WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED?

Hi, it's been a hectic week. I hope you find this piece by Andy Rooney interesting! Be nice this weekend, dearie!




I've learned.... That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I've learned.... That when you're in love, it shows.

I've learned.... That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day.


I've learned.... That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.


I've learned.... That being kind is more important than being right.
I've learned.... That you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I've learned.... That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.

I've learned.... That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I've learned.... That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I've learned.... That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

I've learned.... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I've learned... . That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned.... That money doesn't buy class.

I've learned.... That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I've learned... That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I've learned.... That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I've learned.... That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I've learned.... That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I've learned.... That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I've learned.... That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.


I've learned.. That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I've learned... That life is tough, but I'm tougher.

I've learned.... That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I've learned.... That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I've learned.... That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away.

I've learned.... That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I've learned.... That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I've learned.... That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.


I've learned.... That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.

I've learned .... That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

Written by Andy Rooney , a man who has the gift of saying so much with so few words.

KEEP AT IT

Hello friends, I love the spirit of being passionate about doing what you truly believe in regardless. How about some tips from Kenyon for this week's update. Remain sweet.





“How did you ever do it? I can’t see how anyone could do a thing like that.”
We were in a curio shop. On the table there was a whole army of little figures that had been whittled out by hand.
What hours of work must have been spent on them.
This friend of mine stood there, and looking at them said, “How did you ever do it?”
The man smiled and said, “I just kept at it.”
I went out of the door.
I walked the street and I heard those three words, “Kept at it, kept at it, kept at it.”
How they rang through my soul.
That man had “Kept at it.”
He had put life into it.
He had made a success.
People were coming from all parts of the country to see the effect of that cultivated, trained genius.
All that man has done was to train his mind and hand, and then whittle his dreams out of wood, of soft stone and ivory.
I was thrilled through and through at the possibilities that were wrapped up in common folk like you and me.



I heard a girl play the piano. She was not over sixteen. I know something about music. We had a music department in our institution for many years.
I looked into her face and I whispered in my own heart, “Girl, you have spent hours pounding the keys while other girls were walking the street. While others were sleeping and mother was trying to get them out of bed, you were pounding those keys.
“You have lost a heap of good times, but what a musician you are!”
She kept at it. That is why she won.
I stood with a man, overlooking a beautiful farm in Northern Maine.
I said to him, “Who cleared this land? Who stumped it?”
He answered, “Do you see that little log house down there by the creek?”
“I built that, and wife and I moved into it before there was an acre of this land cleared. I vowed that I would clear every acre of it and put it into crops, and I have done it.”
That is the spirit that conquers.
“I vowed I would do it, and I have done it.”
I stood by the loom in the factory as a boy and vowed that I would become an educator. I did not know what it meant, but I knew that within me was a teaching gift, an undeveloped thing.
I vowed I would do it. I did it.
I was handicapped as few men have been handicapped, but I did it.
I am passing it on to you to show that they cannot conquer you if you will do it.
Struggle to improve. In every effort improve the dream.
Every time you play that piece on the piano, play it better than you played it before.



Every time you sit down to that typewriter, make up your mind that you are going to be more efficient than you have ever been.
Make your brain work. It will sweat, but make it work. It will improve. It will develop until you become a wonder to those around you.
Don’t depend on an alarm clock. Don’t depend on mother’s waking you.
Make up your mind that you will have the alarm clock in your soul.
Never depend on another man’s car. Get one of your own.
Be self-reliant.
Be punctual. Be diligent.
Think through on every problem.
Conquer your difficulties as a part of the day’s job.
We are out in the fight and we will win the crown.
© Kenyon.

A HONEST CHARACTER, TODAY'S RARITY

At a time when role models are hard to come by and honesty is in fast decline in the country, a ray of hope recently came from Mr. Job Durojaiye, a student of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Oyo State, who was reported to have alerted the authorities of First Bank Plc to the sum of N9.3 billion inadvertently paid into his account.

