A PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (CAN), ONDO STATE CHAPTER BY THE CHAIRMAN, REVD JOHN AYO OLADAPO ON THURSDAY, 2ND JUNE 2016.

INTRODUCTION
The CAN Executive members here present, All Heads of Blocs in CAN, My beloved Bishops, Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Gentlemen of the press, ladies and gentlemen.
We are here today to address some salient issues as they affect our Nation.
THE STATE OF THE NIGERIA NATION
In the build up to the 2015 elections, majority of Nigerians expressed great hope that there would be POSITIVE CHANGE in the nation. However, one year down the way, after the new government was sworn into office, credible apprehension is now being experienced given the policy direction of the new administration. We hope that the build-up to these policies do not result in full blown Sharia which President Muhammadu Buhari is alleged to have promised Muslims in Nigeria.

A number of worrisome issues readily come to mind:
Inclusion of Nigeria in the Saudi Arabia Military Coalition of "Muslim/Arab" nations would appear that the Foreign Policy thrust of the present administration is to make Nigeria a satellite state of Saudi Arabia. The strengthening of the nation's democracy and security for all should remain the greatest priority of Government. This we see to have been negated by the President's fiat/unilateral decision to enlist Nigeria in the 34 nations Muslim/Arab coalition. Given the emotive and sensitive nature of this unilateral Executive decision, it should have been handled by Mr. President in line with our democratic culture through popular discussion and participation by the citizenry, or at the very least, through the National Assembly.

The root of the problem of insecurity, distrust and mutual suspicion in Nigeria is the conflict between Liberal Democracy and Sharia ideology. Nigeria was established as a nation upon the principles and practice of Liberal Democracy. Indeed under the laws of Nigeria, every citizen has the right to practice and profess the religion of his/her choice without any hindrance.

Bearing in mind the huge ethnic, cultural, religious, and racial diversities in Nigeria, it was deemed necessary that an all accommodating ideology would be required to ensure justice, equality, and fairness for all the divergent groups in the nation. Unfortunately this appears not to be the case, as it appears that some forces have been working surreptitiously over the years to supplant Liberal Democracy with Sharia as the "source of legislation" in Nigeria, over and above the Constitution.
The consideration of establishing "free visa" arrangement with Islamic D8 nations. These countries are: Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Turkey, and   of course, Nigeria.
The apparent Islamization of key security positions in the country.
The apparent disdain and contempt with which Mr. President holds Christians in Nigeria as demonstrated by his interview on Al–Jazeera on the objection of Christians to Nigeria's involvement in the Saudi led Military Coalition to fight ISIS is to say the least undemocratic and certainly insensitive.

The issuance of national license to Jaiz Bank to operate Islamic Interest-free banking in all the 36 states of the federation. The sultan of Sokoto who is the head of all Muslims in Nigeria has warned that whatever Jaiz does must conform to the rules and regulations of Islam. Jaiz has also set up Takaful Islamic Insurance.
Mr. President needs to be reminded that he was brought to power through the votes of Nigerians, Christians inclusive. The over 50% non-Muslims in Nigeria did not vote for the nation to transmute into a Sharia compliant nation. Fortunately, Mr. President was confronted with these concerns and he assured Nigerians that he was now "a converted democrat" but we are disturbed by the direction of his administration.
KADUNA STATE RELIGIOUS BILL
We wish to join our voices to express our disdain at the proposed Kaduna State Religious Bill. The proposed Bill contravenes Section 38 (1) of the 1999 Constitution and the secularity principle of Nigeria. The Governor of Kaduna State must be reminded that religion is personal and no one has the right to legislate on how individuals worship. We call on the Kaduna State Governor to retrace his steps from this ill-advised venture. The proposed legislation in Kaduna is anti-Christian, it is only Christians who give out tracts and evangelise through cassettes and any attempt to stop this is virtually telling Christians to stop evangelising. Evangelism is the primary assignment given by Jesus to the Christians when He instructed the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. The current Kaduna ill-advised State Religious Law is an affront on democracy and must be reversed.
In the past there have been Maitatsine riots, Taliban riots, terrorist activities of Boko Haram in the north east, activities of the Shiite sect in Kaduna State and more recently the now dreaded 'Fulani Herdsmen'. These are all Muslim groups. It will be most unfair to make laws that will curtail the spread of Christianity because of violent Muslim sects. The Christians have maintained the peace all these years in the face of unwarranted provocations, especially in the northern states.
We therefore consider this an affront and deliberate provocation which must be stopped forthwith. The Sharia Commissions in the northern states should be called to order. They must respect the constitution of the country which clearly states that Nigeria is a secular state.

