WHEN GOD IS WITH YOU - Gen. 39 in Mind

When the Lord is with you, great things follow you.

A great example of someone who had the Lord on his side was Joseph as could be read in Gen. 39

Joseph was sold as a punishment by his brothers, but was sold into the house of Potiphar an officer of Pharoh and he reigned there

He was so much in charge that Potiphar left everything into his hands that He knew nothing about his wealth but only his daily meal.

When God is on your side, don't think temptations won't come, don't think you're immune to temptations...

But know that those temptations will always come to test your relationship with God and when you triumph, more blessings are on the way + more temptations + more blessings etc

Joseph was tempted by his Master's wife. When she was trying to lure him, he made a statement;

"There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:9).

Joseph took an upper hand when his temptation came, he flee from Potiphar's wife because that was the only option - Lesson: Certain temptations require we run away from them rather than staying to solve them, meaning running away from certain temptations is the solution.

Yet that was not the end, triumphing brings other challenges. He was accused by the Madam of trying to mock her (rape her).

After all, he found himself in the prison!
But since the Lord was with him, no shaking!

"But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison." (Genesis 39:21).
He became a leader, an over all leader in the prison of the King's servants.

"The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper." (Genesis 39:23).

When we fear the Lord same way Joseph did as well as doing the right things in all situations, the Lord that lead Joseph will lead us.

@Elexharry

The Pagan Origin Of Easter

Easter is a day that is honoured by nearly all of contemporary Christianity and is used to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The holiday often involves a church service at sunrise, a feast which includes an "Easter Ham" decorated eggs and stories about rabbits.

Those who love truth learn to ask questions, and many questions must be asked regarding the holiday of Easter.

Is it truly the day when Jesus arose from the dead? Where did all of the strange customs come from, which have nothing to do with the
resurrection of our Saviour?

The purpose of this tract is to help answer those questions, and to help those who seek truth to draw their own conclusions.

The first thing we must understand is that professing Christians were not the only ones who celebrated a festival called "Easter."

"Ishtar", which is pronounced "Easter" was a
day that commemorated the resurrection of one of their gods that they called "Tammuz", who
was believed to be the only begotten son of the moon-goddess and the sun-god.

In those ancient times, there was a man named Nimrod, who was the grandson of one of Noah's son named Ham.

Ham had a son named Cush who married a woman named Semiramis. Cush and Semiramis
then had a son named him "Nimrod."

After the death of his father, Nimrod married his own mother and became a powerful King.

The Bible tells of of this man, Nimrod, in Genesis 10:8-10 as follows:

"And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar."

Nimrod became a god-man to the people and Semiramis, his wife and mother, became the powerful Queen of ancient Babylon.

Nimrod was eventually killed by an enemy, and his body was cut in pieces and sent to various parts of his kingdom.

Semiramis had all of the parts gathered, except for one part that could not be found.

That missing part was his reproductive organ.

Semiramis claimed that Nimrod could not come back to life without it and told the people of
Babylon that Nimrod had ascended to the sun and was now to be called "Baal", the sun god.

Queen Semiramis also proclaimed that Baal would be present on earth in the form of a flame, whether candle or lamp, when used in worship.

Semiramis was creating a mystery religion, and with the help of Satan, she set herself up as a goddess.

Semiramis claimed that she was immaculately conceived.

She taught that the moon was a goddess that went through a 28 day cycle and ovulated when full.

She further claimed that she came down from the moon in a giant moon egg that fell into the
Euphrates River.

This was to have happened at the time of the first full moon after the spring equinox.

Semiramis became known as "Ishtar" which is pronounced "Easter", and her moon egg
became known as "Ishtar's" egg."

Ishtar soon became pregnant and claimed that it was the rays of the sun-god Baal that caused her to conceive.

The son that she brought forth was named Tammuz.

Tammuz was noted to be especially fond of rabbits, and they became sacred in the ancient
religion, because Tammuz was believed to be the son of the sun-god, Baal. Tammuz, like his
supposed father, became a hunter.

The day came when Tammuz was killed by a wild pig. Queen Ishtar told the people that Tammuz was
now ascended to his father, Baal, and that the two of them would be with the worshippers in the sacred candle or lamp flame as Father, Son
and Spirit.

