Welcome To EJFriday's Blog: February 2013

Tuesday 12 February 2013

Jonathan Showers Gifts: Lands, Cash, Honours, on Super Eagles

President Goodluck Jonathan with the trophy and the Super Eagles

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday made good his promise as he showered gifts of lands, cash and national honours on the latest African football champions the Super Eagles in appreciation of their outstanding performance and winning the 2013 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The cash gift of over N150 million as a token by the federal government was squandered on the Super Eagles when the eagles visited the President with the trophy. The Super Eagles won the trophy after defeating Burkina Faso 1 - 0 at the final in South Africa. Nigeria won 19 years after its last victory at the tournament.

The president also announced that each of the players and coaches were to get one plot of land each in Abuja, just as he also conferred national honours on the national team members, the coaches and the technical crew members.

Jonathan made the announcement while speaking at a well-attended dinner reception held in honour of the Super Eagles at the Banquet Hall of the presidential villa, Abuja, yesterday night.

From the breakdown given by the president, Super Eagles head coach, Stephen Keshi, got N10 million while his two assistants – Daniel Amokachi and Ike Shorumu - and each player got N5 million. Other technical crew members got N2 million each.

In the order of the national honours award, Coach Keshi was conferred with the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) award, the two assistant coaches were honoured with the Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR) award, while the players and others were conferred with the Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) awards.

The president also applauded the cash gifts lavished on members of the team by individuals, including business moguls, Aliko Dangote and Mike Adenuga, noting that more individual cash or kind gifts were still being expected.

He mentioned about five persons who donated $500,000 to the team, saying members of the team knew how to share it.

LEARNING TO GROW IN HIS PRESENCE

Pastor W. F. Kumuyi

Matthew 5:1,2

The last Old Testament prophet, Malachi, spoke 400 years before the advent of Jesus Christ. It was His coming that broke the inter-testament period of silence between the books of Malachi and Matthew, between the close of the Old Testament and the opening of the New Testament. He came to reveal God’s Word and will to man. He came to save and to lead us into the fullness that we can have in God. He is the Saviour, Lord and Teacher. His teaching brought spiritual life and growth to His hearers. Prior to this chapter, Jesus Christ had been calling people to repentance and discipleship; and many people had responded to His call (Matthew 4:17-25).

Until a sinner repents, there is nothing Christ can teach him because he is dead in sins and trespasses. When the sinner answers Christ’s call and comes out of darkness into the light, out of sin unto the Saviour, out of spiritual death unto eternal life, then he could be taught by the Lord. When the Lord calls anyone, He makes the individual to forsake his past to follow Him wherever He leads. During His earthly ministry, He taught the people, preached to them and healed those who were sick among them. He enlightened them and showed them the way of the Lord. Multitudes were attracted to His ministry. He taught three categories of people – His disciples, the multitudes and the people (Matthew 5:1,2; 7:28,29). Disciples are learners who can become apostles; none can be an apostle overnight; you must first be born again, go through discipleship before becoming an apostle – the sent out ones. In His presence, we learn all that we need to live and to grow into Him.

1. LEARNING IN HIS PRESENCE

Matthew 5:1,2; John 3:2; Matthew 22:16; John 8:2,28; Matthew 26:55; Acts 3:22-26; 22:14,15; Matthew 11:29; Isaiah 50:4-7.

There is no secret meaning about Jesus’ going to the mountain to teach the people. Seeing the audience was a large crowd, teaching on the plain like the rest of the people would not afford the listeners the opportunity to see Him. He needed to stay on an elevated plain so that everyone could see Him just like we use platforms today. There was orderliness in His congregation: He was set, settled, well-placed. He had His disciples as well as the multitudes in His audience but His disciples came out of the multitudes to the Lord because they wanted to learn.

Jesus is not only a Saviour and Lord, He is also a Teacher. People in His time knew Him to be a Teacher of a higher level: “Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men”. What kind of teacher can draw you closer to God, link you with God and channel your faith to God but a teacher come from God? He was a Teacher come from God because He was teachable before the Father. Likewise, we cannot be effective teachers unless we are teachable. Jesus taught so much in His three years of ministry because He did not limit His teachings to a day of the week but He made it a daily affair. He taught daily “in the temple” in the power of God. Any day not given to teaching was considered lost.

