Remembering Martyrs and 9/11 again

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Bode Ososami

Late Brother Mark Ojunta - Calvary Ministries

About this time last year, I wrote an article “Recession proof love – Remembering 911” which focused on the impact on incidents as this on our hearts and difficulties in loving the unlovable. Still finding it relevant – I have republished the thoughts in that article. Please read on - and also find my other related articles - as you spare some thoughts also for many other nations, peoples and families in other geographies that have been devastated by terrorism …. I also received the letter in my mail – I have republished below

Dearly Beloved Colleagues,

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is to inform you that the burial for our late bro. Mark Ojunta who was shot by the Boko Haram on the night of August 27^th, 2011 has been fixed for September 30^th , 2011 by his parent. This burial will take place in his village in Abia state.

Our late brother died at the age of 36 years as a martyr on his field among the Kotokos, first martyr in CAPRO in our 36 years of existence as a ministry. All our staff in Shuwa Arab, Kotoko and Kanuri were on the list of this sect to be killed. The National office immediately evacuated our missionaries when this was known. Bro. Mark took his family out on Friday but he went back to the field because he had convert class with some believers on Saturday. It was in the night that the sect came to where they were staying, knock at the door and he tried to escape but could not get away.

“Look, he said, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Acts 7: 56Acts 7: 56
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

WP-Bible plugin. Jesus the Lord stood up from His throne for Stephen as he was being ushered into His presence as the first martyr. What a glorious way to be translated into the presence of the Lord. Bro. Mark died among the people whom the Lord sent to reach with the love of Christ. Wednesday of that week brother Kola Kehinde, our National Coordinator in UK spoke with him about the possibility of him coming to join the UK team. His response was, he wants to invest more years into the work among the Kotokos and hand it over to believers before he can consider leaving. What a passion and commitment! Four days later he was translated into the presence of His Master. “Where, O death is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? …. “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” Hallelujah!!!

“For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation he fell asleep…” Acts 13:36Acts 13:36
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: after...: or, after he had in his own age served the will of God

WP-Bible plugina. May the Lord help us all to serve God’s purpose for our lives. Please pray for Sis. Ema, his wife, Kambe (3yrs) and Akira (9mths) their children for grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit. For his father, mother and his sisters. Pray for wisdom and provision as we prepare for the burial. Blessings.

Amos Aderonmu, International Director,Calvary Ministries (CAPRO) www.capromissions.org …reaching the nations since 1975

In the times of abundant iniquity, the love of many – Jesus Christ said would grow cold. In the bid to survive even as media networks fan the fiery embers of fear for fiendish gain …as increased competitiveness for scarce resources and harsh economic climate persists – many must find themselves vulnerable to a hardening that always comes surreptitiously to the unguarded.

Matthew 24[12] And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

I ask myself – how can I make the love of God in my life that manifests in practical acts of charity for others especially those I perceive as unlovable … recession proof? I also ask myself some questions…

Would I still love God if suddenly sent to the back of a lonesome desert? Or suddenly denied of a much desired breakthrough? How warm would my love be if suddenly exposed to very different cultures and peoples?
When faced with opposition and strong resistance that cause me to buckle – can I still be thankful? Am I happier when I have my way and miserable and fretful when I can not?
Do I (in subtle ways) take credit for the good things God is doing – forgetting to thank Him? Do I despise His chastening not thanking Him for the things I do not understand or like?

What separates children of God in the Bible, with recession proof love for God and His creation, from the others who struggle?

I discern three principal things worth noting …

They trusted completely in the work of God in their life and others and in all the events impacting them…knowing that all things must work out for their good as they obeyed Him.
They relied more on spiritual weapons – principally prayer and the help of the Holy Spirit, leaning always on the mercy of God.
They never saw themselves in any way disadvantaged or at a loss – when events appeared contrary to their expectations – knowing God has limitless avenues to work out and fulfil destiny.

I recall a scene in a Christian film I watched of a blind man offered his eyesight but only if he accepted to serve the devil and bear his mark forever… He received sight for a few minutes and was asked to make a decision…would he rather remain blind and be saved?

If riches, enlightenment and great influence would cost me my salvation would I agree to let these go? Would I turn my back to Jesus If I risked losing all the comforts, social safety nets and wealth as a result of obeying Him completely…

A.M. Royden said “Learn to hold loosely all that is not eternal”. Jesus once met a rich man who would not follow Him.

Luke 18[23] And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. [24] And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

Jesus – the best preacher ever – the living word … could not convince this rich man. How come we have so easily convinced Him? Perhaps we have presented to him a more practical perspective.

