The BIble, Fact or Fiction?

Hey there and thanks once again for stopping by Heaven, Here We Come :). Hope you all had an amazing week and ready for an even more amazing weekend.

So what if its all Fiction, a BIG FAT LIE. I'm talking about everything from God, to his son Jesus Christ, the Angels, Heaven, Hell, Satan, Adam, Eve, The Garden of Eden, Moses, Judas, Paul etc. Yeah what if the contents of the Bible are all one big fairy tale. Or maybe even a collection of someone's imagination of a group of ancient Super Heroes and Villains just like we have in our modern day comic books. What if our going to church every Sunday and midweek bible study sessions are all for naught. Also what actually happens to us when we eventually pass from this world? Is there really a lake of everlasting fire waiting for non believers and a place of everlasting happiness for those who chose to believe as stated in the Bible? Did Moses really part the Red Sea? Did David really kick Goliath's behind? Was Jesus really conceived of a virgin, Did Jesus really heal the sick, give sight to the blind, cast demons out of the possessed, walk on water, die on a cross, buried only to rise again on the third day? And the questions go on and on and on...

I have no doubt that some of these questions and more have all crossed our minds at some point and still lingers in minds of many. And rightfully so. We are all designed to process information and determine if it makes sense or not. Ask the average Christian any of the questions above and they will probably say "you gotta have faith." However, I think we need to take it a little further. We as believers and followers of Christ need to pray for God to reveal Himself to those who may have doubts. Be it through a sign, miracle, breakthrough, blessing, deliverance etc. We as believers need to also pray for ourselves that God will continue to show us signs that He is God whenever doubt sets in hearts as they often do. I pray for this constantly and I'm glad to say that God not only showed me one sign but He's shown me a thousand and counting. One was witnessing the birth of my son in the delivery room. While Biology can explain the process, it didn't create it. Neither did a big bang process as suggested by scientists. The birth process is most definitely a Divine Design as I like to call it. A perfect sign as commanded by God our Heavenly Father that He does in fact exist. I pray that His glory through the grace of his Son Jesus Christ, will continue be evident in each of our lives. Amen

So while it may all sound like one big fairy tale, I believe the Bible and its contents are very much indeed real. And even though its gone through multiple revisions and discrepancies do exist, the message within its pages, books, chapters and verses is quite clear.  And if you are still skeptic or have doubts, just ask Him to show you a sign. He will be glad to. He's waiting...

Have a blessed and amazing weekend.

Ebenezeri,
Prince Olu

P.S
It often amazes me that people believe in dinosaurs and aliens but not in God and Jesus Christ.

The Case of the Fake Coach Briefcase...

In the fall of 1996, I was blessed to get a job offer even before completing my final semester in College. Upon graduating and starting my new gig, I decided to reward myself with a nice Coach briefcase. So I walked into their store on 5th  Avenue in New York City and looked around for one. After about a half hour and perusing the store, I changed my mind and I think the prices might have had something to do with that. After telling a friend about the Coach briefcase escapade, she told me she knew someone with a hookup that could get me fake Coach merchandise that looked quite authentic at half price. I jumped at the opportunity and boom, I had my new Coach Briefcase.

Oh my bad, thanks once again for stopping by Heaven, Here We Come :). Hope you had blessed week and are prepared for an amazing weekend ahead. May God's goodness continue to be evident in our lives. Now back to my new briefcase. So there I was carrying it with me everyday to my new job and I received quite a few compliments from friends and colleagues alike. When asked I where I got it from, I lied and told them I got it from the Coach store on 5th Avenue. After a few months, the strap snapped and I decided to get it fixed right away. Back then, Coach had a policy where they repaired their products for free. So to one of their stores I went along with my briefcase to get it fixed for free, or so I thought. Upon entering the store I was greeted by one their reps and told her I wanted my briefcase fixed. She gladly took it with her to the back of the store to have it examined. I was surprised when she came back and told me they weren't going to fix my briefcase for free. Much to my chagrin, I asked why and I'll never forget her reply. She said, "Sorry Sir, but we don't fix fake coach products. You are however welcome to go to the repairman up the block where we send other people who also come here to have their fake Coach products fixed for free."

I'll like us to take a look at this scenario from a Christian perspective. I pray when we all pass from this world and have to meet face to face with our Lord/Savior/Prince of Peace Jesus Christ, we don't hear him say "Sorry, we don't allow fake Christians into my Father's house. However, you are welcome to go to that other place where we send other fake Christians." Remember, while I as able to fool friends and colleagues that my briefcase was authentic, I could not fool the actual makers of genuine Coach products. The same applies to our lives as Christians. We may be able to fool friends, family, colleagues etc that we are real Christians, but we can't fool our Maker who created us and who we are all scheduled to face sooner or later. I pray we all work together and encourage one another to be genuine Christians. That way, when we eventually meet our Heavenly Father, we will hear Him say "Welcome my Child, we've been waiting for you".

Have a great weekend.

Ebenzeri,
Prince Olu

P.S
Also remember that the price we pay for being fake Christians exponentially outweighs the price we pay for being exposed for owing fake merchandise.