From the ministry of Jesus, we learn that (i) He taught without fear, without favour (ii) He taught with focus and freshness (iii) He taught with firmness and finality (iv) He taught with faith and forbearance (v) He taught freely and fully (vi) He taught frequently and fervently (Luke 23:5) (vii) He taught faithfully and fearlessly.

2. LEANING ON HIS PROMISE

Matthew 5:1,2; Deuteronomy 31:12; Philippians 4:9; John 13:17; 15:4,5; Philippians 4:13; Romans 8:3,4; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Ephesians 3:20.

Christ is “a teacher come from God” indeed. The difference between Him (Christ, the great Teacher) and other teachers like Moses, David and Daniel was that His Words proceed with transforming power to accomplish in His hearers His good purpose. These Old Testament saints could not transform the people they taught but Christ had the power to teach and transform His hearers. While the audience of these Old Testament teachers could not find grace to obey the truth they were taught, the audience He taught received enabling grace to obey His Words. This happened as they listened and leaned upon the Lord for grace to obey Him. As they relied on Him, they received the power to practise what Christ taught them. Thus, they received the fulfilment of His promises in their lives. We also need to lean on the promise of God to be able to practise the Word of God. The purpose of teaching or listening to the teaching of the Word of God is not just to acquire head knowledge. It is so that the Word can bear fruit in our lives and characters. It is so that the Word we hear can become principles in our hearts by which we live. “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you” (Philippians 4:9). What we know must correspond with our practice because knowledge is a means to an end. “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (John 13:17).

Believers must endeavour to receive grace from God to be able to obey His Word. This is because Christ’s teachings are supernatural; and we need supernatural power to be able to do them. People are not able to practise the Word of God when they do not rely on Him. They find certain truths in the Word of God too hard to obey. But the truth is, believers can obey every Word of God because it is through it that He strengthens us. The indwelling Christ enables us to obey the Word of God. It is possible to obey every Word of the Lord. Against rising doubts, every believer must in faith reassure himself that: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). The power of the Word of God works in our hearts by faith to activate us to do His will. The purpose of learning is doing and the power for doing is Christ in us.

3. LIVING BY HIS PRECEPTS

Matthew 5:1,2; 7:24-27; John 8:30-32; Luke 8:15; John 14:21; Revelation 22:14; Matthew 7:21-23; James 1:21-25.

We know what, when and where Christ taught. But why did He teach them? Christ taught His audience so that they will live by His teachings. Why do you teach the Word of God or listen to the teaching of God’s Word? We teach people so they can practise the Word. We attend church services to listen to the Word of God to be able to practise, grow and live by His precepts.“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock … and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock” (Matthew 7:24,25). Those who live by the Word of God are blessed because they receive the grace to do them through earnest prayer to God. The second group listens to Christ’s Word but is “foolish” and porous because they hear and would not do it. Christ “likened [them] unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:26,27).

It is he who keeps Christ’s commandments that truly loves Him. If the Lord is precious and dear to us, His Word will be precious to us. Commitment to continuously obey His precepts guarantees, not only abundance of blessings on earth, but also entrance into heaven. It is our Christian lifestyle (not signs and wonders in ministry) that qualifies us for heaven. We must first enter heaven through obedience and holy lifestyle before we can be rewarded for service.

Gunmen kill three security guards in Jos

Three security guards serving with WAMCO Nigeria Limited, a dairy company located in Vom, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, were on Monday night killed by yet to be identified attackers.

A witness, who claimed to be at the scene of incident, told journalists that the well armed attackers stormed the company in a large number.

He said the attackers overpowered the security guards on duty because of the sophisticated weapons and number of attackers.

Confirming the incident, the media officer of the Special Task Force, STF, on Jos crisis, Salisu Mustapha, said men of the force are investigating the incident.

Mr. Mustapha said he could not yet provide full details of the incident.

The witness said that the remains of the victims have been deposited at the Plateau Specialist Hospital in Jos.

Following the incident, the routine stop and search by security officials in and around Jos, particularly along the Vom – Manchok Highway leading to Kaduna State, has intensified.
SOURCE: Premium Times

French parliament approves landmark gay marriage bill

France's National Assembly approved the government’s controversial ‘marriage for all’ bill in a final vote on Tuesday after months of fierce debate. The law is President François Hollande’s first major social reform.

