Ayomipo®

For a lot of people, the celebration of Easter is little more than a time to take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and the business of living, spend some time with family and friends and generally recover enough strength to go on till the next holiday. While I believe that there is a valid place for the above said things, I think that Easter should be more than just another public holiday, but time to reflect on the essentials of the Christian gospel that Easter commemorates. Significant to the message of Christianity is that Jesus was tried by the Jewish religious leaders in a kangaroo court, condemned and handed over to the Romans to be crucified. Consequently, down through the years, the question of who put Jesus to death and the particular person who ought to take responsibility for the crime of Deicide has been debated to no end. Now, the Word of God does not leave us in doubt as to the role Israel's religious leaders played in the death of our Lord; C...

Acts 17:22-23 So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. Introduction The Apostle Paul in his second missionary journey found himself in Athens after the uproar following his ministry in Berea led the believers there to send him away from the spot of trouble. Finding himself in Athens — a city notable in the first century for its art and magnificent architectural masterpieces, his strong monotheistic mind and knowledge of God's saving grace was deeply troubled by the overt idolatry prevalent in Athens. In his attempt to do something about the matter, he begun to minister the gospel both in the religious and civil spaces; his ministry to Athenians particularly the Epicurean and St...

Some couple of days ago, my siblings and I were discussing the circumstances of my father's death; while trying to understand his death against the backdrop of the word of faith tradition we grew up in and the many healing ministers that ministered to him and assured my mom that the sickness was not unto death. So strong was the faith that after his death, autopsy and embalmment, some of my siblings and my dad's ministerial associates expected him to rise from the dead on the morning of the burial. As a doctor who has seen quite a number of patients with terminal illnesses and a Christian also who believes God heals sicknesses, it wasn't difficult for me to retain a level of professional skepticism while at the same time trusting God to do that which in His sovereign purpose will redound to His glory. So we tend to ask these questions: did God lie? Has he retired from the Healing Business? Was it his will for my dad to die when he died? Etc. We may never be able to re...

Introduction . A prominent Atheist, or should I say, an ‘anti-christian’ i know posted a photo that had this portion of  scripture on his wall on facebook. Deuteronomy 23:13-14 “And when you relieve yourself ,dig a hole and cover your excrement so that God will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you. Then, he captioned it with this comment: "unholy Shit (Feaces). Many bible readers have never considered this part and many Christian don’t practice this even in their villages. Don’t let your God see your shit or he will turn away from you, imagine a holy God your shit can turn away, ha ha ha. Plus, how can one hide something from a god that is supposed to be everywhere and knows everything? Silly bible writers!" His comment got Christians responding, and to my amazement, instead of bringing light to the him, so he might understand (even if he doesn’t want to agree, at least it will get him to shut up) they chose to give some stereotypic replies lik...

The book of Jonah is the fifth in the collection called the Minor Prophets; it records the Prophet's interaction with God after the instruction to go to Nineveh, the repentance of the Ninevites and the Prophet's displeasure at God's forgiveness. Rather than a fully developed prophecy, it is an account of the experience of a prophet— more events than sermon. With only four chapters, the book divides into four major parts: first, God's Commission and the Prophet's Disobedience ( Jon1:1-17 ); second, the Prophet's Repentance and God's Deliverance ( Jon2:1-10 ); third, God's Commission and the Prophet's Obedience ( Jn3:1-10 ) and the fourth part is the Prophet's Annoyance and God's Correction ( Jon4:1-11 ). From studying the first chapter, we learn some vital truths about God and our interaction with him; we learn about his love for all people irrespective of their nationality, ethnicity or religious practices. We also learn of his sovere...

Introduction . The book of Jonah is the fifth in the collection called the Minor Prophets; it records the Prophet's interaction with God after the instruction to go to Nineveh, the repentance of the Ninevites and the Prophet's displeasure at God's forgiveness. Rather than a fully developed prophecy, it is an account of the experience of a prophet— more events than sermon. It is a message different from other books of the Old Testament in its portrayal of God as interested in other nations apart from Israel; it also discusses the themes of God's purpose and human will; judgement and forgiveness all in the context of the super abounding grace of God. With only four chapters, the book divides into four major parts: first, God's Commission and the Prophet's Disobedience ( Jon1:1-17 ); second, the Prophet's Repentance and God's Deliverance ( Jon2:1-10 ); third, God's Commission and the Prophet's Obedience ( Jn3:1-10 ) and the fourth part is th...

Background Some couple of days ago, I was reminded of Jonathan Tropper's dramatic comedy — This is Where I Leave You and how the protagonist, Judd Foxman was devastated when on his wife's thirty third birthday he hoping to bring her a surprise birthday cake found her sleeping with his boss on their matrimonial bed. Talk about devastating. That kind of story grabs your attention and forces you to really ask yourself, how much can one forgive? In the words of Charles R Swindoll, "Live long enough, and you will understand the difficulty of offering forgiveness when you have been wronged. It does not come easy, yet as believers, we have to recognize that our ability and willingness to offer it are the result of Christ’s saving work on the cross." Forgiveness — the God-kind of forgiveness is expected from the believer and this is the core message of Paul's epistle to Philemon. In this epistle, Paul asks Philemon, a wealthy Christian to forgive and receive bac...