Winner of Queen Esther Pageant 2017 of HOUSEHOLD OF GOD CHURCH

*3*   (…continued from part 2…)    There is this other lady, over thirty years old. Miss Oke had all her days been bedridden by sickle-cell anaemic syndrome. Her genotype had changed! It was no longer SS, she could not believe the result. Those who had been managing her health status were dumbfounded. Her genotype was now a healthy AA! That syndrome had killed her eldest brother, a very committed worker, with whom I taught in the four years class of the Children Church Department.

There are many others. This guy, John, was up there on a very tall tree, trying to fix the Christmas (of year 2016) lights, known of our church every yuletide. Unbeknown to him, he was too close to the live electricity cable. He made a disastrous physical contact! The current flung him. A deadly descent landed him with a murderous thud. Electric officials came and they were heard asking one another whom they could remember surviving such an accident. Their verdict? None!

We went to see him at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. I told him, “John, I am expecting you back in church to see you take the dance steps I’ve known you for.” He gave me an enthusiastic, “Amen.” Sometime in the month of May, this year, the same young man is helping to clean the church. Last Christmas he was in church to fix the bulbs for another Household tradition of ‘light up the world’ for Christmas!

Amiability that is of affability of this great friend if Jesus

I have my own testimony. Four times in two years I had slumped. Several people slumped not more than once and they were just dead! Three times it happened at home, once in church, of all places and moreover on an Easter Sunday. I truly sensed the attack the fourth time. And I remember telling the Lord, “I don’t want to slump! I mustn’t!” The Devil had his way but he lost the battle and the war. Praise the Lord.

It was a Saturday and we were getting our class ready for the next day’s service. The Reverend walked past our class and showed his displeasure at the loudness of the music I was playing. I apologized. At another Saturday, the man of God told me, “This is Church and I don’t allow the playing of any music that is not Christian.” I looked at him, meeting his gaze, I said, “This is Christian music, sir.” The man maintained his accusation, and that should have got my feelers warning me seriously.

I was stupidly sure of what I thought I knew. I stuck to my guns not even knowing the lyrics of the sung. It was when the Pastor said, “This so and so,” telling me the title of that R. Kelly’s song that I knew I had planted myself inside ‘gàù!’ ‘Gàù’ is a Yoruba expression of ‘deep trouble.’ Quickly I had gone to turn the offence off, but not before I had promised never to let that happen again.

I have been looking for an opportunity to apologize for my procacious stunt. What I am trying to enunciate here is that the man of God did not get angry with me for stubbornly arguing with him. I said to myself, “This is a man of true maturity.” The Reverend earned more of my respect for him. I love my Pastor!

When his first marriage crashed, I told the ladies who had ears to hear that, if a whole Reverend Mrs. Tina Okotie would go against the will of God then anything could happen to any incautious wife. But when the marriage to Sister Stephanie broke down I expect my Pastor to apologize to the congregation of Householders.

Get born again by praying this prayer with all your heart and truthfully: Dear heavenly Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe in my heart that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe in my heart that Jesus died for my sins and You raised Him from the dead. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and I receive Him as my Lord and my Saviour. I give God all the glory, Amen.   (…to be continued…)

Click here to read part two

Click here to read part four

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