According to his own account of what happened, Durojaiye, a Higher National Diploma (HND) engineering student said on August 13, he had, upon withdrawing N2, 000 from his account at the bank's branch located in the school, discovered from his Automated Teller Machine (ATM) printout that he had a balance of N9.3 billion, instead of N1000 that should remain in his account.

This development, he said, aroused his curiosity. He decided to withdraw additional N20, 000 from the huge sum found in his account to confirm whether it was real. And it was. Three days later, he went to the bank to narrate his experience. The bank official he spoke to did not believe him until he supplied evidence through the ATM printout. He quickly returned the N20, 000 already withdrawn from the 9.3 billion. The bank took the refund, but did not, according to Durojaiye, give him as much as a pat on the back.

However, the Mountain of Fire and Miracles, a church where Durojaiye worships, has fittingly acknowledged his exemplary character by giving him a car and an undisclosed sum of money, as reward, while the authorities of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, awarded him a scholarship for the remaining part of his education. All of these amply show that honesty is the best policy and truly does have its rewards.
Indeed, the conduct of Mr. Durojaiye provides a good example for our youths and all government officials to emulate. By all standards, the young man richly deserves celebration. His exemplary honesty is rare in the country.



Although some many say he has missed a lifetime chance to be a billionaire, having refused the easy, fast lane to riches, we commend Durojaiye for taking the right decision. Clearly, a life without good virtues to be remembered for is not worth living, and a society without men and women with sterling moral compass, drifts endlessly.

On this score, Durojaiye could be a model for rebranding Nigeria. Coming at a time Nigeria is still savouring its Golden Jubilee celebration, the outstanding conduct ought to serve as a veritable platform to celebrate some of the excellent virtues of Nigerians.

In this era that icons have become a rarity in our country, we urge governments at all levels to hold out exemplary conduct such as that exhibited by Durojaiye for their officials to emulate. One of the ways that the government can prove that governance, indeed, is a human enterprise, is to accord due recognition to citizens who demonstrate uncommon character.

It is regrettable that often, we celebrate frivolities and scoff at good virtues such as honesty, trustworthiness, integrity and fear of God. These qualities are the essence of humanity. Had we, as a nation, prioritized celebration of notable acts of honesty and transparency, perhaps, our search for good leadership would have been much easier, and our country a much better place.



Let’s have your view, God bless you as you do. Shalom

CADAVER

The long decay now prevalent
In a system void of resuscitation
Of evil wrought ever evince
The sickness of hearts
Devoid of hope longed for
A holocaust of a stable bed for growth
And now….






Neglected societal scums
Now avaricious in sudden wealth
the aftermath of unasked for opportunities
the uncomfortable haves
clothed with supposed integrity;
a mask for the gentle pen swindlers
smiling promises and plundering spoils.
The irony of deep-seated ravens
Who to care is to create care-needs,
Seemingly holy in circle of concerns
An acceptable norm now adulterated;
A deception to the lower leveled yokel
still crispy to the undeciphering loyalists
till deprived of burial rites
reality becomes too late because dead;
a closure of history for goodly lucidity
an evidence for evil continuum
What hope lies in man, O heaven?






The study of the dead for living rectifications
Is preemption unto deathly witchcraft
Say, these gloomy drooling eyes
Littered clinical pictures of illusive hope ever
Yet, the cozy desentivity of heads
Disconnected from necks and bodies
For the due cocoon, unopen'd, festers smells…..
Or so, the disenchanted body
Seeking hope in unpromised promises
Of a tomorrow never conceived
To a today, shockingly attired
Reeding round our gods in intertwining semblances
Of ourselves in few instances
Of accusations to thieves but one
Four fingering back our hearts
But we must cry; we are not them
We are receivers, not leaders
We are responsibly frustrated
Uneducated to responsible frustrations
So we must cry
On the slab flat
At the mercy of the surgeon's
But the saviour of a people
Born in a palace or a ghetto
Is, thru' the repulsive processes,
Only hardened and beautifully segregated
Savingly active-
At last, then, hope;
A living hope would emerge.

FOR FATHERS AND MOTHERS!

