Stories of Faith - Episode 36

Culled from Overcoming Painful Emotions: A Guide by Debola Oni

Nkechi always felt tired; it was worse in the mornings. She slept for twelve hours each night but woke up feeling exhausted. She had aches and pains all over which could not be traced to anything specific. She had been treated for malaria several times but the aches and pains still persisted. She was losing weight for no apparent reason. A series of medical tests did not reveal anything wrong with her. 

She had no financial problems as her husband, Chudi provided all her needs. The children were getting older and they did not need much attention. The days just dragged. The clock seemed to be ticking at a slower pace than normal and life seemed to be passing her by with each stroke of its hand. She knew she had potential for so many things and dreamt about all that she could do, but that was it – just a dream. There had to be more to life than this, she thought. She was bored and restless. 

An idle mind is the devil’s workshop. Nkechi spent the days imagining the worst: Chudi was going to leave her; Chudi didn’t love her anymore; her children were going to abandon her in old age. She became suspicious of Chudi and if he couldn’t pick up the phone because he was in a meeting, she immediately concluded he was having an affair. They were quarreling more as she was quick with her accusations. In reality, you couldn’t find a more loving and dedicated man than Chudi 

In her frustration she finally turned to God. She began to draw near to Him and He in turn reassured her of His everlasting love. Her security was now primarily in God and not Chudi. Soon she was free to accept Chudi’s love again. God showed her that He had a plan for her life, that she wasn’t an accident. Instead of anger, frustration and depression, she felt joy, peace and contentment. She began to see that her life had significance and purpose. God revealed to Nkechi that she was gifted with handicapped children. After she explored the possibility, she went for more training and eventually started a school for handicapped children. Her life was full and she had joy in abundance.

Stories of Faith - Episode 35

Everyone is a Preacher (Culled from Workplace Grace: Becoming a Spiritual Influence at Work)

“John was a young doctor, establishing his practice in internal medicine, when his wife gave birth to their first child – a son with a serious birth defect. John’s colleagues were well aware of the stress of learning to manage his workload while making the frequent 400-mile round trips to the children’s hospital.

John may have had reason to be irritable, but he rarely was. One day during rounds, he discovered that a nurse had made a serious mistake that endangered a patient’s life. He reprimanded the nurse firmly but respectfully, leaving her self-respect intact – a skill more doctors should learn. Unaware that a colleague overheard his reprimand, John felt a hand on his shoulder as he left the nursing station. His colleague said, “John, if you were a preacher, I’d go to your church.””

The fact is, John is a preacher, as are we all. When people observe our competence, character, and genuine concern for others, we preach a powerful sermon.

Stories of Faith - Episode 34

Narrated by Lola Ademuwagun.... A story of trust in God, unwavering faith and being principled.

"I got married for the first time on February 14th 2019 , three months and 1 week to my 49th birthday. To think the first time God spoke about my marriage was just after I clocked 26...hmmm. He had asked my closest friend and prayer partner, Late Omonike Akinjide to tell me not to help Him with regards to my marriage as He wanted to honour me. At that time I had no understanding of the words as marriage wasn't what was uppermost on my to do list as I was more concerned about my career. I had just finished my MBA at Manchester Business School and getting a good job seemed more important. Although I had been praying for a good and godly husband since I turned 21, who would have thought it would take 28 years of investing in prayer and 23 years from when God first spoke till it manifested in the natural. 

My journey had its ups and downs but when I reflect there were many lessons learnt and these are what I want to focus on; 

When God speaks about something it often dies first and then rebirths in His own way.The following words from Oswald Chambers are a summary of my 23 year wait and 28 year journey. "Gods method always seems to be vision first, and then reality, but in between the vision and the reality there is often a deep valley of humiliation. When God gives a vision and darkness follows, waiting on God will bring you into accordance with the vision He has given if you await His timing. Otherwise you try to do away with the supernatural in God's undertakings. Never try to help God fulfil His word" . 

Every child of God is running a specific race that is unique to them so its okay not to marry in your 20's, 30's, 40's etc like your friends...Late Nike married at 29 though we prayed together and agreed about our spouses every Monday for a whole year, I only just did at 48. When Nike was getting married in 1998 she had asked Joke( another close friend of mine) and I to write out what we wanted in our hubbies as God had given her all she asked for. Joke got her list answered 10 years after we agreed and mine 21 years after. 

Don't ever compare yourself with anyone. He is faithful who promised and giving up should never be an option as you have grace sufficient for your race. 

