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Sunday, 31 July 2022
Tee Mac Makes U-turn, says He Was Misquoted
Friday, 29 July 2022
SANWO-OLU: WE MUST USE NAFEST 2022 TO GALVANISE, UNITE NIGERIA
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu has charged Nigerians to use the forthcoming National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) Festival as an opportunity to galvanise Nigerians and project unity in the country.
He implored Nigerians to see their diversity, ethnicity and religious tolerance as an opportunity to unite without allowing politics and other things to divide them.
Governor Sanwo-Olu made the appeal when the National Technical Committee of the National Festival of Arts and Culture led by the Director-General, National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, paid him a courtesy visit at Lagos House, Ikeja on Thursday ahead of the NAFEST Festival holding in Lagos in November.
He said: “We believe that bringing the NAFEST Festival to Lagos at this very difficult time in our country would be used as a means to galvanise the country. The NAFEST 2022 in Lagos by the grace of God will be used to heal this country. It will be used to bring together our diversity in unity.
“If sports can bring us together, arts, culture and entertainment can do better. And if we do it and package it very well before we go into the general elections in 2023, we would have used that platform to heal the country. We would have used it for people to see that we don’t have any other place to go to. We have a responsibility to fix it (Nigeria).
“We should see the NAFEST not just as a festivity but as an opportunity for us to come together, heal and project unity for our country. And ensure that if we can go into next year with all of the tribulations and fears that we have; we will suppress them, surpass them and have elections that will be free, and peaceful, and we can build a better and bigger nation that would be the envy of the world. That is what I am looking forward to.
“Let us see our diversity as an opportunity to unite us. Let us see our ethnicity as an opportunity to unite us. Let us see our religious tolerance as an opportunity to unite us. We should not allow politics and other things to divide us. I am a strong believer of arts, culture and entertainment as a unifier and simple language that knows no tribe, ethnicity and religious bias.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu said Lagos will continue to be a pride for all and a rallying point for Nigeria. “For us as a government, it is really about ensuring that we can use every breath that we have to better the lots of our people; that we can use the opportunity God has given us to recreate a tomorrow for citizens and we can only do that by ensuring that everything that has to do with good governance is the things we are doing.
“Lagos will open its arms to ensure a spectacular and hitch-free event and most importantly ensure that we can heal our country; we can stop the bleeding in the country and we can use it (NAFEST festival) as a platform to unite Nigeria,” he said.
Governor Sanwo-Olu also disclosed that Lagos State apart from hosting the NAFEST Festival in November, will also commission the biggest and best African museum, the JK Randle Museum for Arts and Culture and host the United Nations World Tourism Organisation and art exhibition in November.
Speaking earlier, Runsewe commended Governor Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to promoting tourism, arts and culture, noting that the decision of the government to make Entertainment and Tourism a fifth pillar in the six-pillar THEMES developmental agenda for Greater Lagos is commendable.
Runsewe, who noted that no development could take place in Nigeria without Lagos State, called Nigerians to join hands with Lagos to move the country.
He said the NAFEST Festival taking place in Lagos in November will be used to unite the nation and preach love among all the citizens of the country.
Thursday, 28 July 2022
Tobi Amusan: Athletics coach Ayodele Solaja reveals how he discovered Tobi Amusan
In 2009, Ayodele Solaja was at the inter-house sports event of Our Lady of Apostles secondary school in Ijebu Ode for his regular scouting rounds for future athletic royalties in the unlikeliest places. Solaja, already an experienced athletics coach, watched as kids sprinted across the dusty tracks and leapt into the dirt in innocent competitiveness. He studied all the children, but one exceptionally tiny Junior Secondary School (JSS) girl caught his eyes the most. The girl did not let her diminutive figure hinder her performance as she left dozens of students, who were twice her size, coughing in the dust left behind by her short heels en route to the finish line. Solaja instantly recognised her as one of the dozens of students he had been giving basic athletics training at the Dipo Dina Stadium in the town. He noted her name. The tiny girl is Tobi Amusan, the first Nigerian to hold a world record in athletics after she was careened to a 12.12-second finish in the semi-final of the 100-meter hurdles at the 2022 World Athletics Championship.
“I was already training her, but that was when I saw her individual talent,” he said.