Christians Advice #34

Hello and thanks once again for stopping by Heaven, Here We Come :). Hope you had a blessed week. As we start another weekend, I pray God's favor and mercy will find its way into our lives.

My Mum, God bless her soul, was a very loving and strong woman and I had never seen her cry once. Even when her mum passed, all she did was pray, told me death was a part of life and went on with her day. However, in the summer of 2000, I will see my mum cry for the very first time. My brother and I got into an argument and was just about ready to start throwing blows when she came running downstairs wondering what all the ruckus was about. As my brother and I continued yelling and cursing at one another, we both looked at my mum and we could see the tears streaming down her eyes. I tried playing tough but seeing her in that state completely softened my anger. I asked why she was crying and she replied that she felt like she failed as a parent despite all her love for us. And love her kids so much is what she did. I re-assured her that she hadn't failed and my brother and I made up.

Today, I can only wonder if our Heavenly Father sheds a tear or two when he sees Christians fight amongst one another. I'm sure it hurts Him that despite his Love for us, we still allow pettiness and frivolity to further divide us and keep us further away from Him. Furthermore, when we as Christians fight, we are not only creating a deep chasm between ourselves and God, but we are also preventing non-believers from becoming Christians. Now I know it's inevitable for us not to disagree from time to time, but we need to ensure that we eventually come to agreement in accordance to His love. Even the 12 disciples disagreed occasionally with one another but they always resolved their conflicts. Well, except Judas and we all know the rest of that story.

So my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, please lets stop all the fighting with one another. One way to achieve this is to always remember that our Heavenly Father and his only begotten son Jesus Christ hurt deeply when we do fight. Fighting on with one another on the other hand makes Satan happy and I'm sure well don't want that. Thoughts of this should be enough to soften any anger within us. Also, lets all prove to God and ourselves that His love for us has not failed but instead continues to put Satan to shame. I pray that the peace and love of God through his son Jesus Christ will continue to abide with us so we will love one another as he instructed us to. Put yourself in God's shoes, how will you feel if your children that you love so much are constantly fighting with another despite your love for them? Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Ebenezeri,
Humble Prince

P.S
I'm proud to say that 2000 was the last time my brother and I ever had an argument or disagreement. Not only because of our love towards each other, but also because we never wanted to see our mum shed a tear ever again.

P.P.S
Btw, to my dear brother if you are reading this, you're lucky mummy came down just in time or else... :).

Dear Dad, Happy Birthday :).

Hey there and thank you once again for stopping by Heaven Here We Come :). Hope we all are having a blessed week so far. By His grace, I have no doubt that we are. Today, January 13th, happens to be a very special day for me.  It marks the 2 months anniversary of me being on stage live with Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey. But more importantly, it's my Dad's Birthday so I'll commemorate my 2 months with Obey later on in another post. On that note I'll like wish you Dad, a very Happy Birthday and pray that God will grant you many more happy years ahead. You'll probably never read this, but in the event that you do, I'll like to say...

Thank you for teaching me that character content surpasses any physical or material attribute an individual can possess.
Thank you for teaching me how to love and respect a woman. I'll never forget that conversation we had when I was just 11 as I was about to start Federal Government College Odogbolu(which happens to be the greatest secondary school in Nigeria, but I digress...)
Thank you for teaching me that the best gift a Father can give his child is to love and respect his child's mother.
Thank you for teaching me how to be principled, fair, patient, kind and how to resolve conflict.
Thank you for teaching me to never start a fight, but to hold my own whenever I found myself in one.
Thank you for instilling in me confidence and swagger. I'm passing it on to your grandson and you'll be glad to know that he's taking it to another level.
Thank you for teaching me how to be content.
Thank you for teaching me how to be a real Man.
Thank you for being a great Father. Its because of your love towards me that I too wanted to be a Father.
Most importantly, Thank you for being a representation of God for me here on earth. Next to Jesus, you are the greatest man I'll ever know.

And I know you taught me a lot more, but there's not enough space on the whole Internet to list them. Just know that I appreciate you and all the Great Dads(me included) out there. Once Again, Happy Birthday.

Ebenezeri,
Prince Olu

P.S
If you are Father and you someday want your child to write something like this about you, just love that child. I hope that's not to much to ask.

What Jesus Also Wants...

Hi and welcome back to Heaven Here We Come :). Hope you had a nice weekend like I did and I pray we all have a wonderful week ahead.

As Christians, I believe we all have an idea of what's expected of us from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He wants us to love one another as we love ourselves, fellowship wholeheartedly with one another with praise and worship, and come to him with all our problems and fears, as only He can help overcome them, and the list goes on.  However, there's also one more thing I believe Jesus wants from us all and that's to bring more people to him. This I believe is our most important call to duty as Christians. Going to church, bible study, speaking in tongues, forwarding emails, etc is all good, but we need to do more by telling more people about him. Now I understand some of us are coy and reticent, but that shouldn't stop us. All you have to do is tell a friend, co-worker, family member, etc. You don't need to start a church either, we have enough of those already. Lets all just work together to bring more people to Him and give them a chance at Heaven. The fact is, if we don't tell people we come in contact with about Jesus and they die without knowing Him, then we will be held responsible for their souls spending eternity in that other place.