As we remember 911…and the painful lingering memories… let us also remember what the Bible says about love…

I John 4[16] And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. [17] Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. [18] There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. [19] We love him, because he first loved us. [20] If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? [21] And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

I John 3 [10] In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

The real plan of September 11 to defeat a nation may have worked far more effectively than many would think if it has lured many out of dwelling in love…even love for the unlovable. Lord, help me – that in these unusual times my love may be found recession proof…never waxing cold.

Amen

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Religion, Social Responsibility, Terrorism & Poverty Eradication

Posted on April 24, 2011 by Bode Ososami

Socially responsible investing or Corporate Social Responsibility also known as sustainable, socially-conscious, or ethical investing and approaches, describe alternative ways to maximize both financial return and social good for peoples and nations. Typical areas will include the environment, social justice, and corporate governance. An area that has become more compelling – more so in recent times and linked possibly to unrests all over the globe is Poverty Eradication. This is not just about donations to poor nations but rather helping them get back on their feet …in a sustainable economic model that works for them in the medium to long term.

Acts 3 [6] Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

The Peruvian society made some progress in this regard when in the 80s, after battling for years with terrorism, averted crisis by focusing on bringing the impoverished and the poor “into the system” i.e. working at eliminating extralegal societies through a revamp of their governance approach.

Fresh thinking and investment is needed to realign the governance of most developing countries to progressively eliminate these extralegal arms by integrating them into the formal legal structures and revisiting institutional arrangements to help the less advantaged segments emerge as a meaningful part of society – still fully recognising their educational and traditional limitations.

Deuteronomy 15 [11] For the poor shall never cease out of the land…

One of the reasons for the continued poverty of a large proportion of the rural population is that the system not only does not work for them, but works against them. To cope with this situation, these poor but hard working and entrepreneurial people create their own extra-judicial systems to survive out of the system. These systems add up to a complex but powerful “extra-legal” form which in many cases is more real to those who believe this is their only means of survival. For example, many people who live, own and survive on a piece of land through traditional family/community arrangements do not hold the title to that land/property. Hence they do not get the usual benefits like loans and registration of their business. Disputes are always easy to stir up and reliance on oral and community traditions make them even more vulnerable. In order to survive, they are forced to create their own rules, and live within their own system and forge strong but subtle underground and extralegal alliances to protect their interests. They have their own system on how to manage licenses, how to get married, how to raise a family, how to enforce their contracts. In most developing countries, the extra-legal society can represent the majority of the country. In Peru 98% of all businesses were extra-legal. They constructed most buildings, managed almost all of public transportation. Some would call these the informal sector.

Eugen Huber created a single legal system in Switzerland. He made the law simple enough for common people to understand. He went to the grassroots to find out what people understood to be the truth i.e. what they believed in. He created a bottom up process. The wealth owned collectively by poor people is huge, but is very fragmented. The solution was to amend the laws from inside, and to make the elites understand that changing this situation will reduce terrorism, create and open up vast markets within the country itself. Revisions on systems related to property rights, access to capital, and capability to reach external markets now allowed poor people to generate wealth.

One observes a misguided conclusion that the poor are looking for democracy … and that the crises in the Middle-East or in any dictatorship will be solved mainly by a supply of the right dose of democracy…But what we continue to see is that democracy is only a tool that works with other frameworks and which will be resisted if there is cause to suspect (rightly or wrongly) that other trusted safety nets will be upset one way or another …This is where religion becomes a culprit.

The voice of religion steps into the gap often where the existing government “compassion” models fail. Many drift into the social and economic umbrella provided by faith groups who readily see these gaps as opportunities to recruit zealots who eventually imbibe the belief structures of their “helpers” … sometimes unfortunately graduating into misguided instruments of terror. This answers the confusion of many who seek to understand how a people that are not religious go to war (apparently) under a religious banner. The common denominator that points at the solution to the puzzle are the huge segments of poverty, social disaffection and despair of an oppressed populace mostly disenfranchised and not seeing a system working for them…highly vulnerable to manipulation.

America and Europe will applaud every time an election is free and fair and a western-type democracy is force-fitted on a people…and then wonders why the tensions. But what is needed for sustainable peace is not always another Oxford trained democrat but perhaps new simpler legal and governance models that integrate the poor into the economy, banks for the poor, simple legal structures that allow the poor and traditional citizenry to have basic property rights, access to capital and access to capital which work for simple people with little education. If the governments do not offer these alternative models, then underground structures will do so and this is what feeds the natural demand for Hamas and other ”Brotherhood” organisations that are more trusted (by their own people) than the formal government bureaucracies. The tensions in nations can be an opportunity for new wealth by adaptations to capture or integrate the extralegal segments of societies now delinked from the mainstream of their economy … perhaps someday making extra-legalism, which sooner or later sometimes will degenerate into terrorism, more of an extraneous irrelevance. (Pls see related articles for more context below)

Article on post-election crisis in Nigeria

Nigeria elects Christian President in landmark Election. Islamists say No

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The Young Nigerian “Terrorist” – a New Phenomenon.

