commentary

Several years ago, I was invited to a thanksgiving service at a church in a small town in Nigeria. Beautiful spirit-filled songs were sung to the admiration of the congregation, but one of the songs got my attention, stuck in my brain, and thirty years later, I am still remembering this song. The song, among other things, asked the question “Will Jesus meet genuine faith at His second coming?” It advised every Christian to think deeply and consider his/her ways and avoid yielding to the forces that drift Christians from real faith.

One major concern I have about Christianity today is the way believers adore miracles more than salvation. A church gets filled up to the brim at the mention of miracles. Some Christian leaders are highly respected because they have what it takes to perfect “miracles”. Churches have named their camps after miracles and several crusades and services are held with miracles as the center piece of their activities. Are miracles in the church bad? Absolutely No! For example, the God of Prophet Elijah healed Naaman of his leprosy (2 Kings 5), the Shunammite woman received the gift of a child with the intervention of the God of Prophet Elisha (2 Kings 4), and Moses performed miracles with his rod at the presence of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt (Exodus 4). The list of situations turnaround in the Old Testament is endless. Miracles were in the time of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus healed the sick, raised Lazarus from the grave, healed the woman with the issue of blood, turned water to wine, etc., and when He ascended to heaven, His disciples performed miracles. For example, the shadow of Peter healed (Acts 5:15) and the handkerchiefs of Apostle Paul healed and drove out evil spirits (Acts 19:11-12).  Today, miracle, not magic, happens in the hands of men and women of God. Here at CAC WOSEM Houston, we experience God’s miracle because several unexplainable good things are happening and it is only Jehovah God that can do them. These, I am sure, are happen in other Bible-based churches as well. However, there are evil men and women of this world who are not working for God but the devil, and their belly is their god. They prey on gullible Christians and make them go through hell. They perfect their prank in a way that makes them look real. They extort their victims, mostly their congregation, to amass wealth. They “pray” to water, oil, and other liquids and make their victims drink them and vomit. When their victims vomit their bile, they call it poison injected in their bodies by their enemies. They pay people to come out and declare their “healing” at crusades. Their activities are many and mostly affected are Christians that will not read their bible (2 Tim 2:15). In Matthew 7:15-16, the Bible says “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.” These unfaithful leaders look for worshippers who cherish miracles more than the give and take advantage of you.

Another strategy that is worth mentioning is the teaching and promising of prosperity to worshippers, irrespective of their relationship with God. It is spreading like a wild fire. They are not concerned with eternity in heaven of their congregation. Their mission is to scoop out whatever is in the bank account of their followers by encouraging them to sow seed and expect miraculous rewards in multiples. They have just a singular definition of seed: MONEY. They do not see seed as children (as God used it in when he addressed Abraham in Genesis 22:17) or in the context of human action (flesh and spirit as in Galatians 6:7-9). To them, sowing seeds is just giving out money, period!  These evil ministers lay much emphasis on 2 Corinthians 9:6, (But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully) and avoid the seventh verse (So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver). In order to get more for their selfishness, they quote the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 6:3 to divide the family (But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing), and not what the Bible says in Mark 10: 7-9 (For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate). No one will reason for you, gullible Christians. Think for yourself.

Let the real men of God continue to do the work of God in the way God instructs us. All our works will be tested, including the activities of these motivational-speakers-turned-pastors. Let the con artists called ministers-of the-gospel beware. If they do not repent and turn back to God, He will visit them with his anger. As for the credulous, beware! Read your Bible and steer clear of these evil ministers who toss you here and there. A word is enough for the wise!