Hi there, the last two months were very important in the world. Many marked Mother’s Day and Father’s Day with pomp and pageantry. These are the moments I wished I’m back to my church in Lagos, Ikoyi Baptist Church. They are most encouraging moments well celebrated. Yet, I do hope it is not too late to add these two pieces for your reading pleasures… And, yes, keep me comments flowing, pls. I promised that you’ll have more goodies to read online soon.



I Bear His Name!
The hoe hooked over the shoulder
Epitomized effort of vested works and authority
As bent as years of building lives
Rocking in a chair of satisfaction.

I shall not forget this picture
Ever vivid reminder of responsibility and discipline
As we sat ‘round granpa’s fire
Warming ourselves with tales within and without

“…and Enoch walked with God;
And he was not; for God took him…”
And who wouldn’t desire
A godly and heavenly-minded father.

“…for I know Abraham
For he will order his house after Me…”
Yes, a father approved of God
Is our privilege to be taken lightly not.

Fathers – the model of the sons
The strength of the families
The symbol of correct leadership
And the pillars of shrewd investments

The same fathers – mini representatives of Almighty God
Now stripped of their God-given roles by sin’s effect
Presently many a-broody droops
Expressing frustrations, dimming hopes.

But we are not hopeless
Life had once sprung, and still springs
From ruts shall come out life
“…for the bruised reed He shall not break…”

The quality of a praised hero
Is not enough without a family, a home
I’d rather a responsible, though famous, father be
Than the best president, yet worst father.

It is a father that minds Father’s business
The same lays his life for his home
The same tills the field faithfully
And the same shed his blood on his cross.

The presence of a father assures security
His sweats assures provisions
His anger assures correction
And his smile assures approval.

Fathers are mothers’ best partners
…children’s best heroes
…family extension’s reliable support
…society’s most illustrious sons.

I saw a man turned a woman
He shed no tears and feels no pain
Because he is not involved
In responsibly building a responsible name.

A father proudly hugs me
An excellent son at graduation
Glossing brightly in spite of his lack
Yet not jealous and rivalry but supportive.

I am a man because I decidedly stayed with a man
I am a husband because I lived with one
I am a father because I’m equipped gracefully as head
And the child-like perspective I did not lose

“…since it pleased the Father
That in Him all fullness dwell…”
Then fathers should be seen in their offspring
“For the child is the father of the man”.




Motherhood
Dearest mother,
The beauty of nourishment,
The embodiment of good traits;
The saddled pain and joy,
Honour and glory
Adorn your person
Reflected in Admirable sons, Adorable daughters,
With fulfilled husbands!
Oh, adorned woman;
Bejeweled hard work
Birthing beloved offspring
Nursing wounded weaklings
Courage behind warriors
The desire of
Every decent family
The lack of your presence in lives
Is visible in flawed characters
Oh, how much we desired
And hoped
And prayed
And looked out for
His gracious gifts
In an invested you
And very well we know
And aware
A chronically searching
Heart
Will find you.

Hmmm…, Mama
The pride of every papa
Riches and honour
Encumbers you
Always!
From submissive Sarah
…Quiet Mrs. Noah
…Careful Jochebed
…Wise Rahab
…Ardent Deborah
…Sold out Ruth
…Prayerful Hannah
…Discerning Abigail
…Prettily chosen Esther
…Diligent mama Lemuel

To motherly Mary
…Excited Elizabeth
…Zestful Mary Magdalene
…Almsgiving Tabitha Dorcas
…Industrious Lydia
…Supportive Priscilla
…Devoted Lois and Eunice
…Home building Susana Wesley
…Undeterred Sabina Wurmbrand
…Quietly Word-broadcasting Mrs. Kumuyi
…Strength behind-the-scene Ruth Bell Graham
…Vivacious Bimbo Odukoya

Counted amongst all gracious women
Till date
You outshined the jezebels
Leaving traits of
Goodly Godly heritage ever
Oh, lovely mother
Sweet, sweet motherhood,
I’m proud to know one…

MEN! FIGHT FOR YOUR MARRIAGE. IT’S WORTH IT!