Remember, the reason we know Jesus is because someone cared enough to tell us about him.  Just know that the more people you bring to Him, the more blessed you will be. You will also be securing a solid place with Him in Heaven. We should all be careful as we embark on this effort because the enemy will try to see that we don't succeed. But because we have Jesus, he will be defeated, over and over and over again.

Again, thank you for stopping by and have a blessed week ahead.

Ebenezeri,
Prince Olu


P.S
Another reason He will want us to bring more people to Him is so we can fill up those Heavenly Mansions he spoke about. Hope to see you there :).

New Year Resolution Advice #20

Hello and thanks for stopping by once again to Heaven Here We Come :). I hope you are having a wonderful 2011 thus far. While we're at it, how are you doing with those new year resolutions? Broken any yet? If not, then good for you. If you didn't make any, allow me to render a few suggestions:

1. If you haven't already, completely cut soda/soft drinks/minerals or whatever you want to call it out of your diet. Couple this with some form of exercise/workout program and you will tremendously help improve your health. 
2. Read a book. I recommend a book called Blink, The Power of Thinking without thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. This will help stimulate your thinking and also improve your vocabulary.
3. Learn to play a musical instrument. This will give you something to do when you are bored.
4. If you don't know how to swim, learn. It just might save your life. It will also make sense for those of us that like to take pictures fronting at the pool but don't know how to swim
5. Run/Walk for a cause. Be it Diabetes, Cancer or AIDS etc.
6. Enhance your character. It's your best weapon for getting ahead in life.
7. Make amends with friends and family. Its the best discount to a stress free life.
8. Develop and strengthen your relationship with Jesus Christ. This might be the single most important decision we make. Matter of fact, it shouldn't be a new year resolution, it should be a life resolution. 

So there you have it. I could have suggested more, but I thought I'd keep it short and sweet. So until next time, it's...

Ebenezeri,

Prince Olu

P.S

And even if you can't fulfill any or all of the above, please make sure you make every effort to fulfill #8. 

Grudge Free

At some point I'm sure we've all had some kind of grudge with a friend, family member, co-worker, pet etc. If you've resolved that grudge then good for you and the other party. If you haven't, what are you waiting for? I don't care who's wrong or right, just try your best to make peace. Not only because it's right, but because that's what Jesus Christ wants, plain and simple(Christians take note). If you are holding a grudge with someone, chances are you despise that person. Problem is Jesus loves that person. So how can you hate someone that Jesus loves but yet claim to love Jesus. Also, if the person you have a grudge with was to die today, would you attend their funeral? If yes, why? To pay your last respects? In that case, why not pay that respect to the person while they are living (Christian or not).

I saw this happen not once, but actually twice. First was when my Mum was in her final hours. One of her friends with whom she had a disagreement with came to the hospital to make peace. This despite all the efforts and attempts my mum made to reach out to her long before she was in the hospital. And even though my mum was older and didn't even know the reason for the discord, her only goal was to make peace. I was amazed that this was the time this lady chose to finally yield to my Mum's attempts at amity when she had ample chances to do so long before my mum was in the hospital. Second time was at a funeral for a friend of my younger sister. As the young lady laid in her coffin, one of her friends was giving a speech on how she wished she had just made peace before her dear friend passed. I pray none of us ever find ourselves in the position where we have to apologize to the dead. Furthermore, if you are holding a grudge with someone and one of you die, one or both of you won't get to see Heaven. Maybe then you'll realize how senseless a grudge is. (Even if you don't believe in Heaven, grudges are still senseless).

Ever since I experienced the situation with my mum and her friend, I made the decision to live grudge free. Seeing a similar situation at that funeral only reinforced that decision. I beseech you to do the same. Not only are grudges a huge burden on one's heart, but they are also a major waste of time. Now I'm not saying we're not going to get angry at one another, but the goal is to not let that anger grow into hate or disdain. If you feel someone has offended you, please try to settle it right there and then pray for one another. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes. It saddens me when I hear of how Father and Son, Mother and Daughter, Brother and Sister, Brother and Brother, Sister and Sister, Best Friends, Groom and Best Man, Bride and Maid of Honor, Pet and Pet Owner etc no longer talk for one reason or the other. I pray the love of Jesus will soften all of our hearts towards one another so we can all love each other as He has instructed us to.

By the way, when we argue, bicker, fight and hold grudges with one another, whose agenda are we promoting, that of the prince of darkness and destruction or that of Jesus, The Prince of Peace? I'll answer this very important question in a future post. And even if you don't believe in the Prince of Peace or prince of darkness, grudges are still a waste of time. Or isn't it? I guess only time will tell...

Grudge Free,
Humble Prince


P.S
Please don't make living Grudge Free one of your New Year Resolutions. We all know how some of you are when it comes to resolutions :).