“I noticed her as a potential athlete.”
Thus, Solaja took a keen interest in the 12-year-old’s ability and consulted her parents to allow their child to join Buka Tiger Athletics Club. “At that time, she was so small. Even though she had that talent, she was tiny,” Solaja said. “We used to call her ‘Shanko’ at that time.”
Solaja unearthed a gem, and through six years of “sensibly pushing her to go beyond human limits,” she began a professional career festooned with prizes and medals and became a world beater.
A former amateur decathlete, Solaja specialised in all events that cover the whole range of athletics disciplines. He once dreamt of a professional career, but due to what he described as “low standard in Nigeria,” it failed to materialise. Solaja stopped competing in 1996 and started training young athletes. ‘Buka T’, as he is fondly called, forrayed into coaching with a philanthropic philosophy.
Nigeria is second on the list of countries with the highest number of impoverished people, with over 70 million people living below $2 per day, according to the World Poverty Clock (WPC).
For Solaja, sports was the best way to address the growing poverty in Nigeria.
“I use athletics as a means to elevate people from poverty,” he said. Especially those from humble backgrounds. The level of poverty in Nigeria today is high, and the youths are redundant. And sports is one of the ways that can be used to occupy the time and energy of the teeming youth. It can also help many from humble beginnings, and I know so many of those. It’s a calling for me, and I’ve been able to do so in the lives of so many athletes.”
Solaja founded Buka Tiger Athletic Club in 1997, where he began using his expansive athletics skills and techniques to achieve his altruistic idea.
While sorting the puzzles of his vision, Solaja earned a higher national diploma (HND) in accounting at the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) in Lagos.
He, however, described the certificate as “one of my greatest mistakes”.“Actually, going into accounting is one of the greatest mistakes I have ever made,” he said.
“If I had stuck with a sport-related course, I probably would have been a better person than I am right now. I’ve never worked with an accounting certificate. Even when I did not have a coaching certificate, I was already earning salaries as a coach. Sport has always been my calling from the beginning. If someone had advised me earlier enough, I would not have gone for the accounting diploma, and maybe now I would be a professor in one sports-related course.”Refusing to dally on the disappointment of the derailing career move, he had gone to discover and refine track and field athletes who have represented Nigeria at international competitions. He has also been a mainstay in the coaching department of the national athletics team since 2011.
Solaja’s on-the-track success is, however, not commensurable with his fortune. Despite nurturing Nigerian Olympians, the athletic coach still works as a commercial motorcyclist to provide for his family.
“I’m a commercial motorcyclist. That’s what I do to survive,” he said.
“I’m not ashamed of it because I have to survive. It’s been tough. I wake up at 5:30 am, hustle till maybe 8:00 am, and then train athletes till 11 am. I go back to hustling after that, return to the stadium around 4:00 pm, and train the school students. I resume hustling around 5:30 pm before I go home.”
In the aftermath of Amusan’s historic feat at the world championship, Solaja revealed how he discovered her talent and his current financial challenges, among other topics, during this chat with TheCable.
TheCable: When did you develop a passion for athletics?Solaja: My passion earlier was football. But along the line, I switched to athletics around 1986. That was when I started competing. First, in the long jump and then the decathlon. I stopped competing in 1996 and picked up coaching in 1997 at the police college ground in Ikeja. That was where I started my training career even though I was an amateur decathlete because the standard in Nigeria is a little bit low compared to the world.
TheCable: You hold a higher national diploma (HND) in accounting; what made you stick with athletics when you could have gone for a white-collar job?
Solaja: Actually, going into accounting is one of the greatest mistakes I have ever made. If I had stuck with a sport-related course, I probably would have been a better person than I am right now. I’ve never worked with an accounting certificate. Even when I did not have a coaching certificate, I was already earning salaries as a coach. Sport has always been my calling from the beginning. If someone had advised me earlier enough, I would not have gone for the accounting diploma, and maybe now I would be a professor in one sports-related course.
I use athletics as a means to elevate people from poverty. Especially those from humble backgrounds. The level of poverty in Nigeria today is high, and the youths are redundant. And sports is one of the ways that can be used to occupy the time and energy of the teeming youths. It can also help many from humble beginnings, and I know so many of those. It’s a calling for me, and I’ve been able to do so in the lives of so many athletes.