Ishtar, who was now worshipped as the "Mother of God and Queen of Heaven", continued to build her mystery religion.

The queen told the worshippers that when Tammuz was killed by the wild pig, some of his blood fell on the stump of an evergreen tree,
and the stump grew into a full new tree overnight. This made the evergreen tree sacred by the blood of Tammuz.

She also proclaimed a forty day period of time of sorrow each year prior to the anniversary of the
death of Tammuz.

During this time, no meat was to be eaten.

Worshippers were to meditate upon the sacred mysteries of Baal and Tammuz, and to make the
sign of the "T" in front of their hearts as they worshipped.

They also ate sacred cakes with the marking of a "T" or cross on the top.

Every year, on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox, a celebration
was made.

It was Ishtar's Sunday and was celebrated with rabbits and eggs.

Ishtar also proclaimed that because Tammuz was killed by a pig, that a pig must be eaten on
that Sunday.

By now, the readers of this tract should have made the connection that paganism has infiltrated the contemporary "Christian" churches, and further study indicates that this paganism came in by way of the Roman Catholic System.

The truth is that Easter has nothing whatsoever to do with the resurrection of our Lord Jesus
Christ.

We also know that Easter can be as much as three weeks away from the Passover, because the pagan holiday is always set as the first
Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox.

Some have wondered why the word "Easter" is in the the King James Bible.

It is because Acts, chapter 12, tells us that it was the evil King Herod, who was planning to celebrate Easter, and not the Christians.

The true Passover and pagan Easter sometimes coincide, but in some years, they are a great
distance apart.

So much more could be said, and we have much more information for you, if you are a seeker of
the truth.

We know that the Bible tells us in John 4:24,

"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must
worship him in spirit and in truth."

The truth is that the forty days of Lent, eggs, rabbits, hot cross buns and the Easter ham have everything to do with the ancient pagan religion of Mystery Babylon. These are all antichrist activities!

Satan is a master deceiver, and has filled the lives of well-meaning, professing Christians with
idolatry.

These things bring the wrath of God upon children of disobedience, who try to make pagan customs of Baal worship Christian.

You must answer for your activities and for what you teach your children.

These customs of Easter honor Baal, who is also Satan, and is still worshipped as the "Rising Sun"
and his house is the "House of the Rising Sun."

How many churches have "sunrise services" on Ishtar's day and face the rising sun in the East?

How many will use colored eggs and rabbit stories, as they did in ancient Babylon.

These things are no joke, any more than Judgement day is a joke.

I pray to God that this tract will cause you to search for more truth.

We will be glad to help you by providing more information and by praying for you.

These are the last days, and it is time to repent, come out and be separate.

David J. Meyer
Last Trumpet Ministries International
PO Box 806
Beaver Dam, WI 53916

Dating versus Courting By Tom Brown

Joshua Harris wrote a book with a provocative title, "I’ve kissed dating goodbye." You need to kiss dating goodbye. I believe that dating is the world’s way to find a
spouse. Many might be wondering, If I don’t date, how am I going to find a spouse?

You should find a spouse through courting. Courtship is more of a scriptural way to meet a prospective spouse than dating. What is the difference between dating and courting? Let me say first of all: Don’t get hung up on terms. It is possible to use the word date but not necessarily have the same understanding as my definition. I am giving you my definition of dating. If you say you date but don’t do what I define dating as being, then I feel you are practicing courting, although you might still use the term dating.


My definition of dating is that it is a modern game where intimacy is practiced before commitment. It
often involves romantic talk, holding hands, kissing, making out, and often times sex.
Commitment never proceeds intimacy. The word date comes from the word mate. It doesn’t sound good to tell someone you are mating with Mr. X.
You prefer to use the word dating. It sounds so much better, but in reality, dating and mating are
sometimes the same. I looked up the word date in my encyclopedia and it said, "see Sex and Teenage. " Even my encyclopedia agrees with my definition.