Hello Friends,
I got this piece from a mentor and thought it would be worthwhile sharing with y'all! Let's be married indeed and not be counted in the statistics of marriages that didn't work. It is possible!

What's the best way to handle a woman?
First, you have to be very humble to handle a woman. Secondly, you must be willing to tolerate a lot because she will throw all kinds of jabs at you. That's why I always tell men that when a woman is trying to throw all kinds of things at you, all you have to do is learn how to dodge because if you try to retaliate or get back at them, you will break them eventually.

So you have to be tactful when they are talking because if you get into a fight, it could get physical. Then most importantly, you need to understand your spouse. We have about four kinds of women. We have the intimidating woman, the creative woman, the dependable woman and the systematic woman.

The intimidating woman
The intimidating woman is like a man. No man wants to marry that kind of woman. They drive you crazy and they shout on you, they have no emotions, no feelings. If you want to deal with that one, you have to serve her as her husband to get through to, and correct her.

The creative woman
The creative woman is everywhere, but the only problem you have with that one is that she has a lot of male admirers. So you have to overcome insecurity to deal with that kind of woman and you have to add enough value so nobody will be after her. That way she won't get carried away as she seems to have a problem with time management and she could be undisciplined. So you have to do a lot of coaching and you don't shout on that kind of woman because you will break her and if you shout on her that lures her into the hands of another man.

The dependable woman
The dependable woman is an introvert. She hardly talks but she is very dependable and caring. You don't take her for granted.

The systematic woman
The systematic woman is a perfectionist and she has a problem with her self-esteem. She is not good with words, so you have to love her like your child because if you don't you will almost throw her away. Most women in that category eventually commit suicide. There is a tendency for them to be suicidal because they don't accept themselves; they don't accept people, so they find it difficult to hold the home. If you understand those things it is easy.

Then love language is another thing. You need to understand your wife's love language. There are about five love languages, namely: act of service, love, touch and words of affirmation. So you don't love a woman the way you want to love. You love them the way they want to be loved. If your wife's love language is an act of service for example, you need to serve her.

If she is in the kitchen, and maybe you are somewhere out of the house, and then she calls out and says "sweetheart could you come please." When you get into the kitchen, your wife could say to you 'help me pick the knife' (which incidentally is beside her). This kind of thing could drive the man crazy. At that point in time, it is not the knife that is important. She wants to hear 'I love you' because she gets 'I love you' by you serving her. If your wife's love language are gifts, then you need to give her a lot of gifts.

It is not the quality of the gift that matters; it is the frequency and the consistency of giving. If her love language is words of affirmation, then you don't shout on her, you need to give her words and if her love language is touch, then you need to give her like 8 good touches per day, to retain her. So these are the basic things you need to understand.

You need to understand the basic differences I highlighted earlier. If a woman behaves in a particular way you shouldn't get offended because you know her.

Truth is that women are virtually abused. So by the time they get married they could be very difficult to relate with and that's when you begin to experience some strange things you don't understand. And if you don't reposition yourself by adopting the role of a father willing to help his daughter (because that's what your wife is), then realize that the marriage won't last. You should also realize that she needs healing and you need to help her through that process of healing. You need to be confident.

What role does romance play in marriage?
You can't do without romance in marriage. When you talk about romance, a lot of people don't know what it means. They think romance is just touching but romance is more than touching. Being romantic for example is helping in the kitchen. It is also helping out with the children's assignments, etc. I go to the market for example and I cook a lot of meals in my home. I also do a lot of runs for my wife. Some people think romance is only when you get to the bedroom and try to touch.

That is why a lot of men say their wives are not sexually unresponsive. Why would they be sexually responsive when we are not in the 19th Century when women stayed at home? Women now go to work, most of them are managers in their places of work and that is the masculine mode. By the time they get home they need to switch back to the terminal mode and you need to help them. This is because they leave work and get home and some men even get home sometimes before their wives and all they do is watch TV and expect this woman that just came back from work to go to the kitchen and fix their meal, take care of the children, do their assignments, do the dishes and at night, you expect her to give you sex. That is not done in the first place because she is tired. That is not romance.