TheCable: Have you ever been called to the national team set-ups?Solaja: Yes, I have. I got my first national team call-up in 2011 for the World Youth Championships in Athletics in Lille, France. Before then, I had trained Agnes Osazuwa, who won a medal at the Beijing Olympics. She was part of the Nigerian team awarded silver in the women’s 4×100 meters. I trained from scratch to that level.
In 2013, I was in camp for the World Youth Championships in Athletics in Ukraine. But eventually, I did not make the team. But that was where Tobi and the others started. I had three athletes that went to Ukraine. And later that year, I was also in the national camp for the African Junior Championship in Mauritius. I was on the team for the African Junior Championship in Addis Ababa. Then the 2015 All-African Games in Congo. Also, at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Azerbaijan in 2017 and the African Championships in Asaba the following year.
TheCable: When did Amusan join Buka Tigers?
Solaja: I can’t say specifically the particular year because it was not a person-to-person thing. But they were a group of student-athletes, and I go to their schools whenever they are doing inter-house sports. I noticed them and invited them to the Dipo Dina Stadium in Ijebu Ode. I used to go to about six schools in Ijebu Ode with over 50 athletes that were coming at that time. But when they had an inter-house sport in Tobi’s school when she was in Junior Secondary School (JSS), I went there and noticed her talent. I was already training her, but that was when I saw her individual talent. I noticed her as a potential athlete.
I noticed her talent and approached the parents to allow her to come to training.
TheCable: When you started training her, did you foresee her talent breaking the world record someday? Solaja: At that time, she was so small. Even though she had that talent, she was tiny. We used to call her “Shanko” at that time. But as a coach, I expect the best from your athletes and hope that they can even go further than their talents and strength can carry them. I knew she had the talent to achieve big things in athletics. But world record? No, I was not thinking about that.
TheCable: How can we ensure that Nigeria can have a steady conveyor belt of talents like Amusan?
Solaja: First and foremost is to get the private sector involved in athletics. We cannot reach our full potential with the government in charge of athletics and sports; because it will not be handled like a business, and this is business. We must eliminate this culture of “no money” or “I’m financing it with my money.” Once the private sector is fully committed, they will always want value for their money. They will always make sure the right pegs are in the right holes.
We must also make sure that technocrats are in charge of athletes. People that know the system and know where the shoe pinches. We also allow continuity in operations, no break in transmission.
Also, there must be an enabling environment for athletes to thrive. Facilities and equipment must be made available, exposing these athletes to the right techniques while they are young, particularly in secondary schools.
Like Tobi, she was lucky to be exposed to a good coach right from her secondary school days, and that foundation has helped her to the level she is now.
TheCable: How is life, and how have you been coping? Solaja:
I’m a commercial motorcyclist. That’s what I do to survive. I’m not ashamed of it because I have to survive. It’s been tough. I wake up at 5:30 am, hustle till maybe 8:00 am, and then train athletes till 11 am. I go back to hustling after that, return to the stadium around 4:00 pm, and train the school students. I resume hustling around 5:30 pm before I go home.
Sometimes you find yourself in some kind of situation, and instead of blaming anybody, just try to make the best while hoping things will get better. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had to work as a security officer in my community to survive; I was not in a paid job or something. I had to look inward for my family not to starve to death. I did the job for about eight months.
Culled from the Cable Nigeria
PICTURES: GOV. SANWO-OLU ATTENDS THE COMMISSIONING CEREMONY AND OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF LAGOS COMMODITIES AND FUTURE EXCHANGE AT THE UAC BUILDING, MARINA, ON THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2022
PIX 4740 L-R: Board member, Lagos Commodities and Future Exchange (LCFE), Alhaji Rasheed Ola Yussuff; Board Chairman, Chief Onyenwechukwu Ezeagu; Executive Commissioner of Operations, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria, Mr. Temidayo Obisan representing the Director-General; Dr. Shamsudeen Usman; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Managing Director/CEO of LCFE, Mr. Akin Akeredolu-Ale during the commissioning ceremony and official launch of LCFE at the UAC Building, Marina, Lagos, on Thursday, July 28, 2022.