Courtship is the time-honored and successful practice of learning about someone enough to know whether or not the two are compatible for marriage. It often involves friendship, discussing
each individual’s future plans, knowing the parents if they’re alive, and praying privately for God’s will in the matter. After deciding it is God’s will to get married, the couple prays together and then go to their parents to seek their blessings and finally to the pastor to seek his approval.
After engaged the couple still avoids intimacy until marriage. Commitment comes before intimacy. Someone might be thinking, How old is this writer? I’m under forty, and my wife, Sonia, and I proved that courtship could work in this modern age. We both were virgins when we married each other. So don’t tell me that this is unrealistic. We never kissed or even held hands until we were engaged. It can work. We’ve been married for almost 18 years, and are still in love.

Why people fall away from the Lord?

I’ve been pastoring for almost two decades, and I’ve noticed that the number one reason people are led away from God is because they get
involved in a relationship which is not honoring God. People rarely fall away from God as a result of drugs, alcohol, or cults. Christianity is a relationship, so it stands to reason that an unholy relationship will be the number one cause of backsliding.


We are relational people. Our faith is based on a relationship with God. We need a relationship with God to fulfill us. Satan knows this, so he tries to replace your relationship with God with a wrong relationship with another. If he can succeed, you will discover that your relationship with God will suffer.


Dating is Satan’s method of getting you distracted from God. As I said before, dating involves intimacy. Once a person develops intimacy, they can easily make each other out to be idols. The Romeo and Juliet syndrome takes place.

"Oh, I can’t live without you! I need you! You are everything to me!"


Like Romeo and Juliet you will began to despise the advice of your parents and others who care for your spiritual well being. You will soon give more and more time to this person. You will begin to spend less time with your family and
Christian friends. Before you know it, you rarely attend church.


"Who cares, I’m in love!" you say. Remember the end of Romeo and Juliet: they killed themselves!
That is not exactly a romantic ending.


Satan tried it on me

Hey, I am a guy! I know what I’m talking about. Satan tried to get me involved in wrong relationships with different girls. Oh, they were so pretty! But they weren’t born-again, Spirit-filled girls. I knew God had called me into the ministry,
so I realized my choice for a wife was critical. None of the girls I liked were interested in being a
preacher’s wife.

Satan almost got me on several occasions. One girl, who was drunk at the time, said to me, "Tom,
with you being religious and all that, and me being such a sinner, we would make a good couple." Yea, sure?

When I met Sonia at church, I asked her to play tennis with me. We saw each other every week at
a nursing home that we ministered at together. We went out a couple of times. In all those months, we never saw each other as idols. We
were simply good friends.


The trouble with many marriages is they are built on sex, not friendship. There is more to a
marriage than sex. Yes, sex is fun, it has its place, but friendship is even more important.


Many argue that unless you have sex before marriage, you might not be satisfied with your spouse’s performance. They say, "Better find out if you are compatible sexually before marriage than after marriage."


You know this argument is so lame. Common sense tells us that sex will be wonderful so long as you are in love with the person. It doesn’t matter if they can do gymnastics in bed, what matters most, is if they love you. Sex is meaningful with someone you love. You can learn to perform better as you go along. That is part of the fun.


Get it out of your system

Another argument of the proponents of sex before marriage is this: if you wait until marriage
to have sex, then you will always desire more; better to get it out of your system before marriage
than to do it after marriage. This argument is so ridiculous. I would argue just the opposite. Sex can be addictive. I’m more worried about playboys settling down.


Take for example a man who hates to shop. He decides to go to Wal-Mart and gets himself some overalls. Let me ask you this question: how long do you think he will keep his clothes? Remember
he doesn’t have many clothes. Yet, you and I both know he probably will keep those overalls for many years.


On the other hand, a woman who loves to shop will buy some expensive clothes and add them to
her dozens of outfits. How long do you think she will wear them? Not very long.

You see you don’t have to try on many clothes before you will be satisfied with what you bought. My wife loves to shop. She will take hours trying on different dresses to see which one she likes. Finally, she decides on a dress, only to take
it back later. On the other hand, I try on one pair of shoes, it fits, and I take it home. I will wear those shoes out until my wife encourages me to get another pair.


Trying on different people does not make it less likely that you will want to keep the one you picked. Actually, chances are you will more likely become dissatisfied with the person you married, because you know what others are like, and you might start to reminisce about the other guys you slept with. But someone who knows only one
person, does not have anyone else to compare him with, and is more likely to be satisfied with their "one and only".