ABDUCTION AND FORCEFUL MARRIAGE OF UNDERAGED CHRISTIAN GIRLS
We call on the law enforcement agents to see to the immediate release of other girls held without the consent of their parents. Enough of this child labour, paedophilic desires of some men who hide under religion to commit hideous crimes. The Police should wake up to their duties and perform without fear or favour. A situation where the Police behave as if certain people are above the law is unacceptable.
We are saddened by these serial cases of forceful abduction of underaged, forceful marriage, marriage without parental consent of the Christian girls and their forceful conversion to Islam. We condemn in totality this act of violation of the Human Rights of these girls and it is a degradation of our national values.
RAMPAGE OF FULANI HERDSMEN
We are dismayed by the inaction of the Federal Government to the carnage and destruction caused by the Fulani herdsmen against legitimate native land owners and farmers, across the country. It is most shocking that till today, there has been no prosecution of any of these marauders. For years, the Fulani herdsmen have been murdering innocent Nigerians with impunity. The murderous escapades of the Fulani herdsmen has gained international notoriety to the extent that the group is now considered, internationally, as the fourth most dangerous terror organization in the world. It is sad to note that Boko Haram, which is presently regarded as the world number one most dangerous terror organization and the Fulani herdsmen, considered the fourth are both operating in Nigeria. Meanwhile, the response of Government to the menace of the Fulani herdsmen has to date, been tepid and indifferent.
The activities of Fulani herdsmen who spread destruction and mayhem from north to east and north to west should be checked forthwith, so that farmers are protected. We are yet to hear of any Fulani herdsman who has been arraigned for murder, arson and destruction of property. We've only heard of peace talks. We challenge the federal government to stand tall on this.

Are the police supposed to call murderers and arsonists to peace talks or to arraign them for crimes committed? This double standard in the maintenance of law and order has emboldened the herdsmen that if destructive activities are not curtailed, we may be sitting on a keg of gun powder which could explode anytime in the near future.

GRAZING RESERVE
One reason adduced to justify the perennial attacks of the Fulani herdsmen is the argument that they seek grazing fields for their cattle and as a result engage in conflicts with farmers. It was therefore proposed that ancestral lands of other ethnic groups should be allocated to them as grazing fields.

However, the most sensible and economically wise approach would be to build ranches for the herdsmen in their states of origin. This makes more sense and it is the internationally approved best practice under the circumstances. Other nations of the world consume beef yet, nomads do not drive herds of cattle all over the nation in the 21st century.

The Grazing Reserve proposal is seen as a deceptive manner of appropriating the lands of indigenous ethnic groups for the Fulani herdsmen to spread their tentacles of terror all over the nation. The proposal should be dropped and the state governments of the herdsmen should build ranches for them in their states of origin.

NO TO THE NEW 9-YEAR BASIC EDUCATION CURRICULUM ON RELIGIOUS STUDIES.

Following the decision of the Federal government to introduce the Universal 9-year Basic Education Programme, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council(NERDC) restructured and realigned all extant Primary and Junior Secondary Schools(JSS) Curricula into a 9 year Basic education curriculum which commenced in 2008. This curriculum was recently revised by the Federal Ministry of Education through the NERDC. Part of the revised curriculum is the omnibus subject called Religion and National values.
Religion and National Values are said to be the merging of formally independent subjects such as Christian Religious Studies, Islamic Studies, Civic Education, Social studies and Security Education into one compulsory subject.
Given the fact that it is the duty of Government to provide functional education to her citizenry which is in line with the United Nations Declaration on human and people's rights, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and even the Child Right Act of 2003; curriculum review is a welcome development. A review should eliminate subject matter overlaps, redundancies and enrich curriculum quality through the infusion of emerging issues. However, this duty, as exercised in this respect is faulty. A holistic view of the rights – both as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Child Rights Act point to the fact that the parents or legal guardian should be taken into consideration in any matter that affects the interest of the child.