Board Chairman, Lagos Commodities and Future Exchange (LCFE), Chief Onyenwechukwu Ezeagu; Group Managing Director, GTI GRoup, Alhaji Abubakar Lawal; Managing Director/CEO of LCFE, Mr. Akin Akeredolu-Ale and Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu during the commissioning ceremony and official launch of LCFE at the UAC Building, Marina, Lagos, on Thursday, July 28, 2022.
Board Chairman, Lagos Commodities and Future Exchange (LCFE), Chief Onyenwechukwu Ezeagu, Group Managing Director, GTI GRoup, Alhaji Abubakar Lawal and Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu during the commissioning ceremony and official launch of LCFE at the UAC Building, Marina, Lagos, on Thursday, July 28, 2022.
Executive Commissioner of Operations, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria, Mr Temidayo Obisan representing the Director-General (left); Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu (right); Managing Director/CEO, Lagos Commodities and Future Exchange (LCFE), Mr Akin Akeredolu-Ale (middle) during the commissioning ceremony and official launch of LCFE at the UAC Building, Marina, Lagos, on Thursday, July 28, 2022.
Special Adviser to Lagos Governor on SDGs & Investments, Mrs Solape Hammond; Board Chairman, Lagos Commodities and Future Exchange (LCFE), Chief Onyenwechukwu Ezeagu; LCFE Managing Director/CEO, Mr Akin Akeredolu-Ale; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Dr Shamsudeen Usman during the commissioning ceremony and official launch of LCFE at the UAC Building, Marina, Lagos, on Thursday, July 28, 2022.
Monday, 25 July 2022
PHOTOS: GOVERNOR SANWO-OLU MEETS MINISTER FOR INFORMATION AND CULTURE, ALHAJI LAI MOHAMMED AT LAGOS HOUSE, MARINA ON MONDAY, JULY 21, 2022
PIX 1109 L-R: Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed receiving a compendium from Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, shortly after a meeting at Lagos House, Marina on Thursday, July 21, 2022.
IX 1319 L-R: Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed being presented with a plaque by Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, shortly after a meeting at Lagos House, Marina on Thursday, July 21, 2022.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (5th right); Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed (middle); Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Pharm (Mrs) Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf (4th right); Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Tayo Ayinde (3rd right); Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso (2nd right); Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Oyinade Nathan-Marsh (3rd left) and the entourage of the Minister, during a meeting at Lagos House, Marina on Thursday, July 21, 2022.
Monday, 18 July 2022
The Wonderful Law of Giving
Yemi Olakitan
The Law of
Giving is a universal law. It is like the Law of Gravity; whatever goes up
must come down. If you climb a tree and jump off it, you are coming down.
This is also
similar to the law of Karma; you reap what you sow.
A farmer who
sows maize cannot expect to reap cocoyam. A farmer who sows Mango cannot expect
to reap Watermelon. We reap what we sow. it’s the law of the universe.
No man may
expect to operate otherwise unless he wants to go against the law, and he will
face the consequences. For, every cause must have an effect. No evil shall go unpunished.
Every murder is a murder of self.
The law of
giving is the same. No man may expect to get anything from life unless he had
given something into it. You cannot have unless you give. Success is completely
unattainable without giving.
You must
give efforts, time, talents, money, perseverance, resourcefulness, discipline
etc. Unless you are giving all these and much more, you must be really poor
indeed!
One may
inherit wealth from one who has given his time, energy, talents and wisdom to
achieve it. However, it cannot be sustained unless the one who inherits that
wealth is willing to sustain the giving.
Jesus Christ, the
great teacher said it all in the Bible, when he said,
‘‘Give, and
it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and
running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it
will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38
We also know
that generosity is a key principle in the religion of Islam; the acts of
selflessness and remaining humble are key traits of ideal character in Islam.
With zakat being the third pillar of Islam, it is already an obligation upon
able Muslims to share any wealth in excess of their needs.
Nature
itself teaches us that the man who will not work will not eat. He must give his
talents, efforts, its creativity to the improvement and advancement of
humanity to the best of his ability.
Only then,
can he legitimately hope to receive all that he needs for comfort, enjoyment
and happiness in this life.