Romance is when you get home at the same time and you say sweetheart why don't you go take a shower, let me fix your meal. Or sweetheart why don't you fix the meal, let me help the children with their assignments. Now it becomes a shared responsibility and she looks at that kind of man and praise you before her friends and tell them how romantic you are. I hear my wife say all the time, 'my husband is romantic'. In case you didn't know that is what women expect when they talk about romance.

When a man talks about romance, he wants to touch, he wants to have sex but when a woman talks about romance, sex is the last thing to her. Romance to her shows her the things you do for her, like sending hot text messages, taking her out, and helping her out. These are basic things that you can afford to do in marriages. I discovered that most men do it before marriage to win the woman and by the time the woman says 'yes I do' the men no longer do in wedlock the very little things that won her heart. What you did to win her is the same thing you must do to sustain your marriage.

Why is it that men lose the romantic touch immediately after marriage?
A man is like a hunter, he is a goal getter. When a hunter is trying to get a kill, he does everything. For example, if he is trying to catch fish, he gives what a fish loves to take or if he wants to kill an antelope, he goes to the bush to set all kinds of traps. He spends his money on things that will lure the antelope to where the trap is, but by the time he kills the antelope, the motivation to go back to the bush is no longer there because he has the antelope already. That is what men are naturally. So once the woman says yes I do, there is no motivation to continue "loving her". They reason that I already have her. she can't even leave but the truth is, you don't know what damage you do to your woman that way. You need to nurture your marriage.

Do men really have time for all of those things?
You have to create time. We seem to be very busy but we need to create time. I recommend for most homes right now what we call royalty day and open day, because so many couples are going through stress, communication issues and problem in the marriage. Open day is observed once a week. We used to do that before my wife travelled. Open day is a day of the week couples have chosen when you are free to express your mind based on what your spouse has done.

The rule is that nobody gets angry. For example on one of our open days, she said she didn't like the way I ate. She said I always rushed through my food (but that's the way I was brought up) and I improved over time. The other one is royalty day. Royalty day is a day when you take your spouse out and treat her as the most important person in the world. I usually tell men you can do that every fortnight. The man will have to take the woman out. You may not even have to take her out. You just tell her 'sweetheart I'm going to be responsible for what is going to happen in this house.' So the man does the sweeping and cooking. All your wife does is she relax in the bedroom. Two weeks after she responds.

So these are basic things that will make your marriage work. If you don't do them your marriage will suffer. Some people may say my marriage is not suffering, but ask your wife how happy is she. You will realize that your wife is not happy; she is just tolerating the marriage. Probably she just learnt to take you for who you are because she doesn't want her home to break. That is why you will hear women say: I am married to my children. A woman does not need to be married to the children because she is married to you. You were the one she fell in love with not the children, so we need to make out time in the midst of our busy schedule. Men who do extra-marital stuff create time for their girls don't they? They do. The same time you want to create for those girls, invest it in your spouse and you will get a better person from her.

Why is it that the other woman is more exciting than the woman inside?
It is this misconception that the grass is greener on the other side. By the time you get to the other side of the lake and you look at where you are coming is that place greener? There is a difference between the woman outside and the woman within in about 20 different ways. The 21st century woman has to understand that you don't have to be the woman within alone.

You also have to be like the woman outside, in your home. For example, the woman outside with her dressing tries to attract your husband outside but the woman at home is just dressing for the occasion because she thinks they were for a while but you see you have to dress for the occasion and you have to dress also to attract your spouse. When it comes to wishes, the man's wish is subject to explanation for the woman inside but for the woman outside his wish is a command. So, you have to learn that as a wife. When a man says my wife doesn't respect me what he means actually is don't argue with me. So you have to learn not to argue with your husband. You can go back and influence him down there.

When you argue with a man, you put him off. The goal of the woman inside is to stay married while the goal of the woman outside is to snatch your husband. So, she does everything but you realize that the woman outside gets exciting but by the time she gets inside she becomes the woman inside too. So she needs the ring and she does everything to please the man. When it comes to treatment, the woman inside treats the man like her husband, but the woman outside treats him like her king.