Unfortunately, the current educational curriculum did not take all these into consideration. In fact, parents as stakeholders were not consulted before the formulation and implementation. For instance, the Right of the child not to be exposed to a contrary religion outside those of his parents / Guardian is not taken into consideration by this curriculum. This has been made possible because the NERDC-approved textbooks for this subject contain materials on both Christian religious studies and Islamic studies. This is of immense importance as the majority of children that attend the basic schools are minors(less than 18 years of age).

According to section 38(2) of the 1999 constitution as amended, no person attending any place of education shall be required to receive religious instruction or take part in any religious observance that is contrary to his religion or religion of his / her parents or guardian. Also, subsection (1) of the same section 38 makes it explicit that freedom of worship is sacrosanct. Some of the alleged offensive/controversial parts of the curriculum include;

1. The supremacy of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) over all other prophets or religious icons

2. That the glorious Quran is the final authority of Allah

3. Children could disobey their parents if they refuse them to follow Allah (can you imagine that this curriculum was written for minors (primary one pupil to JSS 3)

4. Prophet Isa (pbuh) that Christians know as Jesus Christ did not die nor was crucified

5. All the children including those of other faith apart from Islam are to learn, memorize and recite the Quran/Arabic language.
Should the above be true, it is our position that;

1.Christian Religious Studies and Islamic Religious Studies should be allowed to stand separately and be studied as independent subjects with separate textbooks just like the Nigerian languages (Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba} in line with the previous curriculum.

2. Relevant authorities responsible for mid-wifying this new curriculum should as a matter of urgency reverse the curriculum and revert to status quo ante.

3. Attempts to make this omnibus subject compulsory, for the Basic Education Certificate Examinations should be discontinued.

4. There should be a public hearing on this to galvanize the opinion of parents on a matter as sensitive as this.

5. Federal Government should device means of confronting directly those who propagate violence and religious intolerance rather than combining two different religious subjects

6. Furthermore, the disadvantage of this omnibus integration outweighs whatever could be the advantage. When five subjects are merged into one, it is obvious that detailed work cannot be achieved both in writing of the textbook and the teaching. The child would be made to struggle to learn and comprehend five-in-one subject, which is not going to be easy. The result would be penny wise, pound foolish as excellence would be sacrificed at the altar of social integration.

7. Arabic language that has been introduced is not relevant to the general public, it should only be in Arabic schools

8. Morning devotion / Assembly should not be stopped in our schools. In this state and others where devotions have been stopped, it should as a matter of urgency be restored without delay.

CONCLUSION
Nigeria belongs to all of us. We all have equal stakes as bona fide citizens of Nigeria. This is part of our own contribution to the Nation, we shall continue to tread the path of peace and be open for dialogue because dialogue is a pathway to truth and progress.
God bless Nigeria, God bless you all

FOUR DEADLY LIES PASTORS TELL

4 Deadly LIES Pastors Tell

By Joe McKeever
Falsehood belongs to the attackers of the faith, not its citizens nor its defenders.

"Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices" (Colossians 3:9).

"Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord" (Proverbs 12:22).

Lying is almost unforgivable in a pastor.

1. Do not lie to us about your resume.
If you say you went to school there or pastored that church, we want to believe you. If you earned a degree, say what it was. If the degree was honorary, but not earned, say that also.

What you must not do is give the impression you attended a school which you did not or served a church which you did not serve or possess a degree you don't.

Why would anyone lie about their resume? Obviously, to enhance their prospects for a job.

But any position acquired as a result of a falsehood is worthless in the long run.

Regularly, we hear of high-profile executives, educators and coaches being caught for padding their resumes, for claiming degrees they did not have, for professing honors they did not earn. Perhaps the most shameful is the man who claims to have been a war hero, who wears the uniform and sports the medals, but who, it turns out, is a consummate liar.

Tell us the truth, pastor.

2. Do not lie to us about your testimony.
I heard a certain pastor's testimony on more than one occasion. It was so moving that when he went to Heaven, I paid tribute to him on these pages by telling his story.