In the Bible
King Solomon was an example of giving, the scriptures said,
King Solomon
went to Gibeon to offer a sacrifice because that was the most important high
place. He offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. While
Solomon was at Gibeon, the LORD came to him at night in a dream. God said,
“Solomon, ask me what you want me to give you.” 1 King 3:4-28 ERV
Needless to
say that Solomon was one of the richest men that ever lived. For we are told in
the Bible that God gave him wisdom and understanding in all matters of life.
Solomon was emphatic in
the book of Proverbs when he said, ‘‘Honor the LORD with your wealth and with
the first fruits of all your produce;’’ Proverbs
3:9
You cannot hope to
thrive in life unless you are a giver. There are many people who are pious and
religious but they are in poverty simply because they are afraid to give either
to man or to God.
Those people think that
if they give, they lose. However, the reverse is the case.
Giving is the secret of
the wealthy and unless you are giving value to humanity you cannot hope to rise
above poverty.
All those who operate
otherwise will receive their just reward now and the hereafter as revealed in
the Holy books and in all the experiences of life.
Suppose we must rise above want and limitation, In that case, we must not only believe, but we must also give time, effort,
money, perseverance, discipline, resourcefulness, solutions, help, and those
things that make for a better universe. These are the things that make one
truly rich.
‘‘There is one who scatters, yet increases more, and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. ‘’
Proverbs
11:24
Money is like blood. It must flow freely in the body. You can imagine, that if blood is not flowing freely in a man's body, he will soon die.
Therefore, money must flow from hand to hand, by the exchange of value, talents, help, goods or services. This is the system that makes for a healthy society and the eradication of poverty.
Anyone who does not believe in the efficacy of the acts
of giving, generosity and of charity has never met a Jew. It is the reason
the Jews are a prosperous people.
All the debates and argument in Christendom about
giving is mostly from those who do not want to give a tenth of their income.
‘‘Oh don’t you know that tithing is a relic of the Old
Testament laws. Christians are no longer under the law, for Christ has redeemed
us from the curse of the law.’’ Galatians 3-13
‘‘Don’t you know that Jesus has fulfilled the Law of
Moses? We do not need to operate under it.’’
Its true Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the Curse
of the Mosaic Law but he has not redeemed us from the universal laws.
For example, if you put your hand in the fire, it will
burn. The law of Gravity, for instance, has no respect for Christians or Muslims,
if you jump off a plane, you will come crashing down.
The
Subject of Tithing
Tithing is probably responsible for the extraordinary growth, funding and financing of the pentecostal church today. It is so, and that is why the devil attacks it.
The law of giving is universal. Abraham gave tithes of
all. He was the first man to give tithes before the Mosaic Law came and before
Moses, the lawgiver was born. Abraham gave tithes of all to Melchizedek. Genesis
14:18-20
Abraham gave tithes and the Bible recorded that he was
a prosperous man.
‘‘Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.’’
People despised tithing because of their stinginess of
heart. They look at their wealthy Pastor who drives a big car and has a private
jet and become offended in their spirits. ‘‘oh he must be living off our tithes,
he must be fake’’
No Pastor can live off your tithes unless he has
given commensurate value to his congregation. A Pastor who can command such
luxury from his pulpit must have given to the congregation, through his
messages; profitable inspirations, hope in times of despair, prayers in times
of challenges, encouragement, faith, deliverance from the negatives and so on.
It is impossible to operate otherwise unless he will steal it.
Humanity will always open its wallets to those who
provide value. The Musician who provides great music for the elevation of the
soul will always have fans in his concerts.
A brilliant lawyer who can argue cases brilliantly and
win will never lack clients.
A medical doctor who can cure strange illnesses will
never lack patients. Life is a continuous circle of giving and receiving.
It is the same with your Pastors, as long as he is
giving robust and sincere spiritual benefits to the people he must, by the response to the universal
law of giving and receiving, obtain material benefits.
‘‘Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.’’
2
Corinthians 9:6
The
Law of Giving and Receiving is no respecter of persons.
Malachi 3: 9:10: 11
9You are cursed with a curse, yet you—the whole
nation—are still robbing Me. 10Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so
that there may be food in my house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts.
“See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing
without measure. 11I will rebuke the devourer for you so that it will not
destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to
produce fruit,” says the LORD of Hosts.