France’s lower house voted on Tuesday to approve the government’s marriage reform, which will allow same-sex couples the same spousal and adoption rights as their heterosexual counterparts.
The law, which is President François Hollande’s first major social reform and a key election pledge, will now go to the Senate, where it is expected to pass easily.

The formal vote came 10 days after passing its first and major hurdle, when lawmakers voted 249-97 in favour of redefining marriage as a contract between two people rather than between a man and a woman.

Catholic opposition
That vote was followed by a lengthy parliamentary debate during which more than 5,000 amendments filed by the conservative opposition were processed.
A separate law on providing medically assisted procreation to lesbian couples – something which is already available to heterosexual couples unable to conceive – will be debated later in the year.
The issue has proved to be hugely divisive in a country steeped in conservative Catholic values, despite its global reputation as a progressive nation.
While a majority of French voters support marriage equality, the debate sparked some of the country’s largest protests in decades. The anti-gay marriage camp, largely driven by the Catholic Church, has accused President Hollande of pushing through legislation without proper consultation. It has promised to stage a new rally on March 24.
SOURCE: France24

A quiet life beckons for Benedict

The pope is standing down from office (AP)

The pope is planning to stay out of the public eye following his retirement at the end of the month and will probably not even write any more, his brother said after talking with him.
Speaking at home in the German city of Regensburg, 89-year-old Georg Ratzinger said his brother also has no plans to move back to his German homeland but would instead stay in the Vatican. "You don't transplant an old tree," Mr Ratzinger said.
The two are very close, however, and he said he is already planning to visit his brother later in the year. The 85-year-old Benedict shocked the world by announcing that he planned to step down from the papacy at the end of the month.
For his brother, however, the decision was no surprise. "He has been thinking about it for several months," he said. "He concluded that his powers are falling victim to age."
He talked with the pope by phone after the announcement and said his brother was now hoping to lead a quiet life in the Vatican. A prolific writer during his papacy, Mr Ratzinger said that was also something his brother would now likely end. "I don't think he will write anymore," he said.
Rudolf Voderholzer, the bishop of Regensburg who is also in charge of the pope's theological institute that publishes his work, said even if Benedict does write, no more would be published during his lifetime.
"Anything he published could be conceived as interference in the work of the next pope," he said.
As for his successor, Mr Ratzinger said only that his brother "feels that a younger person is needed to deal with the problems of the times."
SOURCE: msn

How to bring real romance back to Valentine's Day

MSN's relationship expert Dr Pam Spurr reveals you don't have to be a victim of commercialism

Nadya Lukic,Getty Images

Stroll down any high street at this time and there's a depressing array of cheap greeting cards and cuddly toys for Valentine's Day. Want a neon-pink fluffy monkey with a sign around its neck saying "I'm bananas for you"? Or a faux satin, padded card that plays an unrecognisable version of the Dr. Zhivago tune when opened? You've got it!
Poor St. Valentine is surely turning in his grave. How could his moving, romantic gesture to his jailer’s blind daughter have led to this sort of commercialism?
But that's the tragic truth and Valentine’s Day is now a celebration of bad taste instead of symbolising the season of romance. It's enough to put off anyone from what should be a fun excuse to flirt with that special person.
Whether a long-term couple, or just getting to know that special person, don't let the tacky side of Valentine's stop you finding your inner-romantic.

Here are tips, tricks and techniques for some guaranteed romance -
*Get mysterious –
As Valentine’s falls on a Thursday - awkward for some working couples - agree to celebrate it at the weekend. Take control and plan a mystery journey like a romantic stroll in a local place of beauty. Wrap up warm, take a flask and yummy snacks and surprise them by leading them to place you've chosen.
*Venture You don't have to celebrate in a restaurant –
Don't book a restaurant on Valentine’s night when prices are inflated and it’s full of couples feeling a bit awkward. Instead plan to do something they really enjoy. If they're sporty why not book ice-skating or go bowling. If they love films get tickets to one and don't let them know which film you're seeing. A little surprise goes a long way. Bring their favourite treats all wrapped up to share during the film.