Ha the humiliation...I was laughed at by many and I even laughed at myself..."oldest virgin in Lagos", that's what I was called when I attended a party ( full of my Obafemi Awolowo University alumni ) with my late bestie's husband...I was only 30 then...can you imagine what would have been said now as I stayed one till I consummated only after I married the husband God gave at 48? I still think it's funny and can't blame anyone who laughed but hey on the day I met my hubby and I mentioned my name, his words were " Lola Fadojutimi, no scandal in ISI and I finished it with, still no scandal. For the first time someone appreciated what I was 'ashamed' of for so long. Its definitely okay to obey His word even when it's not popular or in vogue. 

You have been redeemed from the curse of the law, and are a bonafide beneficiary of Abraham's blessings too. Your delay in area of marriage or any area is not as a result of an ancestral curse ...gosh it's not your great grandfather and mothers sins you are being punished for, as I was told often. 

Sometimes our delays are part of the process and when we decide on a short cut we do miss out on destiny. It's also impossible to bind and loose God, so all those deliverance sessions some well meaning brethren suggest are just futile activities...devil isn't that strong. Greater is God in you than the devil in the world so don't believe the lies. God is more interested in process than end result. My hubby and I have so many friends in common but our paths never crossed since we left secondary school in 1986( I didn't know him but knew of him then while he knew me). When it was the appointed time we met without introductions. In hindsight I am so glad I waited as he really compliments me. I couldn't have done this, only God could have and he needed time to work on both of us. I tell Segun, I would continue to be a better me as long as I spend time with you. He is cool and calm as cucumber and I am... 

It is God that works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure...there is grace for your specific race. Once you are willing to do it His way the supply of grace just doesn't run out. I did not have many boyfriends prior to meeting my hubby. In fact my last relationship finally ended in 2006...so over 12 years of "man desert " in which I probably had few dates in between. I had prayed I did not want choices and only wanted His choice after my last missionary dating. There were very tough seasons, loss of my dad in a plane crash , my mum to cancer,, challenges with my career and finances too, spathes of hopelessness but God held my hand though all the fire. 

I will conclude by stating that believing God and not giving up on my dream was probably my most important lesson. This meant I did not put my life on hold but lived fully while trusting for the manifestation of things promised. I travelled far and wide, started a bible study group, taught teenagers at my local church, birthed a couple of businesses, invested wisely, enrolled for various career advancing courses, exercised, baked, cooked, entertained and continued praying for 28 years while holding fast to my confession...no good thing will God withhold from the upright...marriage is a good thing the bed undefiled. 

I had written a book in 2013 and dedicated to my husband whom I did not know nor met( I have now inserted his name and it's been printed to be released next month, God willing)...I talked about children as if I already had them...I spoke what I knew in my heart until Gods appointed time. 

"We often think receiving what we have been guaranteed ought to be a catwalk, but scripture shows the opposite is often true. The most profound things God promised were often fulfilled against the greatest odds and through the most difficult hardships. To God, faith is often the point. God does nothing cheaply. Perhaps the divine nature of a promise fulfilled guarantees its expense. We may receive a hundred unexpected things from God with delightful ease while the fulfilment of some of the things we believe He promised proves virtually impossible. You see the impossibility is what makes the fulfilment of the promise fall under God's category. God makes promises man simply cant keep"...Beth Moore 

To all the single Ladies...God is faithful, let's not help Him....if He gave me a godly man with character who adores me, He will do same and more for you too...."

Stories of Faith - Episode 33

Culled from "As Titanic sank, he pleaded, 'believe in the Lord Jesus!'"

One of the supreme stories of the Titanic involves John Harper, a heroic pastor, and his passion to save lives and souls.

When pastor and preacher John Harper and six year old daughter boarded the Titanic it was for the privilege of preaching at one of the greatest churches in America, Moody Church in Chicago, named for its famous founder Dwight L. Moody. The church was anxiously awaiting his arrival not only because of the pending services, but to meet their next pastor, as Harper planned to accept their invitation. Harper was known as an engaging preacher and had pastored two churches in Glasgow and London. His preaching style was suited for an evangelist as testified by the words of another local pastor. "He was a great open-air preacher and could always command large and appreciative audiences. ... He could deal with all kinds of interrupters, his great and intelligent grasp of Bible truths enabling him to successfully combat all assailants."

When the Titanic hit the iceberg, Harper successfully led his daughter to a lifeboat. Being a widower he may have been allowed to join her but instead forsook his own rescue, choosing to provide the masses with one more chance to know Christ. Harper ran person to person, passionately telling others about Christ. As the water began to submerge the "unsinkable" ship, Harper was heard shouting, "women, children, and the unsaved into the lifeboats." Rebuffed by a certain man at the offer of salvation Harper gave him his own life vest, saying, "you need this more than I do." Up until the last moment on the ship Harper pleaded with people to give their lives to Jesus.