These verses from the book of Malachi have been a
subject of much controversy in the church of God but if just think a little,
you will realize that it is the truth. If a man gives, he will receive, if he
does not give, he will not have.
Compare the New Testament verse: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.’’
2 Corinthians 9:6
If one man sows and reaps abundantly and another sows and reaps sparingly, Does it not appear like the man who reaps sparingly is cursed? Note the similarity between this verse and Malachi 3-9-10-11
The law of giving is the same, whether from the Old Testament scriptures or the New Testament scriptures. The Universe respond to the law of sowing and reaping.
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”Genesis 8:22
Stinginess and miserliness are the devil’s game. It
comes from a poverty mentality. People think supplies are limited and will soon
run out, so they withhold the little they have and by the law of attraction
they will become poor. Like attracts likes.
On the other hand, the giver gives in faith, although
he may not have much at first. However, he will rejoice in the end because God
rewards faith and not unbelief. Unbelief is sin. Romans 14:23
Giving is born from faith.
Miserliness only serves Satanic aims. Poverty is from the devil.
Any community where wealth flows from person to person will never lack increase.
The
Widow’s Two Mites
There is a certain story about Jesus’ comments
concerning a certain widow;
21 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their
gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two
mites.[a 3 So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more
than all; 4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings [b]for
God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”
Luke
21:1-4
Jesus
Comments on Tithing
“And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed,
and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29).
Abraham was the first tithe payer of record (Genesis
14:20). Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, paid tithes (Genesis 28:22). Scripture says
that Levi, Abraham’s descendant and the father of the tribe from which the
priesthood came, paid tithes in Abraham (Hebrews 7:9).
The Christian heritage of paying a tithe precedes the Law
of Moses. As a child of Abraham and an heir of the promise of Abraham. They
must acknowledge that family relationship by paying tithes.
Jesus said to the Jews, “If ye were Abraham’s
children, ye would do the works of Abraham” (John 8:39). It would be strange to
claim to be a child of Abraham and yet to neglect one of Abraham’s most
fundamental and noteworthy acts.
Are
New Testament Christians Heirs of Blessing of Abraham?
Galatians 3:29 makes this especially clear: "If
you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the
promise." Remember, this comes right after verse 28 which shows that Paul
has in mind here male and female, slave and free, Jew and Greek. The most astonishing
thing asserted here is that Greeks—uncircumcised Gentiles!—are heirs of the
promises made to Abraham. You and I can become beneficiaries of God's promises
to Abraham if we have the faith of Abraham and belong to Jesus Christ. (Romans
4:16, 17 also shows that Gentiles are made heirs of "the promise"
because of faith. See also Galatians 3:14 and 4:30.)
Does
Faith in Jesus Christ Exclude New Testament Christians from Tithing?
James
2:14-26
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says
he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or
sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them,
“Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things
which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by
itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have
works.” Show me your faith without [a]your works, and I will show you my faith
by [b]my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the
demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that
faith without works is [c]dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by
works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was
working together with his works, and by works, faith was made [d]perfect? 23 And
the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was
[e]accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24
You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
Some people say, “Oh, we do not pay tithes, because
tithing was under the law.” If that is a sufficient reason for not paying
tithes, then we could also mistreat our parents, for the law said, Honour thy
father and thy mother” (Exodus 20:12). In actuality, we honour our father and
mother and we give our tithes because the principles of the law are written in
our hearts by the Spirit of God. We give willingly and liberally because the
Spirit motivates us to give tithes.
Tithes help a Christian to cultivate a lifestyle of giving. If you cannot give a tenth of your income, how can you possibly give twenty or thirty per cent? People argue from dusk to dawn on tithing because of the satanic spirit of miserliness or because they hate to see their Pastors rich or his ministry grow prosperous. Only a pastor who is rich in both spiritual and material blessings can take the Gospel to the remote corners of the world as Jesus Christ commanded. Mark 16-15
The
Example of the Early Christians
It is interesting to note that New Testament early Christians were recorded to have paid 100 per cent. They gave it all!
Little wonder Christianity became the greatest faith in the world.
Is it not alarming that in contrast to the early Christians, many of today’s Christians
complain about 10 per cent!