Fornication or Adultery

Modern dating has failed the church. The fact is divorce is just as high among Christians as it is
with the world. I believe a major contributing factor to divorce is fornication.

And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication,
and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. (Matthew19:9, KJV)

Notice two words Jesus used: fornication and adultery. Jesus gave the cause of divorce as being fornication. The result will be that the person will committeth adultery. Fornication is sexual sins committed before marriage. Adultery is sexual sins committed during marriage. You rarely have adultery until you first have fornication. Jesus placed fornication as the cause for divorce. Adultery is not necessarily the cause for divorce. Adultery usually was preceded by fornication.


During Jesus day, a prospective bride swore to her virginity. If she said that she was a virgin but
after marriage the husband finds out she had lied, then according to Jesus and the Law of Moses, the
husband could legitimately divorce her.


I know what you might be thinking, The past is the past. Yes, I believe that, but what if the person
claimed virginity when she was not a virgin. Then the person could not be trusted, and thus, Jesus said it was all right to divorce her because lack of trust.

The main cause of divorce is not what is happening during marriage but what happened before marriage. How you live as a single person, will eventually show up in your marriage. If you are a fornicator before marriage, you will more likely be an adulterer during marriage. If you remain pure before marriage, you will more likely remain pure during marriage. A sexually pure person is better prepared for marriage than a fornicator would be.

I know God can forgive and transform us. Mary Magdalene in the Bible proved that. I am not
predicting that you will have trouble in your marriage if you messed up before marriage. At
the same time, I would be lying if I told you that how you live as a single person does not have any bearing on your marriage, because it does.

As the Church, we try so hard to work on marriages in trouble, when we should be working just as hard on relationships before
marriage. We should expect purity before marriage, just as we would expect purity during marriage.


Dating simply sets the stage for sin. And worse, I feel dating is so expected and sometimes,
encouraged by the church, family and Christian friends, that we wonder why people fail sexually,
and later, get disappointed when they fail in their marriage.


I know Christian parents who allow their teenagers to date. The world expects teenagers to date, so parents feel like they must go along with the world. Listen, unless a person is ready for marriage, they should not be placed in a position to perform the duties of marriage. We are not called to go along with the world. We are to be
holy—pure and simple.


It is crazy for young fifteen, fourteen and even thirteen-year-old people to date and experience
intimacy. Dating is serious business. Yet it is becoming the norm for this age group to have
sex.

The Dating Game

Sex is serious. The Bible says, "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body;
but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body" (1 Cor 6:18, ASV). We are not to play near fornication, but flee it. Let’s face it: dating as it is practiced today, does not agree with
this scripture. When people date, they are not fleeing fornication; instead they are flirting with it.
They are seeing how close they can get to sex without actually doing it. That’s not fleeing.


The scriptures also says, "Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute (fornicator) is one with her in body? For it is said, ‘"The two will become one flesh’ (1 Cor 6:16)."
Fornication is similar to the act of marriage. When you fornicate you are acting as though you are married. You are one flesh during sex. "But I’m not married." I know. That is what makes sex before marriage so serious. One flesh union should be reserved for a husband and a wife, not
your boyfriend or girlfriend.


Modern dating has taken something very serious that God has made and turning it into a game. You’ve seen the Dating Game, and that sums up
dating: it has become a game. Dating has become a recreational activity. Yet, God says it is serious.
Sex is not like playing sports or games. It is not meant to entertain you. It is meant by God to draw together two people who are in love and who have committed to spend the rest of their lives together.

Learn to love appropriately. You need to use
your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. (Philippians 1:9-10 The Message Bible)

Real love is not sentimental gush. I know guys will say anything to get sex from their girlfriends.
They will even use the famous "I love you" line to get what they want. But real love is sincere. Does the guy really love her? Is he ready to take responsibility for a child that they might conceive?
Love must be sincere. Love is not selfish. If a person really loves someone, then he will make
sure not to do anything, which might hurt her.


Love is intelligent. I know we usually do not associate love with intelligence. Hollywood makes
love emotional. But God makes love intelligent. Okay, so you feel something for this guy, but use
your head, not your libido.


Courtship places intelligence as a premium to a relationship, but dating places emotions as the
prime indicator of a relationship. Courtship understands real love.