For example, as a wife you can afford to serve your husband all kinds of dishes, the same plate for two years but do you see some of the women in the movies. They select the best plates, the best cups, the best spoons, they set the table, they create a healthy environment. An environment of goodwill tells customers to be loyal, so they make everything look exciting so the man will be forced to come to that environment. What I advise the woman within is this: you need to do the same so that by the time you create those things at home it becomes very hard for your husband to go over to the woman outside. When it comes to sex the woman outside is ready to do just anything because she is in touch. She knows what is in vogue.

The woman inside feels okay, I have given birth to two children. I am married to my children, so she doesn't pay attention to herself again, she doesn't dress well. Women must know that men hate a woman that ties wrapper. The woman outside doesn't tie wrapper. You know she is well dressed, cultured, she wears perfume and all kinds of things. You need to do the same; once the man sees you tie wrapper he begins to see you as Mama Somebody, he begins to call you Mama Kunle. Please, if your husband is calling you Mama Kunle, you need to stop him. You need to become the "chick". Let him call you what he used to call you when you got married. If you are not careful he will begin to see someone outside. So, I tell women that it is not sufficient for you to be the woman at home; you need to be both the woman within and the woman outside. By doing that it becomes very difficult for your husband to go outside.

I have heard a man say when I kiss the woman outside, it's like heaven but when I get home and I'm kissing my wife, it's like biting a nail. Why?
The thing with marriage is that, the moment you give room for comparison, you endanger your marriage. That is what happened because you have given room for comparison. There is no sweet in the other woman's tongue. That is the truth and it's not as if you are biting anything when you go back home. It's just that you have given room for comparison. If you want to experience what you have experienced, why don't you teach her, how to do the same? Romance is something that can be learnt. Sex is also progressive. It has been proved that the more you have sex with your partner, the better it gets ,if you guys communicate.

Most of the problems in marriages can be narrowed down to communication issues. 85% of the problem is communication problem. You can hide under the cloak of sex, romance, whatever , but it's a communication issue and men's unwillingness to groom their spouses . If you have groomed your spouse over time, you will realize that every woman is a reflection of a man and that's why I always warn the woman outside who wants to sleep with another person's husband, that before you sleep with the man go and look at his wife because very soon you will look like his wife. Because a man is a groomer, he is called the bridegroom.

That word means the groomer of the bride. So you as a man, if you have groomed your wife to the level where you can't kiss her, then you are a bad groomer and whatever woman you handle you will turn them to the wife you married. So it is not as if there is any sweet tongue anywhere. It's always said that the grass will always look greener on the other side and you will realize that by the time you taste the other woman's tongue, maybe the third woman, something will just tell you that oh!"I have been biting nails.

Time Is Fast Running Out!

A Friendly Reminder:
TIME IS FAST RUNNING OUT
The testimony of Victoria Nehale and her several visitations by Jesus Christ.
The full message can be read in the book A FRIENDLY REMINDER: TIME IS FAST RUNNING OUT! Now available at Amazon.com

