Thomas

He settled for theology at the request of his mother

His mother was a great woman

She was warm, kind, selfless and loving

People testify of great things about his mother

How she helped a family of eight through the winter by

housing and feeding them despite 

the fact that they had so little

How she helped many immigrants settle into their

new homes by dedicating time and energy to their welfare

He understood his mother's need for God

It was borne of great fear of oppression

His mother left was the daughter of an

 an influential military man from Africa

During a coup de tat, his Mother's Father 

was caught on the wrong side of the 

revolutionaries

His mother and siblings escaped from their homes 

in the middle of the night 

They had barely made it to the west when their Father

was summarily executed and all his assets seized by the

military government of the day!

The other military men, who like his father were caught

on the wrong side of the law weren't so lucky!

Some of their families were caught in the crossfire

It was a brutal time in the history of their country

Her mother took solace in God and in prayer

She had to!

But he doesn't

He was born into a strong western country

There was no fear of a coup de tat

There was no oppression

There was no hated and no war

His father was a Caucasian, from Switzerland

He grew up in the midst of the rich and opulent 

He attended the best schools

He was mildly tempered and widely loved

His mother brought him and his two younger ones up 

to love their neighbours, care for the weak 

and downtrodden,

tell the truth and be upright citizens

Of course, his mother's Christian lifestyle was a 

big influence on him

But so did his Father's gentle nature

His Father was a renowned man of peace

Even though his Father was a Christian, 

his Father, also had the DNA of a peacemaker

The DNA was passed along to all his children

They were quiet, wise, spoke little and have a genuine 

heart for the things of God

He attended church regularly 

When his mother was sixty-five, they travelled down to his

mother's native country for the first time

The military junta had given way to 

democracy and it was safe to travel again

The journey was especially important 

because his mother's mother

had died a few weeks before and they 

have to take advantage of the

funeral to meet relatives, friends and well-wishers!

His mother had not been home in almost thirty years

They travelled to his mother's country in Africa

He saw a lot of great things

But what fascinated him the most was 

how religious the people were 

It was as if his mother never left home

Or rather, as if his mother brought the 

"church" in her country

to the west!

Religion was always a red flag for him

Especially his mother's type of religion

Blind faith, God of the wants and needs,

 miracle-working God

The God they peddle and sell in his 

mother's country 

was an irrelevant God to somebody like him

He had travelled to many countries of the

 world and he was sure

God does not bless only his children

Any pastor can sell that type of lie to desperate

 and poor people

But that lie cannot work for him

He was neither poor nor desperate!

If a woman is barren in his country, it is 

not a big deal!

Nobody shames anybody for not having children

Many people who are capable of having

 children choose not to

Nobody laid a marker of "have children

 or you will be reproached" in their culture!

Now if anyone wanted to have a child and couldn't

The person has a lot of proven scientific alternatives

Adoption was also a good option

Some people adopt six to seven children without having

any biological children of their own

Selling a " Give me God" who gives people "children" in his 

country would be ridiculous

In his country, you can walk into a car dealership and 

drive away with a brand new car without

breaking a sweat!

Food was not a problem, clothing was not a problem

electricity was not a problem, the god that fills the void

when humans lack an answer to certain problems,

the god that was a convenient excuse for many

when they cannot explain why or what

behind certain natural phenomenons,

the god that science had conveniently shoved aside

in his country

That god was all that he saw in his mother's country!

It was inevitable for that sort of God to be in existence

There was a prevalence of crime, poverty, hunger, corruption

pain, avarice, lack, ignorance and darkness in the country

He saw with his own two eyes, inside the very elitist

estate where they were lodged, sacrifices to local idols in 

calabashes placed at T-junctions in 2018!

He was out very early in the morning for his daily walk

when he saw it!

He laughed at the sight

His mother had told him tales of African voodoo and such

sacrifices placed at T-junctions! But to actually see one?

WOW! Ignorance is indeed a disease!

When he got home he shared what he saw with his mother 

and siblings!

There were so many churches in the city, he had practically seen

no street in the commercial area without churches

All the churches claim to have a miracle working God

If indeed God answers prayers in those churches

How come some people were still offering pagan sacrifice

to idols? Even among the elites?

His youngest brother had secretly hoped to meet one of the 

popular pastors in the country

He was born with a heart condition that has defied treatment

it is called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy 

He had tried to discourage his brother from day one

It is better not to hope than to be disappointed

Faith healers offer no assurances, no guarantees

And from the documentaries, he saw on youtube

Some people who claimed to have been healed by 

faith healers usually fell sick again some hours

or days after they had been temporarily healed!