Dating is basically selfish. Does love motivate the guy who sleeps with his girlfriend when it will scar her emotionally and damage her relationship with God? Does love motivate the girl who leads a
guy along then breaks up with him when she finds someone better?

Smart love looks beyond personal desires and the gratification of the moment. It looks at the big picture: glorifying God and serving others.

The Wrong Cart

Dating is not an essential part of the complete teenage experience. You can serve God better without it.

I can hear some people say, "Hey, Pastor, you are throwing out the baby with the bath water. The problem isn’t dating. It is self-control." Give me a break.

How can we expect to exercise self-control if we constantly put ourselves in compromising situations? As I wrote earlier, my wife and I were virgins before we got married. That is not to say
we were not tempted. We were. The only time we had to repent before God was when we placed ourselves in a position we should not have. We were alone in her parent’s van. They let us borrow it. After eating dinner, we headed back to Sonia’s house, only to make a detour into the woods. Mistake! We almost fell. That was the only
time we placed ourselves in that kind of position.


I can imagine couples constantly placing themselves in compromising situations. Sooner or later, they will fall. I’m sure Sonia and I would have eventually succumbed to fornication if we
had constantly placed ourselves in that kind of position. But we didn’t.


The problem is not lack of self-control. It is buying into the whole modern idea of dating. We are
expected to be alone. We are expected to say no, when there are no safeguards that are in place.
I’m suggesting that we place the safeguards in place. The best safeguard is to teach and expect our members to practice courtship.

When you go to the grocery store, the most important thing to do is to get a good shopping cart. Not one that has wheels constantly spinning around. You may want to go straight down the aisle, but if you are not real careful, your cart will veer off course into a can of tomatoes. You didn’t intend to hit the cans, but you started off with the wrong cart. May I suggest that dating is the wrong cart to begin with? It just doesn’t work. Courtship will work.

www.wtbm.org

MY EXPERIENCE TODAY FROM WHERE WE WORSHIPPED

Today (7th April 2012) after two weeks of not worshipping in a Church, I finally got the opportunity to worship to the Glory of God.

To the Glory of God, from the direction I got from a friend who stays in this State, I was able to locate an Adventist Church. I had a wonderful time worshipping with my fellow believers. Below are some of the things I experienced.

I experienced one thing that made me glad and that is - Seventh-Day Adventist Church is the same everywhere; same songs, same greetings and responses... Almost everything was the same so I kind of had a Dejavu instead of feeling strange among my brethren.

Brethren, I tagged this Church 'Family Church' because they all behaved as one; shared jokes, commended and praised each other, I saw love flowing amongst them. I went on to tag it 'Nigerian Church' because I was afraid Hausa language will dominate the worship, but I realised the members were from all over Nigeria - Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, etc, which made English the language used throughout worship with little Hausa.

Hausa songs were sang by a family and the Women Choir which sang before the main Choir sang during Divine Service. The Church Choir is filled with Youths and their sound production was wonderful. I feel I may join that Choir before I leave this land. I was thrilled by the Choir. They even sang an Igbo Song - 'Ka amara gi Nna rudata, ike agwuwo ndi gi' and some other songs I knew.

I knew I will meet something different in the church, surely, I did. One of them is the response for 'Happy Sabbath'. When someone with Mic said 'Happy Sabbath' I replied loudly 'Happy Day' only to hear something different from the whole Church. Instead of 'Happy Day', when one says 'Happy Sabbath', they reply 'Remember to keep it Holy!'. I learnt and added that to the ones I knew before now.

Before now, I knew that Deacons are more active than Deaconesses, I knew Deaconesses don't do much work during worship. But here, the Deaconesses were the ones shifting the Lectern, they were even the ones that collected offering during Divine Service. They were very active more than their men counterparts. It wasn't only in the ushery department, the ladies were active in all activities of the church; during Divine Service, it was a vibrant young lady that led the Choir, during Song Service, it was a lady too...

... I'm happy I've found a Church were I'll be worshipping for the time being. Don't try to find out what I hid in those elipses please. Also, Church closed by 12:15pm which is great.

Great time I had in that Seventh Day Adventist Church located at David Mark Road, Tunga Minna - Niger State close to IBB's Mansion. I hope to get involved soon.