Posted on December 28, 2009 by Bode Ososami

Nigerians are somewhat puzzled about the recent failed attempt to blow a US plane to Detroit by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab a young Nigerian student and son of a wealthy executive. Although, he has claimed (we gather) he was trained and commissioned by an al-Qaeda master bomb-maker in Yemen, modern Islamic militancy is primarily seen as a local phenomenon, and very rarely a global one. The investigations are still at early stages.

Psalm 91 [5] Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; [6] Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. [7] A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

In an article by Daniel Pipes in 2002 entitled – Militant Islam’s New Stronghold it was stated “Nigeria: Disregarding both the Nigerian constitution (which stipulates a separation of church and state) and demographic realities (only 50 percent of the population is Muslim), Islamists of this West African country have adopted or announced plans to adopt some version of Islamic law in 12 of its 36 states since 1999.

Implementing Islamic law means forbidding such practices as the construction of churches, music performances, the wearing of pants, drinking alcohol and riding in mixed-gender taxis. Forced conversions to Islam are reported, as well as coerced divorces of Muslim women from Christian men. Vigilantes enforce Islamic law via punishments that include stoning, flogging and the chopping off of hands. Solidarity visits from Sudanese, Pakistani, Saudi, Palestinian and Syrian Islamists tie Nigeria to the wider forces of militant Islam and concludes that Nigeria may be undergoing a process of “Talibanization.”"

The UN Legal Committee attempted a (hard to finalise) draft of a convention, which reiterates that criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstances unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other nature that may be used to justify them.

The difficulties in concluding this draft or even agree on definitions of terrorism come from sensitivity to ideological differences and the impossibility of agreement on the political correctness of any cause – resulting in a widespread moral vacuum and only more free publicity – a gift to the terrorist ideologues. Even if damage can be inflicted on terrorist leadership, the manifesto proved capable of cloning itself in countless small local cells of potential terrorists. Countries such as the UK and US remain in a constant state of alert to uncover plots of indiscriminate criminal activity. Nigeria with a virile and energetic young population has not just the moral vacuum, but also leadership and institutional vacuum which create the ideal environment to recruit.

My concern for the church is to watch its youths and rethink its paradigms on age-segregated youth ministry. Scott T. Brown, an advocate of church reformation and the strengthening of families recently said. “Modern youth ministry is inherently destructive in its impact. It divides the church by creating generational division and multiple cultures instead of a unified ‘body”. Families need to be stronger than ever, closer than ever and more united…Wealth and comforts easily weaken family structures as children are routinely shipped abroad to be schooled and exposed to uncontrolled media. The deterioration of local secondary and tertiary educational institutions has not helped…and more Christian colleges/universities are needed…

Parents have a very important role in correction and upbringing and not the state, school or the church. Where there is no time now to know, influence and control what your son is up to…there will be time later to sort the mess that is ahead…Correction of the youth is very biblical and withholding it is disobedience to God.

Proverbs 22[15] Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. Proverbs 23 [13] Withhold not correction from the child…

Why do some convert to Islam?

Daniel Pipes also writes. “The poor are attracted to Islam because of its zakat, or alms giving, where 2.5% of all assets are redistributed to the needy. This was a huge difference compared to the aristocratic pre-Muhummad Mecca. The religious were attracted to the absolute “monotheism” of Islam, and the Koran’s strict commands seemed straight forward enough–providing a much needed law structure.

At least in America, Muslims convert by playing on the class structures and social structures in society. Specifically, the Nation of Islam converts in the prisons, where many African-Americans find purpose. The Nation of Islam believes that there is a white and Christian conspiracy to keep down all blacks, which is ridiculous….

The main reason for conversion is ignorance of Christ Jesus and His gospel, ignorance of Islam, disillusionment with society and false truth.”

1Peter 3 [8] Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: [9] Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. [10] For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: [11] Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. [12] For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. [13] And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? [14] But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye : and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; [15] But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

The current recession has had its impact on the poorer nations and recovery for them will be slower…worse is the continued impact on social and ethnic tensions and the resulting disillusionment as unemployment of youths takes its toll…

A young Christian weaned on trendy gospel music lyrics and taught he will have so many wonderful things now, and not ever suffer anymore – comes to Christ set up for disillusionment … and anger…

Fellow Christian…remember Nigeria in your prayers as the year comes to an end…

God bless you

Bode