Sometime later, his brother found the eulogy by googling his name, and called me. "You know there's not a word of truth to it, don't you?"

He said, "Oh, I know you wrote what he told you. But it's all made up. None of that stuff happened."

He went on to tell me the "true facts," if you will, of his brother's testimony.

There are no words to describe my disappointment.

Why would a person lie about his testimony? That question has nagged at me ever since.

The only answer that makes sense is to enhance his impact in the congregation, to make himself seem to be more than he is. And how sad is that.

3. Do not lie to us about your ministry.
To our everlasting shame, the term "ministerial exaggeration" has entered the language. If anyone should tell the unvarnished truth, it should be those disciples of Jesus Christ entrusted with the truth of God in the gospel of salvation.

A half-century ago, a well-known preacher began assembling a list of the largest churches in America. Each year, those churches and others which "might" be in the running received a phone call asking for their latest numbers. I actually took that call a couple of times myself.

The compilers of those statistics learned all too quickly that preachers can be adept at creative counting.

On Easter Sunday, perhaps they brought in a Hollywood celebrity and had 2,000 in attendance, in contrast to their usual 300. But, check the preacher's resume and all too often it will say, "When Reverend Hotshot came to Hillshot Church, they were running 250 in attendance and are now running 2,000."

Some pastors have been known to fudge on numbers when nothing is at stake, when telling the simple truth would have done just as well.

I once organized a conference and invited in a professional to speak. We charged admission, so the actual number attending was not in doubt, something like 250 or so. But the guest speaker promptly put in his newsletter that we had packed in a thousand people for his seminar.

I wondered if he did not know that some of us read his newsletter and would catch that. The only conclusion that made sense is he did not care.

Do not lie to the church about where you went, how you spent your time, whom you saw, what was said and the plans that were made.

All you have is your integrity, pastor. Lose that and you're gone.

4. Don't lie to us about finances.
If you turn in your mileage for reimbursement, make it accurate. When turning in expense receipts, make sure they are what they claim to be. And if some of the items are questionable, err on the side of conservatism.

Ten years from now, you will have none of the money the church paid you for expenses. But if you can look back with a clear conscience and know you did right, that confidence is worth more than gold.

I once knew a pastor who served on a denominational board which required him to fly to a distant city several times a year, with the board covering all his expenses. When the church leadership discovered that he had also been turning in those same expenses for the church to reimburse him, they quietly sent him on his way.

They could abide the occasional boring sermon or uninspired leadership, but dishonesty in finances crossed the line.

He who is unfaithful about money can be counted on to transgress in other, bigger ways also (see Luke 16:10-12).

Give us pastors whose integrity is blameless.

Let us take seriously Christ's honor, the people's respect and our personal integrity to the point that we always do the honorable thing.

May we who are called to shepherd the Lord's people so live that if someone is looking for dirt to use against us, they will have to hire people to lie about us.

"Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. But some men … rose up and argued with Stephen. And yet, they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly induced men to say, 'We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.' And they stirred up the people. …  And they put forward false witnesses" (Acts 6:8-15).

Falsehood belongs to the attackers of the faith, not its citizens nor its defenders.
Let's get this right, preachers. Everything depends on it. Everything!

Femi Fani Kayode on FULANI GRAZING BILL

Gabriel Ogbonnaya wrote the following on his Facebook wall: "I decided to read a copy of the National Grazing Reserve Bill and I was surprised at what I saw.

         The Bill creates a Commission to be chaired by a Chairman to be appointed by the President, to be confirmed by the Senate. The Commission   shall have the power to take your land anywhere the land is located in the country and then pay you compensation.

         Your land, when taken, shall be assigned to herdsmen who shall use your land for grazing purposes. They shall bring cows to the land and you shall lose the land permanently to those   cattlemen. If you feel that the Commission was not right to take your land, you can go to court but before you go to court, you must first of all notify the Federal Attorney General of your intention to sue the Commission. Apart from notifying, you must get the consent and authority of the Federal Attorney General before you can sue. So that means that if the Attorney General refuses to give his consent to the suit, you have lost your land forever to the herdsmen.
     