Acts
2:45
All the believers were together and had everything in
common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they shared with anyone who was
in need. 46 With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts
and break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and
sincerity of heart,
They
Died For The Gospels
It is noteworthy that many of the apostles and early
Christians died for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
PETER
Peter was crucified around 66AD in Rome under the
persecution of Emperor Nero. He was said to have been crucified upside down
because he didn’t consider himself worthy to die the same way Jesus did.
JAMES
James was the first of the 12 to be put to death. King
Herod had him killed by the sword in Jerusalem (Acts 12).
JOHN
The writer of the Gospel of John, the book of the
Revelation and three epistles bearing his name, John is the only one of the 12
that history says was not put to death for his faith, although he suffered
greatly because of Jesus throughout his long life. Tradition says he ended his
life ministering in the region around Ephesus in modern-day Turkey and was
buried there.
ANDREW
The brother of Peter, Andrew travelled north, bringing
the good news to what is now Russia and the western regions of the former Soviet
Union. He later travelled through modern-day Turkey and Greece where he was
martyred.
PHILIP
Philip ministered in North Africa and then Asia Minor.
Traditions say that a Roman Proconsul was so enraged that his wife had
converted to Christianity because of Philip’s preaching that he had Philip
brutally put to death. There is disagreement about the manner in which he died
but no matter the method, it was because he fully believed that Jesus had died
and risen from the grave. It is possible that Philip’s tomb was recently
discovered.
BARTHOLOMEW/NATHANIEL
Bartholomew was apparently someone who loved to
travel. Some accounts have him going to India with Thomas, then Armenia before
heading along the trade routes between Ethiopia and the southern Arabian
regions. He was martyred for his faith. In some places, he is listed as
“Nathaniel” which could have been a family name or a name he was known by in
the church.
MATTHEW/LEVI
The gospel writer who had previously been a tax
collector, Matthew travelled to modern-day Iran and then down to Ethiopia,
probably following established trade routes and preaching the gospel along the
way. He was said to have been stabbed to death in Africa.
Like Bartholomew, Matthew was known by more than one name:
Levi. This other name is easier to pin down and is probably a family or tribal
identification.
THOMAS
Thomas gets a bad rap. Although he doubted the
resurrection at first, Thomas’ faith in the risen Jesus was strong enough to
send him to travel east to Syria and Iraq to preach the gospel, eventually
ending up in India where the Marthoma Christian tradition considers him to be
their founder. The Marthoma tradition says that Thomas died by stabbing at the
hands of four soldiers.
JAMES
THE SON OF ALPHAUES
Very possibly the brother of Matthew/Levi, James is
believed to have preached in the regions north of Israel. A non-Christian
historical account says that he was stoned and then clubbed to death. He is
sometimes known as James the Younger (younger brother of Levi?) or James the
Lesser (which would have had different connotations than it does for us today).
SIMON
THE ZEALOT
Simon was sawn
in half in Persia.
PHILIP
He preached in
the Phrygia region of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) and was martyred for his
faith in Jesus in the town of Hierapolis.
JUDAS
THADEUS
He preached the gospel in Northern Syria, Iraq and
Turkey. He was said to have been killed with arrows in Turkey’s mountainous
northern region.
MATTHIAS
Tradition says that Matthias travelled north, possibly
as far as the Caspian Sea. He was martyred for his faith
PAUL
Paul suffered for the Lord throughout his life. In
addition to imprisonment and multiple threats to his life, Paul wrote in 2
Corinthians 11:25 that “Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned.
Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at
sea.”
Paul was beheaded in Rome in 66 AD, possibly at the
same time as Peter.
JUDAS
Judas committed suicide after betraying Jesus. I mention this because every one of Jesus’ followers died. 10 of them as martyrs. John died of old age. But Judas chose a cursed path. He was not the only one who betrayed Jesus; all of the other disciples abandoned Jesus, and Peter directly denied knowing him. Paul persecuted Jesus’ followers. Yet all of them embraced God's grace and forgiveness, and that same grace was available to Judas.
It is the 100 per cent sacrificial giving of the early Christians that is responsible for the worldwide, extraordinary growth of the Christian faith.
Those who are afraid to give ten per cent, cannot give 100per cent. If anyone truly loves the Lord, he will trust to give to the cause of His kingdom.
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