The ship disappeared beneath the deep frigid waters leaving hundreds floundering in its wake with no realistic chance for rescue. Harper struggled through hyperthermia to swim to as many people as he could, still sharing the Gospel. Harper evidently would lose his battle with hypothermia but not before giving many people one last glorious Gospel witness.

Four years after the tragedy at a Titanic survivor's meeting in Ontario, Canada, one survivor recounted his interaction with Harper in the middle of the icy waters of the Atlantic. He testified he was clinging to ship debris when Harper swam up to him, twice challenging him with a biblical invitation to "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." He rejected the offer once. Yet given the second chance and with miles of water beneath his feet, the man gave his life to Christ. Then as Harper succumbed to his watery grave, this new believer was rescued by a returning lifeboat. As he concluded his remarks at the Ontario meeting of survivors he simply stated, "I am the last convert of John Harper."

When the Titanic set sail there were delineations of three classes of passengers. Yet immediately after the tragedy, the White Star Line in Liverpool, England placed a board outside its office with only two classes of passengers reading, KNOWN TO BE SAVED and KNOWN TO BE LOST. The owners of the Titanic had simply reaffirmed what John Harper already knew. There are people who know Christ and will spend eternity with God in heaven and many others who will not.

May we be as zealous as Harper was with every opportunity to share Christ with the perishing.

Source: http://www.bpnews.net/37601/as-titanic-sank-he-pleaded-believe-in-the-lord-jesus

Stories of Faith - Episode 32

"In one of the Assemblies of God churches, in Aba District (South-Eastern Nigeria), where my late dad pastored in the 1980s, I remember when a young man came very early in the morning and told my father:

"Pastor, what did I do to you? Why do you hate me so much? I have been born again for almost 1 year and I have won many people to Christ, but why have you not recommended me to join others to go for missions work in the northern States of the country... "

His singlet was torn... And with his zeal, he was crying profusely...

My father did not know what to say...

The young man kept crying: "Pastor, why are you doing this to me... Why are you doing this to me?"

My father told him: "Nna, I know very well that you want to serve God... But you are the only son of your mother and your father is late... If anything happens to you, who will look after your mother and younger ones?..."

The boy started crying the more...

"Pastor, I am the only son and yet I was an armed robber... I am the only son, yet, I was attending meetings in the midnight with native doctors, where many of friends could not wake up alive after diabolically fortifying ourselves against police bullets..."

"Pastor, what would have happened to my mother if I had died in one of those armed robbery attacks? Who would have taken care of her? If I risked my life when I was serving Satan, why will I not risk it now that I am serving Jesus Christ?"

My father was speechless for almost 30 minutes... And it was not long, we saw tears rolling down his eyes...

He held the young man and both of them were crying together...

My father recommended him to join some missionaries that came in the area for missions work...

The day he was leaving with them, the mother and his younger ones were crying... Knowing that they might not see him again, both live or dead... But I can still remember that excitement on his face..."

Stories of Faith - Episode 31

Culled from The God Chasers by Tommy Tenney

I read an account of a group of Chinese Christians who were caught holding a church service. The officials placed a horse trough in the middle of town and forced every man and woman in that congregation to urinate into it. Then they drowned the pastor in it, right in front of their eyes!

Do you know what happened? The church congregation doubled in two weeks, and it wasn't because of their nice sanctuary or dynamic worship team. These kinds of believers don't gauge their relationship with God by whether they received a salary raise this quarter, by how things are going with their bank account, or by how much "fun" they've had during church activities. They joined Paul by saying, "But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24). This is the confession of people in love and in intimate communion with their Maker.

Stories of Faith - Episode 30

One of our workers in the Underground Church was a young girl. The Communist police discovered that she secretly spread Gospels and taught children about Christ. They decided to arrest her. But to make the arrest as agonizing and painful as they could, they decided to delay her arrest a few weeks, until the day she was to be married. On her wedding day, the girl was dressed as a bride—the most wonderful, joyous day in a girl’s life! Suddenly, the door burst open and the secret police rushed in.

When the bride saw the secret police, she held out her arms toward them to be handcuffed. They roughly put the manacles on her wrists. She looked toward her beloved, then kissed the chains and said, “I thank my heavenly Bridegroom for this jewel He has presented to me on my marriage day. I thank Him that I am worthy to suffer for Him.” She was dragged off, with weeping Christians and a weeping bridegroom left be­hind. They knew what happens to young Chris­tian girls in the hands of Communist guards. Her bridegroom faithfully waited for her. After five years she was released—a destroyed, broken woman, looking thirty years older. She said it was the least she could do for her Christ. Such beautiful Christians are in the Underground Church.

Source: http://radioblast.net/en/articles/libri-suggeriti/richard-wurmbrand-tortured-for-christ