He told his brother to forget it, "there is no God here"

They went for the burial ceremony

it was a very colourful ceremony and he was impressed

His mother's people know how to throw a party!

After the ceremony, his mother insisted that they must

all pay a visit to the pastors who officiated at the funeral!

He had no problem with it

He had been waiting for the opportunity to engage

the pastors on his observations and open their eyes

 to some truth!

He had a Ph.D in Theology and knows for a fact that

miracles ceased with the apostles!

Whatever "miracles" they claim God is doing in their

country was aided by ignorance, poverty, some elements

of idolatry and voodoo!

Of course they will argue, but the truth has a way of 

proving itself even to the most misguided!

He was sure the truth will defend itself!

They got to the office sometime in the afternoon

His mother had packaged gifts and a worthy offering for 

the church

The Most senior Pastor welcomed them, they talked 

generally for a while and he prayed with them

Once they were done with their formal assignment, 

he asked the pastor if he could make an observation

The pastor told him to go ahead

He told his story, shared ed his observation and

concluded that "African Christianity or African gospel

is not the real gospel but an African traditional religion and

culture version of the gospel aimed at taking advantage 

of the ills of the society for religious gains!

It seemed to me that you guys have simply substituted 

Jesus for one of the African gods and called it the gospel!

He presented his argument with clarity and respect!

The senior Pastor looked at him and said "There is a young

man, I think you will be most delighted to meet sir!"

He picked his intercom and asked the Brother in Jeans

and T-shirt to come to his office

The Brother in Jeans and t-shirt was briefed on what has 

transpired

The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt: Doctor, 

can we do an experiment?

He said: Sure

The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt: Can you lay

 your hand on your brother,

the one with the heart disease

He stood up, walked over to his brother and did so!

Brother in Jeans and T-shirt: Do not remove 

the hand from this moment until 

I tell you to

He: Ok

Brother in Jeans and T-shirt: Are you a Born Again 

Christian sir?

He: I have always been a Christian since I was born!

Brother in Jeans and T-shirt: Say Holy Spirit, take over

 this atmosphere now and use me to your glory! 

I command you Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, 

Go now! In the name of Jesus, body be healed 

now! The Bible says, I shall lay my hands on the

 sick and the sick shall recover! I command this 

body to recover now in Jesus name! I speak to all 

the valves, arteries, nerves, cells every part of the 

heart, in the name of Jesus, be healed right this minute! 

Thank you Jesus

He did as instructed, he did so with his eyes closed!

His brother started trembling on the chair

He felt the vibrations

He kept his eyes shut

His brother screamed and slumped in the chair 

(As if he was dead)

He screamed and started speaking in tongues!

His eyes were still shut!

He prayed on in the spirit for twenty-eight minutes

His brother stirred and stood on his feet

He opened his eyes and looked at his brother

His brother hugged him and started jumping 

and running around

He sunk on his knees and cried!

His mother and siblings all started crying

Like Jacob, he slept on a stone innocently

Not knowing that he was sleeping 

at the gate of heaven

He cried for a long time, almost twenty minutes

He turned to the Brother in Jeans and T-shirt and said

"I want to become Born Again, I want to be filled with 

the Holy Spirit"

They prayed!

His siblings also gave their lives to Christ

The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt told the one healed of 

heart disease to pray in tongues for at least one hour

everyday

"Your healing is spiritual, you can only keep it by walking

in the spirit consistently (That is according to 

my understanding

at the moment, Just like you, I am also growing in

 the things of the spirit!)

He turned to the Brother in Jeans and T-shirt and said

"I never knew a day will come  when I will know God

without dying! I was taught that we can only know God

after we die but today I have encountered God!" 

They returned to their country three days later

PS: This event happened in Lagos, Nigeria

Its been seven months now, the heart disease has been

confirmed healed by the specialists

He still lectures Theology in a Lutheran Institute

He attended the Festival of Life (a Pentecostal event)

for the first time

He speaks in tongues every day and is growing in 

the Holy Spirit

PS: What God wants to give us is HIMSELF

He wants to make us AS HE IS

Stop chasing after things

Chase after HIM

Those who chase after things will be disappointed

Those who chase after HIM shall be filled 

until they overflow

Don't be a miracle seeker

Be a miracle worker!

Don't be a "Give me, Give me" Christian

Be a "Vessel" through whom God blesses others

If the God you preach will become irrelevant in

 Developed countries

You really don't know God!

Strive to know God today!