Author: Deji Okegbile

HOLY WEDNESDAY: Judases in every age

Every man is a Judas who sells Christ or his truth, for gain or reputation, or who, for the sake of the worldly interest, conceals the truth, disowns Christ’s cause, or deserts Christ’s friends’ – Joseph Barker. Judas syndrome, the proud, sinful pattern/thread of betrayal and degradation of faith continues to plague and appears in the bright light of Christianity since its founding. Understanding Judas, helps us understand ourselves, church leadership and condition of the church today. John’s Gospel portrays Judas, diabolos, an agent of Satan, a deceiver rather than a disciple (Jn 13:27). The theological implication is that...

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WALKING THE PALM SUNDAY ROAD: A CALL TO BE PILGRIMS.

  In the first century, people greet visiting king by going out to meet him with praise into the city. Two thousand years ago, great crowd who came for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and they came to welcome him with palm branches shouting: Hosanna which meant in Hebrew, ‘save us. Rescue us ’ Palm trees represented a free and independent Judea. While Jesus knew that he was coming for a different purpose, the shout of Hosanna  by the crowd was a right word for wrong reason. To the crowd, a dead messiah...

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PROPHETIC LENT: ECHO OF REVIVAL

‘When the gospel is preached and lived, people cannot for ever be indifferent. But the church in Sardis has avoided such discomfort. Like Chameleon, it has simply melted into its surroundings and become indistinguishable from them. It has become outstandingly successful at the art of camouflage’ – Stephen Travis Lent offers us opportunity to hear the creative word of God anew for personal and church revival. The dry bones in Ezekiel 37 that could not hear or respond to God’s word, can now hear and move into mission and evangelism. Revival is always preceded by a desperate condition and...

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LENT 36: PREVAILING LENT, PREVAILING PRAYER

Peter therefore was kept in prison; but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him (Acts 12:5). Prevailing Lent, the discipline of obeying and listening to prophetic voice beyond annual liturgical litanies, routines, and repetitions is a renewing and prophetic experience. Without prevailing prayer, we become deaf like in the valley of dry bones to the prophetic voice and become more confused by many competing and distracting human and secular voices asking for our attention. The Church was born, empowered, and sustained through prevailing prayer as the number one priority. While God is looking for...

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LENTEN REFLECTION: VOICE OF PROPHETIC LENT

A church without prophetic voices will be a museum, a grave of captivity, decline, full of dry bones, dry system and liturgy. Valley of dry bones, the picture of the Jews in captivity resonates with our present human, spiritual, political and moral conditions (Ezek 37:1-14). The good news is that our present situation is not beyond the power of God’s grace. The voice of prophetic Lent is the solution to the the Valley of our Dry worship, theology, philosophy and leadership. A church without prophetic voices will be a museum, a grave of captivity, full of dry bones hence,...

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