Author: Obayomi Abiola Benjamin

It is disheartening to see and read about what the church of God has been reduced to, especially in Nigeria. When Jesus said “I will build my church”, obviously He was not talking about putting bricks and mortals together at the time. The church He was simply talking about, in context, are people; those who have been redeemed, called out of the kingdom of darkness into His marvellous and glorious light. These were the people Jesus was talking about that He was going to build. But when you see the inglorious things happening in His church today, especially lately in…

By Toyin Falola Below is an excerpt of the convocation lecture of Babcock University, by Prof. Toyin Falola, the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at the University of Texas at Austin. My address has underscored the relevance of faith in the context of the related ideas of fact and fiction. In the process, it accepts faith as given. After all, faith and society have always been linked since the birth of human civilisation. Religion has made enormous contributions to the growth of civilisation. In Nigeria, we should tap into the advantages of faith and avoid inter-religious…

One of the fundamental problems facing many homes across the world today is the absence of a responsible father. There are millions of children growing up without a human figure they could point to as their father. Many women today have had to shoulder the responsibilities of being the father and the mother at the same time to their children. In fact, behavioural scientists have proven that children who grow up without a father figure in their lives are sometimes (if not most times) prone to violence, more likely to be aggressive, more likely to be depressed, more likely to…

It would be a great trap when we begin to think that we as humans, can function without God. God did not make man to function outside of Him. The day a man thinks in himself that he can function without God is the day such a man will begin to die. Why? Because man was never made to function outside of God. The original man was made to function in God and with God. This, we know to be true when God said “let us make man in our image and likeness.” The reason for this arrangement is so…

Over two thousand and eighteen years Jesus Christ came and walked physically on the face of the earth. Before this time, there were prophecies about the fact that a saviour was going to be born (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, 11:1). In Matthew 1:18-23, the prophecies about Jesus’ birth was fulfilled. He was born, lived for thirty three and half years, fulfilling all that He came to do within that space of time. Now, we have read over and over again, on the pages of the Scriptures that Christ will return to the earth a second time. Acts 1:9-11 tells us “Now…

We live in a world where everything appears to be contending for one’s attention, and if care is not taken; one can lose focus and be distracted from the main thing. From marriage, to family, to work, even friends and many other things are all wanting a dose of one’s attention or the other. In fact, the Bible refers to some of these things as the cares of this world (Matthew 13:22). And because we want to at least give attention to everything, they end up choking the main thing that we are supposed to be focused on. There is…

In leadership, counterproductive elements are people or things or behaviours that are hindering the attainment of a desired goal, and in most times, it is manifested in people doing things that are inimical to the progress of an organization or even a nation, as the case may be. Now, in the example that we want to consider, we can see how Nehemiah stood his ground against certain rich folks who were taking advantage of the poor among them, by placing high usury on whatever they borrow from them. Now before this time, there had been record of victories for the…

Being referred to as a leader is demanding. It is both a job and a work. It is a job in the sense that it requires a very great effort. Why must you put in the effort it requires? The answer is simple. Because you have been made a leader, you cannot simply afford to fail. The reason you are chosen or selected among many is because everyone believes there is something you have to offer, and so; you were chosen or elected or even selected as the case may be. Most leaders who fail to achieve so much while…

Come to think of it, most of the traditional ideas about the things we thought sustain marriages have all been found not to be the real deal when it comes to a marriage that would last. For example, sex does not keep or sustain any marriage. If sex does, there won’t be so much adultery as we have it today. The faintest idea that could cross the mind of any one today is to think a man or a woman would remain in marriage just because of sex alone. Also, money does not sustain any marriage. If money does, most…

All over the world, people are celebrating Easter, commemorating the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was one of the tenets of Christianity, and upon which every believers’ faith rest, that Christ came to the world, died for the sins of humanity, was put to death; and on the third day, He was resurrected back to life again by the power of God. As a matter of fact, the resurrection story is so important that even the basis of every believer’s salvation is based on believing it. Romans 10:9 say “That if you confess with…