I was born and lived in Namibia all my life and surrendered my life to Jesus on February 06, 2005. The Lord Jesus Christ has revealed many things in the spiritual realm to me including a couple of trips to hell. The Lord instructed me to share my experiences with the people; He also warned me not to add anything or omit anything from whatever the Lord Jesus Christ showed or told me. By the time of the writing of this book, end of 2006, I was visited 33 times by the Lord Jesus Christ. Every single time of those visitations, the Lord would tell me before leaving that: TIME IS FAST RUNNING OUT.
First trip to hell
On the weekend of 23 July 2005, I took a thirty-minute taxi ride from the town of Ondangwa where I work and stay, to my home village, to spend the weekend with my parents. On my way home, I had a feeling that something extraordinary was going to happen that evening. I arrived home at around 18H00 and that was the time people were preparing for dinner. I was in the kitchen with the rest of my family, lying down on an old sheet on the ground, while my little nieces and nephews were singing their Sunday School songs. Suddenly I felt a heavy anointing come upon me, my body became very weak, and I was out under the power of God. I saw a man, wearing a long white robe tied with a rope of the same color, walking towards where I was lying. There was a brilliant light around Him as though it were radiating from Him. He was wearing brown sandals; His features were like people from the Middle East, with a beautiful tanned skin. His face was very kind and full of glory but I was unable to look Him in the eyes. When He spoke, His voice was tender, kind and loving, yet authoritative; waves of love were emanating from His very being.
He extended His hand to me and pulled me up from where I was lying. Suddenly I was in a beautiful, transformed body; I looked the same as I was when I was eighteen years old. I was wearing a white robe tied with a white rope. Although my robe was white, the material was different from the man's robe. His robe was silky with a brilliance that I do not know how to describe.
He said, in a most loving and tender voice: "Victoria, I want you to come with me; I will show you frightening things and I am taking you to a place where you have never been before in your whole life". He held my right hand and we went. I felt as if we were walking on air and we were ascending all the time. After a while on the way, I was very tired and told Him that I was unable to continue the journey and begged Him to allow me to go back. However, He looked at me tenderly and said, "You are not tired - you are fine. If you get tired, I will carry you, but for now you are fine. Peace be with you. Let us go."
The place at which we arrived was very arid, worse than the worst desert known to man, with no sign of life in any form whatsoever. There was not a single tree or blade of grass or any living thing in sight. It was a very depressing place indeed.
We came to a gate and the man turned to me and said: "Victoria, we will enter through the gate and the things you will see will frighten and upset you - but you must rest assured that wherever I take you, you will be well protected. Just open your eyes and observe everything I will show you." I was terrified and started to weep. I was protesting and pleaded with the man to take me back. I told Him that I did not want to go into that place because I could see through the gate what was going on inside. He looked at me and said, "Peace be with you; I am with you. We must go inside, for time is fast running out."
We entered through the gate. I cannot describe to you the horror of that place. I am convinced that there is no other place in the entire universe as bad as that place. The place was extremely large and I had the sense that it was expanding all the time. It was a place of utmost darkness and the heat of it could not be measured: it was hotter than the hottest of fires. I could not see any flames of fire or the source of the heat but it was HOT. The place was filled with flies of all sizes - green, black, and grey flies. Every conceivable kind of fly was there. In addition, there were also short, thick, black worms everywhere, climbing on everything. The worms started to climb on us and the flies were also all over us. The place was filled with the most disgusting stench; there are no words to describe the intensity of the stench in that place. The smell was almost like rotten meat but was a hundred times worse than the most decaying meat I have ever smelled in my entire life. The place was filled with the noise of wailing and gnashing of teeth, as well as of demonic, evil laughter.
The worst thing about this place is that it was filled with people. There were so many people that they could not be numbered. The people were in the form of skeletons. I can say with confidence that these skeletons were humans because I recognized some of my very close relatives and people from my village. Their bones were dark grey and extremely dry. They had long sharp teeth like wild animals. Their mouths were large and wide and their tongues were long and bright red. Their hands and feet had long, thin toes and fingers with long, sharp nails. Some of them had tails and horns.
There were demons mingling with the people: the demons in appearance looked like alligators and they were walking on four legs. They were comfortable in that environment and were constantly teasing and tormenting the humans. The noise that the demons were making was more like a celebration, as they seemed happy and carefree; they were also dancing and jumping all the time. The humans, on the other hand, looked miserable and depressed; they were in a state of helplessness and hopelessness. The noise from humans was caused by pain; they were weeping, screaming and gnashing their teeth, and were in a desperate situation of unimaginable pain and agony.
