7:21 says, ’not everyone who say to me lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my father in heaven. Titus 1:16 ,they claim to know God but there action deny him. They are detestable disobedient unfit for doing anything good. Isaiah 29:13 says, the lord says These people come near to me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up of rule thought by men. From the facts above can we be justified to say we know God and will do exploit. Can one be a child of the God of abundance and live in lack. This is a food for thought. WHAT CAN DEBAR YOU FROM DOING EXPLOIT • SIN. Jesus said if you love me keep my commandment. Rev 2:4 ‘yet I hold this against you, you have fallen from your first love .I John3:8 says “the one who does what is sinful is of the devil because the devil has been sinning from the beginning” After all God wish for us is to prosper and be in good health even as our soul prospers.(3John 2) • SELFISHNESS. Whatever we have is given to us by God in trust for us to to help others. And we shall give account of it to God the giver.Matt.25:35-36 Jesus says “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat ,I was thirsty you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger you invited me in, I needed clothes you clothed me, I was ill you took care of me, I was in prison you came to visit me. The king will reply Truly I tell you “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine you did for me.” Matt.25 :40 • Haven known this there is need to return back to our God and he will return back to us. We have to rededicate our lives back to God sanctified with blood of the lamb. We can do this in the following ways. • BEING IN CONSTANT COMMUNION WITH GOD 1Thessalonians 5:17, says ‘pray continually’. We should ask God for his blessing Matt 7:7 says ‘ask and you shall receive’. • HAVE FAITH IN GOD The road to Christianity. is very rugged. Unless you doggedly fight on you might not get to the required destination .Matt 21:21-22 “Jesus replied ‘I tell you the truth if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what is done to this fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain ‘go throw yourself into the sea and it will be done..Let me briefly buttress this with the story of George Muller a motivational speaker and a man of God. His philosophy is ‘I will tell God and God will tell somebody’ He had an orphanage home, one faithful day the food in the home got finished and the matron reported this to him after using what is left for the children’s breakfast. At noon when it was time for lunch she came back to George Muller to ask what to give the children. In reply he said ring the bell and set the plates for food. After they have gathered George Muller prayed over the empty plates at the point of concluding a vehicle grounded to a hurt by the door of the dinning. Behold it was a benefactor who came with both cooked and uncooked food that have arrived. The cooked food was served in the plates already set. • WORK AS YOU PRAY AND EXERCISE FAITH 2Thesalonias 3:10 ‘ the one who is unwilling to work should not eat.’ It is the works of our hands that the lord blesses It is a good thing to do exploit the greatest exploit is to be saved. Whatever wealth ,material possession we acquired, all will be left here on earth ,our good deed alone will take us to heaven.

BREAKING LOOSE FROM YOUR COMFORT ZONE

Amos 6:1 "Woe to you who are complacent in Zion and to you who feel secure on mount Samaria you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come". What is comfort? A pleasant feeling of being relaxed and free from pain. What is zone? An area especially one which is different from others around it, because of its peculiar characteristics and purpose of it use. Comfort zone in this context is a situation in which you feel satisfied and in which your ability or determination are not being tested. You are operating below capacity. WHY DO PEOPLE REMAIN IN COMFORT ZONE. FEAR. Fear of the unknown. The saying, "the devil you know is better than the angel you do not know" is very popular among us. It is a complacency induced statement. That is to say the same thing is done over and over again with no variation, no innovation, there i s unwillingness to take risk. Forgetting that life itself is a risk, and the greater the risk the greater the returns or reward. Take for example, any business organization that fails to diversify is planning to fold up in the near future in an unpredictable business environment. Even in spiritual life we need to change the pattern of our prayers to suit our needs or condition. HABIT. Habit they say die hard. Sow a thought you will reap an action. Sow an action you will reap a habit. Because the thought you have sown is recorded in your sub consciousness you find it difficult to change your action. The same thing is done over and over again. There are good habits there are bad ones. The habit of being punctual in all occasions, being generous to all and sundry to mention but a few are recommendable. LAZINESS. Proverbs 22:13 the sluggard says," there is a lion outside i will be killed in the public square". And so his is indoors all day through. A lazy man will always have excuses why he must not do this or that, especially doing new things or taking innovation. LACK OF VISION Hosea 4:6 says, ‘my people perish for lack of wisdom/knowledge’. The fundamental factor of life is to know one’s purpose. We should always ask ourselves this question why are we here on planet earth. If you find yourself in a place be it office , church or school, ask yourself why am i here. If you don't know your purpose fulfilling the purpose will be difficult or unfulfilled. If you do not know where you are going there is every likely hood that you may not get to your destination. you must have a basic definite plane to fulfill your definite purpose other wise you might go for what somebody else suggested. EXTERNAL FACTORS/ENVIRONMENTAL. At times one may be limited by certain factors beyond his control. It could be social, legal, economic, fiscal or spiritual. Physical environment and situation in one’s surrounding might be a militating factor. DANGER OF LIVING IN A COMFORT ZONE 1. Comfort zone is an enemy of one’s future. As you lay your bed today so shall you lie on it tomorrow whatsoever you sow today will determine want you reap tomorrow. The future is for those who prepare for it today. The preparation you make today determines whether the future will be pleasant or not. 2. It hinders success, because no room is made for growth or expansion .Rather one relies on his past glory, referencing past achievements ,giving past testimonies with non for the present or future 3. It is a stumbling block to destiny, be it human or organization .Rev. 3:15-16 says,”I know your deeds that you are neither cold or nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other. So, because you lukewarm-neither hot nor cold- I am going to spit you out of my mouth”. HOW TO BREAK LOOSE FROM A COMFORT ZONE 1. BE POSITIVE. Have i can do it spirit. Have a vision of where you want to be, set up a goal, pursue your goals with zeal and determination. Love yourself; admire yourself be unique have a role model. 2. BE CREATIVE. Look at what has be done see if there is any area you can add value to what is already on ground. Identify a human problem and find solution to that problem. Be a problem solver. There are needs out there yearning for satisfaction. 3. SELF ANALYSIS Do self analysis. Find out your strength and your weaknesses. Improve in your area of weaknesses Sustain your strength. 4. DEPEND ON THE INDEPENDABLE GOD. Zachariah 4:6 “so he said to me, ’this is the word of the lord to zerubbabel “not by might nor by power but by my spirit” says the Lord Almighty if you rely on self you will fail, if you rely on man you will fail. Reliance on God alone guarantied success. PRAY YOUR WAY THROUGH Proverbs 16:3 commit to the Lord whatever you do and he will establish your plans. FAST WHERE POSSIBLE. When the need arises and prayer alone could not solve the problem, then fast. Mark 9:28-29,’after Jesus had gone indoors his disciples ask him privately ‘why couldn’t we drive it out he replied, this kind can come out by prayer. BE GENEROUS Build for God, pay your tithes. Any one that build for God never regret that he did.. Examples of such people are King Solomon, Nehemiah. Put smiles on the faces of people, help orphans, widows, and the needy. By so doing you are laying your treasure in heaven. Matt 6:19&20 CREATE TIME FOR YOURSELF. All work and no play make job man a dull boy. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, there is a time for everything and a season for every activities under the heavens.” Once in a while create time to relax with your family. It is when we have succeeded in breaking out of the comfort zone that we can move into the safety zone. That is the Zone NOAH and his family moved into. While others died in their comfort zones .Noah and his family were saved. It is my prayer and the wish of God that none of his children will die in their comfort zone.