Lena Sergeeva,Getty Images

*Beat the crowds –
If your ‘Valentine’ loves going to restaurants then ask them to put the 13th or the 15^th in their diary and book a table for that night. You miss the crush of couples on Valentine's itself and you can make it your own special night of romance. It adds a little sparkle to know you're doing things differently in your relationship.
*Re-create your first date –
Couples who've been together a while can plan to re-create their first date. Go back to your old haunt, do whatever you did that first date and chat about how you felt when you first time clapped eyes on each other. Describe in detail what it was about their smile, twinkling eyes, or chat-up line that got you hooked. It's surprising how this technique renews that old feeling between you.
*Create the right atmosphere for romance –
With the never-ending recession romantic restaurant dinners are a thing of the past especially with pricey Valentine offerings. Create a candlelit dinner-picnic on your sitting room floor. Make it cozy with blankets and cushions and have a tray of your fave finger foods to hand-feed each other. A snuggly picnic makes it easy to get rude-with-food leading nicely into foreplay.
*Book an adventure together for the future -
Plan your evening around planning for the future - enjoy researching potential destinations to visit or days out to take. If on a budget it means you can plan to save for your romantic away-day. As above, do this over a candlelit dinner at home. It's always nice sharing that feeling you're looking forward to an adventure-for-2.
*Small but meaningful –
You don't have to be a big spender to make them realise how much they mean to you. If you've been together a while buy them a CD of songs from the year you met. If it's a new relationship download for them the No. 1tune from the week you met. Or do this with DVDs - surprise them with a DVD of the first film you saw together.
*Unexpected surprises -
The thought you put into a Valentine surprise is reflected in unexpected gifts. Why not name a star, plant a tree, or adopt an animal in their name. It may seem incurably romantic but that's what this time of year is about!
Or buy them surprise tickets to something they love doing like seeing their favourite band or going to the theatre. Receiving tickets tucked inside a Valentine card is a guaranteed success.

peter zelei,Getty Images

*Have a little flirty fun –
Whether your sex life needs a boost or you're smack in the middle of the hot honeymoon phase - Valentine's gives you perfect excuse [mind you, not that you need 1] to flirt with a sexy phone call or message. Turn up the heat by teasing them about a sex trick/technique you'd like to do to them that evening.
How much detail you give depends on your relationship but Valentine's is a great excuse to push the boundaries. Put some sexy choices inside their Valentine card, e.g., they're allowed to choose one from the three or four red-hot choices you list.
Dr Pam’s on twitter @drpamspurr

Thursday 7 February 2013

Pastor Chris Okotie at war with journalist over story, bans him from church

The journalist is Biodun Kupoluyi, the publisher of E24/7 Magazine. He is alleging that the senior pastor of Household of God, Chris Okotie, has barred him from attending his church after he wrote a story alleging that Rev Okotie is dating an undergraduate named Miss Naomi Hoffman. (See the story above) Biodun is an off/on member of Household of God.

He granted an interview to Encomium magazine this week, telling his side of the story. See it below...

I received the news from a man claiming he's representing the church that he has been directed by the pastor of the church and members of Household of God church that I should not come and worship with them. His reason, he said, was premised on E24-7 magazine's expose - pastor Chris finds new love, says I will not get married again, but may opt for surrogacy soon. I found it shocking that a day after the publication hit the streets, his media department sent a release out and it confirmed our story. He actually made those statements and we reported it. I think he did not think anybody could have known about his romance with the girl, Naomi. He was caught off guard..but as a journalist, I owe our teeming readers that responsibility. I feel fulfilled, though I will miss his theatrics, his stage performances and verbosity.

My perception of the church and my respect for the man has changed. He is not a serious preacher of the gospel. The job of a good shepherd is to seek a lost sheep, not to ban a sheep or send away a sheep from the fold. It is only in our environment that these kind of things happen. Because I worship in a church, I can't write the story of the pastor even if the pastor is doing what is wrong? But the pastor and the church will hail me if I praise him or do a PR story for them.

Despite the ban, if journalistic duties calls I will go there. In fact we were there the following week after I was barred. It was the week he claimed Christians can do tattoos and plastic surgery. We went with a whole crew, looking forward to a show down. I'm a free citizen. I can not be cowed. And I stand by my story on Naomi. That is not disputable!
SOURCE: lindaikeji