Godly Leadership and National Development

 Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

The Bible records in Acts Chapter 10 that the Biblical Centurion of Caesarea called Cornelius was a devout man who feared God alongside his entire household; he also gave alms generously (it is one thing to give alms and another to give it generously as one can give out of obligation but generous giving comes from the heart. Additionally, Cornelius had the wonderful habit of praying to God always.

A leader who prays to God always is simply saying by that singular action that s/he has no power of his or her own and that s/he is wholly dependent on God for everything – his or her trust, confidence, mental processes, decisions and actions are guided by God alone. While such leaders are rare gems, they are greatly desired and urgently required in any nation. This is because such leaders will not take laws into their hands; they will not act according to the dictates of their flesh like Ahab who coveted Naboth’s vineyard and assented to the murder of Naboth so he could own Naboth’s vineyard. They will not be like Nebuchadnezzar who ordered the immediate execution of the wise men in Babylon simply because they could not his dream and the interpretation, same Nebuchadnezzar who raised up a statue and called for human worship and when Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego defied him , he had them thrown into the fiery furnace which fortunately did harm them.

Beloved, there are other rulers in the Bible and history who did far worse than these two Kings. That is because they were not dependent on God and they were not dependent on God because they had no fear of God.

Averting Dangers 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Herod suddenly developed a new passion, albeit, an ungodly passion. It was the passion of killing believers, particularly the leadership of the Church. He had killed James the brother of John and when he discovered that the Jews were happy, he took a decision to also kill the Apostle Peter and had him locked up on death row; to be killed any moment. What a trying moment for the Church! James had recently been killed and Peter was next.

The Church was not prepared to suffer such losses more so when they realized that Herod’s actions were not the will of God for the Church. They took action and utilized one of the weapons of spiritual warfare – constant prayer, which is pray until you see the desired result. Significantly, the prayer sessions did not hold in the Church. They were held in the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark. Does God answer prayers? The fact that Peter was miraculously released from prison the night before he was to be killed in the morning is evidence, in point of fact great evidence that God answers prayers.

Keys to Averting Dangers

Total dependence and trust in God as in the cases of Jehoshaphat and the Judeans against the three allied armies of Moab, Ammon and Mount Seir recorded in 2^nd Chronicles Chapter 20; and Hezekiah and the Judeans against Sennecherib and his arrogant army. Please read Isaiah Chapters 36 to 38 for details.

Averting Dangers

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

God’s loving preventive measures have always helped the people of God to avert dangers in a timely manner. The Bible records a number of instances where God in His power and mercy prevented the evil designs of the devil upon the people of God.

Moses could have been killed as a child because a law had gone out in Egypt that all male babies of the children of Israel should be killed. Despite his law, God gave Jochebed unparallel wisdom to preserve the life of Moses. First, she successfully hid him away from prying eyes for three months. But when she could no longer do that, she tapped into the divine wisdom she was filled with and dropped the baby in the reeds by the river bank, significantly close to where Pharaoh’s daughter showered. Also, Jochebed kept Moses’ sister Miriam close by to stand watch over the baby.

When Pharaoh’s daughter came to shower in company of her maidens, she saw the ark Moses was put in among the reeds. Immediately, she sent her maid to get it. And this is where the great grace and love of God never ceases to amaze me. As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter opened the ark and saw the baby, the Bible records that the baby wept; thereby triggering off every maternal instinct in this great princess of Egypt. Again, and this is quite significant, the Bible records that she had compassion on baby Moses, noting that he must be one of the Hebrew children. And just then, Miriam who was tactically hiding in the background showed up when she saw the benevolent expression on the face of the princess.

Quickly and quite strategic, Miriam asked if she could go call a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for the princess. Of particular importance is that fact that Miriam requested that the nurse would care for the child for the princess. Miriam did not also mention that the proposed nurse was actually the baby’s mother. This is wisdom begetting tact and discretion for averting satanic disasters.

Moses’ mother showed up promptly and ironically was hired by Pharaoh’s daughter to nurse Moses. This is quite ironic because the princess is a daughter of the Pharaoh who decreed the death of all male Hebrew children born to the Israelites. Yet the person God would use to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land was raised in the palace of Pharaoh, cared for and nurtured like one of the princes of Egypt. Awesome God Who alone does great and wonderful things. Nothing indeed takes him by surprise.

God is With You

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

What makes a Church a Church is the Presence of God in the Church. It is not the physical size of the structure in which the people gather to worship. It is also not the economic power or social status of the people. It is not the large number of people. Rather it is the Presence of God in the Church and in the personal lives of the people. It is also the personal relationships the people have with God that dovetail into the indwelling Presence of God in the people. This is what makes a Church the Church of God. It is not the finesse of the pastor, leadership or the finery in terms of dress, furniture, etc. It is the wholesome, awesome, sanctifying Presence of God in the midst of the people or in the building that makes the place a Church.

In like manner, what makes an individual strong, a family or nation strong is the Presence of God in that individual, family or nation.

The Biblical Samson remained strong and unbeaten as long as God was with him. But the moment he got careless and made known the source of his strength, the Presence of God in his life through his Nazrite hair, he lost his super human strength and became a slave to the Philistines. His strength however returned when he repented and his hair grew afresh.

Severally, the nation of Israel was defeated by nations who they ordinarily overran. This was because the nation of Israel sinned against God and lost the critical and very important Presence of God in their personal and national lives. A case in point was the defeat they suffered from Ai, a small nation they could have defeated easily. Please read Joshua Chapter 7. But the moment there was national repentance, the Presence of God came on strong and they not only defeated Ai but went on to defeat several nations to possess the land of Canaan.