Whatever happened to our bowels of compassion

Bowels of compassion or mercies is King James Bible Version's way of describing a heart of compassion, a heart of pity and empathy and a heart of kindness. (Phil.2:1; Col.3:12; 1 John 3:17). When bowels of mercies swells up, it stirs one up into action.

The Northern Eastern Nigeria have suffered a great and terrible ordeal in the hands of the insurgency. nobody is spared whether you are a Muslim, a Christian or Animist. Towns and villages have been razed down; properties and means of livelihood destroyed; schools and churches and mosques completely burnt down; millions displaced; children forced to leave schools and for many of them, their lives have been changed irreversibly. As a Christian minister, my focus is on the ordeal of Christians in this region of the country.

There is a wrong misconception among Christians in the South that everybody in the North is a Muslim. This is very far from the truth. There are millions of indigenous Christians from these regions and many of them are among those that are displaced. Their churches have been destroyed and many are trapped in the Internally Displaced Person's (IDP) Camps. They cannot go back to their homes and they do not have any means of livelihood, they virtually depend on aids and helps to survive. The sad thing is that many are dying in the IDP Camps of starvation. Unfortunately, we cannot see massive movements among the churches in the South to mobilize Aids for these brethren. No regular Offerings are being raised for them.

After the August 29 2005 Katrina disaster in Louisiana, especially in New Orleans, there was a great mobilization of relief materials for the victims of the Hurricane by churches, church agencies, non-profit making organizations, and other groups. Among the groups mentioned here, six are outright church groups while four have some Christian leanings. But in Nigeria, the case does not seem to be the same. The reason is not that the church is poor, the issue is that we are distracted. The monies are under the authority of a few persons who use them for 'projects' that attract their fancy. A few of the indigenous churches in the North are overwhelmed by the enormous needs around them. Remember  "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world" .James 1:27 KJV.

The question that keeps ringing in my heart is, what happened to our bowels of mercies? The purpose of this post is to stir you up to action. Make sure you are doing your part no matter how 'small' yo may think it is. Do not shut your bowels of compassion. If you want further information and contact on how to get involved, agencies and church organizations, kindly write us through evergreenword@gmail.com.

May God richly bless you.

CAPRO Last Days Gathering (LDG 2016), SS & SE Zones

The Last Days Gathering (LDG '16) is here. 

Theme: THE CHRISTIAN IN TIMES OF GREAT ADVERSITY. 

Venue: Scripture Union Camp of Faith Okigwe. 

Date: 20th - 23rd October. 

You are cordially invited to this great meeting. 

God bless.

Please mention Asia Bibi in your Family and Church Prayers

This 51 year old mother has been on the death row since 2009. She was convicted over trumped up blasphemy charges.
As reported by Release International and the Voice of Martyrs, her final appeal will come up this October.

We are calling on Christians everywhere to pray for her. There are protests by Islamic Fundamentalists to put pressure on the government not to acquit her. Also the prosecutors, defense team and the judges are threatened with death if they end up releasing this woman.

Pray that her courage will not fail. May her faith continue to be strong no matter what happens.

From VOM: Ask that the Lord will grant favour to Asia and her legal representatives as they mediate for justice and mercy on her behalf. May the court be impartial and not be swayed by prejudicial arguments or protests, nor respond in fear to opposing militants. Continue to pray for Asia's health and protection, as well as the safety of her family and all who are trying to assist her. Intercede for the Pakistanis who are wishing her harm by wrongfully taking "justice" into their own hands. Pray that they would be under the conviction of the one true God who longs for His love and salvation to be experienced by all of humanity (John 3:16).

Sign the Petition for the repeal of this devilish Blasphemy Law here.

Integrity in our relationships

 "Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one." 2 Cor 7:2-3. NIV

We read this passage this morning during our Morning Devotion. Everybody felt very challenged.

Paul was really a servant of God. At every point in time, he reviewed his attitude, his character and his relationships with other people as he walked his pilgrim journey. We saw him in the previous passages giving explanations to his actions, invoking his sincerity and genuineness of intentions in his relationship with the Corinthian Church. Some false teachers were really on ground to cause problems, distract the church members and set them up against Paul, but he said "Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God." 2 Cor 2:17.

We ask ourselves, can I look back at my relationships; that girl, that young man, my wife or my husband, my Dad, my Mum, my son or my daughter and confidently say "we have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one"?. If I continue the way I am doing now, can I boldly look back at retirement and say with Paul "we have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one"? Can we look back after we are posted out of a church station as a pastor, evangelist or church worker and say that "...we have exploited no one"? Can we look back at the last work place from where we changed to our current job and say "...we have corrupted no one. We have exploited no one"? Can we as a Bishop, General overseer, Senior Pastor look the younger pastors who worked under us in the eye and say, "We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one."? The question can go on and on.

In the Christian circles today, we rarely teach people to reflect and consider their ways. We seem not to care anymore about integrity and sincerity of our actions. Let us reflect today on the issues raised before us from the passage above and make amends where necessary. If we reflect now and make amends, we may save ourselves from many regrets at the end when it will be too late to make amends.
I am reflecting already. God bless you.