        And this law, when passed, shall apply to the whole country, so it means that your land in the village or anywhere is not safe. The National Grazing Reserve Commission would have the power to take away your land from you anytime they want and pay you whatever they want as compensation (even when you don't want to sell, and remember that, for you to get compensation, you must have documents showing or proving ownership).

         So I think that we all in the South-West, South-South and South-East must rise up and reject this Bill. We must do all things to force our National Assembly members against passing that Bill into law. That Bill is a deliberate attempt to take our lands and hand the lands over to the Fulani cattlemen since it is only the Fulanis that rear cattle in Nigeria.

          That law, when passed, shall fulfil the directive of Uthman Dan Fodio and other northern leaders to take over other parts of Nigeria. I implore you to use all available means to implore your senator and Rep not to pass that law. That law will destroy Nigeria.

           All over the world, ranches are established and used to rear cattle. The farmers buy land and put their cattle there. There is no country where the land of the citizens are compulsorily acquired and given to others. This is evil, and designed to favor the Fulanis where the President comes from. We must resist the passage of that Bill into law to save Nigeria, and to protect our future generations".

         This is Yugoslavia and Rwanda unfolding right here in Nigeria. On April 18, Mr. Duru Collins wrote the following on his Facebook wall: "This National Grazing Reserve Bill, if passed into law, will just mark the beginning of apartheid in our country.
        When the government of Zimbabwe collected land from the white people who naturalised there, the whole world worked against President Robert Mugabe. Sanctions were stiffened against his regime even though the whites in Zimbabwe were not African by origin. In our country today, there are people that are not Nigerians by origin and these people are making law to take over our inheritance.

         This nation will burn once this law is passed". This is Lebanon and Zimbabwe downloading right here in Nigeria.

         On April 19, Mr. Oyinemi Nicholas Endeley wrote the following on Facebook: "The National Grazing Reserve Bill is the ticket to kill us ALL down South. This is not the time to sit and watch evil triumph over good. I have called the senator representing me and I have spoken common sense to him! He KNOWS what this is all about NOW. Listen people of God, it's time to get angry! You will come to understand how devilish Buhari's APC government is the moment you realise they are talking about a Bill that will protect the Fulani militants who, according to the Global Terror Index, are 'the 4th deadliest terrorist group' in the world, and neglect tens of thousands of victims that have suffered gory attacks by these daredevils.

          This government is gradually telling us their priorities and it's clear the lives of the southerners are not their priority. THIS GOVERNMENT IS EVIL. The ploy is on. They want to send the Trojan horses to our walls. They want to start the war from our lands. They will fail. They can't send their militants here in the guise of herdsmen. Those herdsmen don't own those cows, the rich Fulanis do.

            And I know their plans. Subsequently I will tell you guys more, you will be shocked. But for now, please get on your phones and call those representing you. Tell them not to accept this Trojan horse.   It will burn our region, it will kill our children's future. Let idiots that are southerners keep supporting APC. They don't care about you, they don't. You will BURN if their plans work!" This is colonial India (before she won her independence from the British and broke three ways into Pakistan, Bangladesh and India) downloading right here in Nigeria.

         Finally in an article, titled, ''The Outlaws Of Islam'' (Premium Times, April 15, 2016), I wrote the following: "And if they are still in any doubt about where all this is heading in the Nigerian context, they should consider the following: On December 30,1964, Mallam Bala Garba told the West African Pilot newspaper: 'The conquest to the sea is now in sight. When our God-sent Ahmadu Bello said some years ago that our conquest will reach the sea shores of Nigeria, some idiots in the South were doubting its possibility.

          Today, have we not reached the sea? Lagos is reached. It remains Port-Harcourt. It must be conquered and taken''. This is an eloquent expression of radical Islam, with its pervasive use of violence as a tool of conquest and subjugation, in its purest and most obvious form. Inspired and equipped with this Janjaweed philosophy and ethos, the whole of core northern Nigeria was conquered by Sheik Usman Dan Fodio through jihad. Given the activities of Boko Haram and the Fulani herdsmen in our country today, it appears that some in our shores are still interested in continuing that jihad.