@elexharry

GIVE IT UP!!!!!!!!!! TO MY 28TH FEBRUARY PEOPLE!!!

In recent times, I’ve been posting on Facebook and Twitter on how much a tradition it has become for people to celebrate their loved ones only when they die. All over the Social Networks on daily basis, you read of people telling their dead ones how much they loved them. Unfortunately, these dead people can never read nor know how much they were and are still loved. So it’s better to celebrate people, tell them how much they meant to you, how much they’ve imparted into your live and other things about them you admire including funny ones, etc.

I want to dedicate my writing pen today in Celebration of some special people who today marks a special day in their lives; I’m using this space to celebrate them now they can read me. It can’t be possible for me to write everything I know about these people, I’ll need to write a book to achieve that.

These special people were born today (28th February) some years ago.

Here are somethings about them starting from my younger Sister.



(Mrs. Ezinne E. Iheoma)

My younger Sister Ezinne Iheoma (Nee Elekwa) known as Ezy or Ada Papa (by my Dad) is one special person I came to know from when she was born (My twin brother and I were already there before she arrived). As the only sister we had, it was great having her around. She’s so caring, hardworking, detailed and a lover of good things.

When we grew up, she took over the kitchen from our mum, and I must tell you, she learnt to do everything just as our mum did them; preparing Moi-moi, and other family delicacies became her specialty. Granula, Tom-brown and other must-have at home where always there at our disposal because she would always get them ready. When my mum was busy with work, she would be the one to prepare the Soap for the house. My Mum’s baking habit was also transferred to her. She could bake anything you can think of. Along the way, we (the men in the house) will always list what whoever will marry her will pay us, that she is a bunch of talent made in our house.

We shared our childhood together and part of our grown lives before she got married on the 27th day of November 2012. To the glory of God, she is plus one today! May the name of the Lord be praised because of this gift of a year He has given to her, may God bless her and her husband and add more wonderful years to them in Jesus name amen.

(Mrs. Hope Otugo-Nkemakolam)

Daa Hope as we grew to know and call her was and is still one of our big sisters. We grew up in the same yard and knew her as our ‘no-nonsense’ aunty. I can remember when my twin brother and I were admitted in the Primary School (She was already leaving the school for the next level) during our first day in school after our Dad registered us, she took good care of us that day. She bought all buyables for us as well as did to us what any other big aunty does to her younger ones.

At home, she and her sisters (the sisters were actually in charge of my twin brother, they were also identical twins) would always take care of us as their younger ones. I can’t forget all those Ede (Coco yam), Nsisa (asharasha), Abacha, Orange, Grape (very big ones) and the other goodies they used to give to us in those days; whenever Daddy (their Dad) travelled to village, we are always assured that whenever he arrives, Daa Hope and our other Aunties (her sisters) will supply us with so much goodies. To partake in these goodies, there’s one thing you must do and that is – stay around when Daddy arrives, help in offloading his car and all these goodies shall be added unto you. I can’t forget those memories.

Even when I got admission into the University in 03/04 Session, Daa Hope was already through, the few days she spent around; I felt her Big Sister impression around.

I thank God so much for the life of Daa Hope, today she’s plus one to the Glory of God! I pray that the Lord will bless her and her husband with many great years ahead in Jesus name amen.



(Mr. Kingsley Ahuruezemma)

The BlessedAkins! As my twin brother and I always call him is someone I hold in high esteem. We got admission in the same year and that year, He, Katchys (Onwuegbuchulam), I and my twin brother were four in one. We even formed a singing group then (that never performed for once lol!). I can remember when he made me study more without knowing it; that was when we went for an ECC NAAS (East Central Conference, Nigeria Association of Adventist Students) Evangelism at EBSU (Ebonyi State University) during the second semester of our first year (03/04 Session). The night after the Evangelism, we were chatting and joking, we even threw some banter, during this time, instead of joking with normal things or normal words, he was joking with words from one of the big books in ABSU known as ABSU Bible (Philosophy of Science). That book was so big and covers every department, it crosses across Science and Arts, so it was kind of a nightmare to students, I haven’t gone far in the book, but here I was standing, and my fellow student is lifting words and quotes from that book to joke! I had no other option than to go and study hard!