     They wish to continue where Usman Dan Fodio stopped and they wish to ''dip the Koran in the Atlantic ocean''. Their latest attempt is the introduction and proposal of what is known as the National Grazing Reserve Bill which will give the Fulani herdsmen the right to claim other peoples land all over the country and which will empower them by law to create their own settlements and communities in the territory of others. Brazilian grass Worse still, under that law, the government will be compelled to fund those settlements and put all that they need in terms of infrastructure in place for them. That is why our Minister of Agriculture is now talking about importing Brazilian grass for the Fulani herdsmen and their cattle.

         This subtle and exceptionally brilliant attempt to infiltrate and conquer by guile and assimilation reminds me of the frightful laws that were put in place in the old wild western prairies of 19th century America.Those laws gave the white settlers rights over the lands of the indigenous Red Indians and saw the Indians themselves subjected to genocide and ethnic cleansing and herded into barren reservations that were not fit for human habitation. It was in this way that the "wild west" was conquered and the once proud and noble war-like Indian tribes of the western prairies were subjugated and subdued.

          Sadly our legislators in the National Assembly from the South and the Middle Belt simply do not appreciate and cannot comprehend the serious implications of what they are doing by supporting this legislation and neither will the consequences of their naivety and folly be suffered by their constituents until it is far too late.

           If that law is ever passed and implemented, two years from that time, we will regret it deeply as a nation because it will result in nothing but conflict, chaos and strife between the Fulani herdsmen and settlers on the one hand and the local indigenous population on the other.

        The Jos tragedy The tragedy that unfolded in Jos, Plateau State between the indigenous Christian Beroms and the settler Muslim Fulani, for many years, is a graphic example of what will be replicated all over the South and the Middle Belt between the Fulani and the various local indigenous populations if that law is ever passed and implemented. As a matter of fact, it will be far worse than anything that Jos ever saw.

        The National Grazing Reserve Bill will not result in enhancing unity and peace but instead it will result in division, bloodshed, carnage and chaos". My conclusion? This is Iraq, Syria and Libya unfolding right here in Nigeria. When you create a conflict which has its roots in religion, ethnicity, land rights, the attempt to marginalize, dominate, subjugate and conquer others and the quest for liberation and freedom from slavery and bondage all mixed into one, you are toying with a conflagration that will not only be simply horrendous and that will not only affect the whole of Africa but will also last for the next 50 years. Let me be clear:

         The greatest evil that we are confronted with in Nigeria today is the National Grazing Reserve Bill. It is more evil than anything that we have ever seen before. It is more insidious and dangerous than anything that we can possibly imagine.
 
         It will do more harm to us than Boko Haram and the Nigerian civil war put together and it will result in open war. I am speaking prophetically and I am saying this under the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit. We must stop this cantankerous and divisive Bill from seeing the light of the day and being made into law. There are some things that are bigger, greater and more important than partisan politics and this is one of them. We must all stand together regardless of our political affiliation and stop this evil Trojan horse from being smuggled into our ranks by those that seek to subjugate and conquer us.

      We must resist those that seek to strip us of our self-respect, self-worth, liberty and dignity. We must stand up against those that seek to destroy us and rob us of our faith and our ancestral lands.   We must say ''never" to those that seek to belittle and enslave us and that are hell bent on reducing us to nothing even within our own shores. May God help our people and our country and may He deliver us from evil

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/fulani-cows-grazing-reserve-bill-looming-trouble/

WE NEED GOD ALWAYS

What are three bad habits that will kill your spiritual growth as a Christian and stunt your faith? What things can you think of?

A BAD  TEMPER
One guy said that he lost his temper with his wife and said something he regretted. In actuality, he didn't lose it; he found it. But maybe he needed to lose it. Anger is almost always a pride issue when we lose our temper. Righteous indignation is not what I'm talking about here because when we see a child abused, children aborted, or rioting and looting, getting angry is a natural feeling. What I mean by losing our temper is when someone cuts in front of us in traffic or in line and suddenly we unleash the middle finger or profanity-laced words come flying out of our mouth. The thing is, you can't ever take words back. It takes 10 times the amount of time to clean up the damage by one single outburst. James wrote that "the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God," and so we should "put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness" (James 1:20-21). A bad temper can destroy your spiritual growth because you're always doing damage control by trying to apologize time and again, and it really does destroy your Christian testimony and kill your spiritual growth.