Blessed Akins is a very intelligent and cool fellow; he takes his time to study the environment and the people around him. When you meet him, you can’t help but admire him. He’s a friend to many, he’s loved by many and also admired by many; this could be seen from the day he was sent off from our fellowship in ABSU, Fellowship members showered him with so many gifts that we needed some trucks to pack them for him.

He is called Pastor by many because He was the Chaplain at Adventist Students Fellowship ABSU for a long time and served as the Evangelism Coordinator of East Central Conference NAAS. There are so many things about that I would need to dedicated a book for him to be able to get all those down on paper.

Today is his birthday! I pray that the almighty God will bless him abundantly with great testimonies and a good wife (as I can’t wait for his wedding IV) in Jesus name amen.



Arc Jane Oji

During my first year in the Department of Architecture of Abia State University, Uturu, I was a loner. I was always on my own but very observant. I knew almost all my course mates and knew who was who. Jane was one of the ladies I knew in the class, always around in class for lectures and always somewhere around the front seats. She was among the few women I couldn’t but admire because Architecture is not an easy course to study for men let alone the women. Of a truth, Jane and the other ladies in the class got me motivated to study the course, I always told myself that since ladies can, I won’t I.

When I started getting close to my course mates later in the years, I got to know her as a reserved lady who always respected herself and others around her. She was always free with everyone including myself who had few friends then. I can always remember her and her clique of Oge whenever they walkabout with their T-Square and those sleepless nights we all spent in the studio. When I couldn’t attend her Dad’s burial in our final year, I walked up to her and explained to her, she just took it coolly, I expected her to start like some people would’ve done by telling me “you no try” but she took it coolly and thanked me for the words.

Today, Jane is Plus 1! I pray that the almighty God will bless her with more years in ahead and great testimonies in Jesus name amen.



Mr. Uche Isiguzo

I met Urchman for the first time in 2005 at the Biennial Convention of East Central Conference NAAS hosted in ABSU; there I started admiring him because of something he achieved. I can remember that Friday night while we were packing things, one of the Organists (Henry) asked him if he could sing a certain song and he said no, he told the organist he can still learn it. He took the song sheet back to the hostel and the next day being a Sabbath, he presented to my admiration “The Holy City” I was amazed, I was like, so this guy was able to learn this song in the evening and present it this morning? That made me come closer to him, from there I came to like so many things about him.

He’s a great musician, sings very well, reads the staff very well (I can remember once I rehearsed with him at Ikwerre Etche) , He’s just blessed by God with Music and other great qualities even as a leader too.

We’ve had so many escapades together. I thank God for his life and for adding this New Year to his life. May God continue to bless him more in Jesus name amen.



Mr. Uchechukwu Vine Nweze

Uche is one of the persons I knew via NAAS. A cool guy and fun to be with. He’s talented in many spheres. One memory of him I can’t forget was at the ENUM Youth Study Camp at Oba where he led their Band (The Sound Masters) their performance was so great that they made me remember my days as a Band Player in one of the Best Bands in Adventist Church Nigeria (From 1997 till some time, thought I joined the Band in 1999). I admire his strength on his trumpet too. He’s also a Madridsta like me.

Urchman, as you celebrate, may the Lord bless you more in Jesus name amen.



Mr. Collins Nwulu

I call him Elder Collins. I actually met him last year, but he knew me before then. I knew him more while we were at Behold He Cometh Evangelism last year in Ikwo, we shared the same room. He’s a cool and friendly fellow, takes his time to study people around him. He has his specialty when it comes to working and has works he detests… He was the Evangelism Coordinator Adventist Students Fellowship, Nigeria Association of Adventist Students Michael Okpar University of Agriculture.

Elder Collins, as you celebrate today, may God bless you more in Jesus name amen.

Maybe, You Were Not Ignored...

Olukayode: I've been mentioning your handle on twitter, but you've not been replying. You won't tell me you've not been on twitter because; I've been seeing your tweets. If not that I know you, I would've said you’ve been ignoring me or ... I don't know what to say…

Chioma: Are you sure you've been mentioning me? I go through my mentions regularly, but I've never seen any of your tweets. Are you sure you spelt my Handle well?