FAILING  to ASSEMBLE  YOURSELVES  in WORSHIP
I knew a couple that had problems coming to church. Their attendance was very sporadic. They would be gone about two out of every five Sundays, and then it got to be three out of every four. Over time they stopped coming to church altogether. The man started drinking and became hooked on pornography. His wife was on the verge of leaving him, and that was when he contacted me for some counseling. What he and his wife were doing was "forsaking the assembling of [themselves] together, as is the manner of some" (Heb 10:25), and they missed the encouragement of one another in the church (Heb 10:26). Not being within the Body of Christ, they missed out on worshiping God and the joy that brings. They missed out on the fellowship of the saints, and they missed out on being fed the Word of God on a regular basis. They were literally starving to death from a lack of the Bread of Life. This really stunted their spiritual growth, and it about caused them to divorce.

ABSENCE  of PRAYER  and BIBLE  READING
One of my old seminary professors wisely said that prayer is the pulse of the believer's spiritual temperature. If there's a slowing or decreasing pulse in prayer, then there is spiritual decay, and the fellowship between them and God is affected. Add to that a lack of regular Bible reading and you have a recipe for killing your spiritual growth. I have counseled so many people who are struggling with their faith. They begin to doubt their salvation, and then they stop reading the Bible altogether. It is a self-replicating cycle. They pray less; they read less. The less they pray and read, the more they get into the habit of doing neither. Reading the Bible will lessen your doubts. Not reading the Bible will increase your doubts. The exact same thing goes for prayer.

CONCLUSION
Take your spiritual temperature once in a while and ask yourself: Is my temper ruling me, or am I ruling my temper? Am I failing to assemble and worship with the saints? Then I may be failing in other areas, too. Is my prayer life and Bible reading declining? If so, my spiritual growth is, too. Those are three bad habits that will kill your spiritual growth for sure.
May God richly bless you,
Pastor Jack Wellman

Source http://faithinthenews.com/3-bad-habits-that-will-kill-your-spiritual-growth/

CHRISTIANITY IS A PROCESS

CHRISTIANITY IS A PROCESS
BELIEVER'S PROGRESSION IS THROUGH DISCIPLESHIP

CHRISTIANITY IS A PROCESS

BELIEVER'S PROGRESSION THROUGH DISCIPLESHIP

ALTERNATIVES APPEAL TO FEELINGS

ALTERNATIVES APPEAL TO FEELINGS

Alternative is seeming the opposite of indispensable. While the fomer is about a noun " offering or expressing a choice," indispensable connotes that which is "not subject to being set aside or neglected. It is a thing or a person that is regarded as absolutely necessary and essential."  Even to a medicine that can cure an ailment, the alternative to its non availability is death. God forbid!

God made man to realize his limitations. No man can add a cubic to his lifespan. God can raise stones to serve his purpose in the land of the living. Donkey had spoken to human being before. Fish was used to bring forth money.  Fish had carried a man ashore from ragging waters. Water had been made a rammed  ground for people to walk upon. A bird was assigned to and brought food for God's servant during drought. There's always an alternative to anything, any place and any individual.

We must see life as filled with alternatives.  Leaders must see their lives as transient. Couples must enjoy themselves fully.  It should be noted that whatever you refuse to give or accept from your spouse may be gotten from an alternative. Ungodly as it sounds, sooths or serves, it is not the original nor be regarded as the best,  but an alternative.

Alternative can not always offer  originality in continuity of service. Hence, we must insist on the best and not the alternative. Your being indispensable should advise you to do your best and make needed sacrifices to keep any relationship you enter into to work. In marriage , finance, romantic sex dynamics, communication and related matters must be shared intimately.

Alternatives are outside,  no one is indispensable. That is the foundation of discretions and discrete lives. Let us learn from the indispensable God and be so close to each other and see the alternatives as inferior to the original. Sustain every relationship with sacrifice . You must realise that alternative is appealing to an individual who is not fulfilled. Be fulfilled in one another. Avoid alternatives.

@okbabarinde
Relationship Advisor for Maximum Output
Nov 11, 2015