Olukayode: of course, I’ve been mentioning you. How can I miss the spelling of your handle, is it not @chyoma0023? …


Have you ever mentioned someone on twitter, and spent countless hours expecting their reply (when you know they have few followers) only to be seeing their tweets on your timeline, but no reply to yours? If so, your case may be the same with that of Olukayode and Chioma.

When they met each other, she saw that he was not lying, as a matter of fact; she saw the tweets on his profile page as well as her handle well written. Then the big question, why weren't the tweets showing in her mentions? That's the basis of this post.

They made so many conclusions which didn't help. They later realised that he was typing without giving any space between the handle and other words. That was exactly why she wasn't getting the tweets.

So many people on twitter have this same issue to sort out. In certain cases, the two parties end up not finding out what really happened but go on believing they were being ignored.

Here are things to note while typing your tweets so they can get to whoever you mentioned.

* Whenever you want to mention someone's handle, make sure you give at least a space between the sides of the handle. Here's an example, the first example will be delivered to whoever you mentioned while the second won't.
Eg. 1. What was the score of Madrid's game last night @Realmadrid @Rmadridinfo

Eg. 2. Where can I download some movies online?@Ebaykalu@d_uche

In the first example, there're spaces between the first handle (@Realmadrid) and the word before it (night) and the handle (@Rmadridinfo) after it. In the second example, there are no such spaces. So, @Ebaykalu and @d_uche may never answer the question because it won't be appear on their mentions. They can only see it by accident on their TL if they are following you and were online when you tweeted but it won’t be on their mentions.

* Another case occurs in situations where a tweep is tweeting more than 140 words.
Certain twitter clients like twitlonger, writelonger, tmi.me, tweete.net, etc enables more than 140 words on twitter. But as the case maybe, after the 140 mark, the rest of the tweet can only be viewed by a link. Only the first 140 would be visible to your followers and only twitter handles that appeared on the first 140 would be delivered to the mentions of the tweeps you mentioned. So, if you are tweeting more than 140 or you don’t know if it will pass 140 or not, start the tweet with the handle you are tweeting.

So don’t be surprised when you tweet more than 140 words and no one replies - it’s because, they never knew you mentioned them.
In recent times, during chat on twitter with some of my tweeps, I wait for long without getting any reply only to go to their profile and see that they replied but realized that my handle was either typed without being spaced from other words (eg. I will be around@Elexharry) or the tweet was more than 140 words with my handle among the words that came after 140.
So to enjoy your twitter experience the more and get your message across to whomever you have in mind, it’s good to always learn to do it the right way so as to get the intended results.

Tweet Right!
@Elexharry

Secrets By Nature - (You'll Get the Call Soon)

While we were growing up, there were certain issues that were Natural-Secrets, you don't need to be told "don't tell anyone" about them. Such issues include Family plans for the future (Eg. Mummy telling us during Family hours that Daddy said he'll buy so-so things, etc,), getting a very-poor result in tests, wetting the bed at night and other funny and serious secrets.

Now that we've grown up, certain things are still secrets. Eg. Someone traveling abroad, most people seeking for employment, most people in relationships, most people supporting certain Political Parties.

Why do people keep certain secrets?

In recent times, someone you took as a friend will just email you and tell you he is in another country, some may not even tell you until you see it on their Facebook location.

My friends and I, in order to avoid surprises (after so many of them) figured out a way to find out those traveling abroad. It has been working for us.

Certain friends who traveled abroad without informing us till they got there or until the night of their departure all went through the same process so we are now at least 65 0r 70 percent sure that when what I have in the next paragraph starts happening, someone is about traveling.

One of our friends would always travel to Lagos from time to time, it wasn't for Holiday nor for business because we knew each other well. When you ask him, what's up? he'll tell you nothing much. Until one night he called from Lagos, informing us that he was leaving Nigeria that night. Other friends who traveled to Lagos that way too ended up emailing that they've left Nigeria.

So when your friend who's not working in Lagos, not seeking for work there travels frequently at a time you know he's not going for hols, then brace up to get the news of them leaving Nigeria maybe later from them or from other people/

So for us, when such things happen we know that someone will soon leave us in Nigeria for greener pastures.

A Question for you: Why do people traveling abroad make it a top secret?