The people in this place, were innumerable but I could clearly see that the vast majority of them were women. They were divided into many different groups. Even if they were in the groups, it was not possible to estimate the number of people in any single group because the groups were extremely large.
The man led me to one of the groups on the eastern side of the place. He looked at me and said: "Victoria, this is a group of people who refused to forgive others. I told them many times in many different ways to forgive others but they rejected me; I have forgiven them all their sins but they refused to forgive others. Their time ran out and they found themselves here. They will be here for all eternity; they are eating the fruits of their labor for ever and ever. However, it is painful for me to see them in this horrible place and in this eternal situation - because I love them."
I was then led to the next group, and the man told me that the people in the second group were those who had debts. There were three different categories in that group. The first category was of people who owed to others: they could afford to pay their dues but they kept postponing and procrastinating. They would claim that they would pay tomorrow, next week, next year, until the time ran out for them and now they had found themselves in this place. This is where they will stay forever; they are eating the fruits of their labor.
The second category was of those who had debts that they could afford to pay back and they were willing to pay their debts, but they were afraid of the consequences because, perhaps, if they told the truth they might suffer rejection or they might go to jail or what they had done would be made known to the whole world and they would be humiliated. The man said: "None of them came to me to ask me for a way. If they had done so, I would have shown them the easy way out. They used their own wisdom and reasoning which did not help them in any way. Their time ran out and they found themselves in this place where they will be for ever. They are eating the fruit of their labor."
Then He said: "The third category had debts which they could not afford to pay back, but, again, none of them had told me that they had debts they were unable to pay. If they had done so, I would have paid their debts. They also tried to use their own reasoning and wisdom, which did not help them in any way. Now they have found themselves in this place where they will always be. They are eating the fruit of their labor. My heart is aching for all these people because I love them dearly."
In the first group, I saw two of my very close female relatives, as well as a twelve year-old, also a relative of mine. I knew she was twelve because that was how old she was at the time of her death. In the second group I also saw some of my relatives, as well as a Pastor whom I knew very well. Jakes, my boyfriend who had committed suicide because I gave my life to Christ, was also in the second group. I saw some of my neighbors in both groups as well.
I recognized the people I knew before their deaths; they also recognized me. My relatives were very angry when they saw me and they started to shout obscenities at me; they were using the most vulgar language as they were cursing me. One of them said that I was not worthy of following the man who was with me; they were telling the things I used to do before I gave my life to Christ. They were not lying; the things of which they were accusing me were the truth. Jakes was saying that I belonged to him and I should go where he was because I had committed the same sins as he. At first the Pastor seemed happy to see me and he said I did well by coming but his attitude changed immediately when he saw who was accompanying me and then he also joined in the cursing and the use of obscene language. The man with me told me to ignore them for they did not know what they were doing.
I was petrified and extremely sad; my body was shaking and I could not stand. I was crying uncontrollably. The man turned to me, gave me a hug, and said: "Peace be with you, Victoria." My strength returned and I felt very secure in His embrace. Then He told me that we had to leave the place and go back. He looked at me and said: "Victoria, I have shown you. Now you must choose in which of the groups you want to be; the choice is in your own hands. You must tell the people everything you have seen and experienced but do not add or omit anything."
I remembered that we left the place of horrors together but I do not know where I left Him because then I became aware: I opened my eyes and I was back in my physical body, lying in Oshakati Hospital. There was a drip in my left arm, and I saw my mother and other neighbors from our village in one corner of the room, where they were looking at me in amazement. I could see on my mother's face that she had been crying. I asked one of the nurses if she knew what was wrong with me but she only made a joke and said: "You were sent back; perhaps you have done something wrong and you need to repent." The nurse was trying to speak lightheartedly about my condition but I could see she was afraid to come closer to me. I asked her to call the doctor who attended me.
When he arrived, he said that he did not know what was wrong with me. Initially, he had thought that I had contracted malaria but the malaria results were negative. He continued to tell me that my temperature, pulse and blood pressure were dangerously low but he could not find the cause for it. He said that there was nothing he could do for me; he could not admit me because I was not sick. The drip they had applied was not working at first but when I opened my eyes, it started to work. He recommended that the nurse administered another drip to me once the first one had finished so that I could get enough strength to go home.
I was frightened by what I saw in that place and couldn't stop crying. The stench of that horrible place continued to be as real as when I was there. The scenes from that place were flashing before me all the time. I was unable to sleep and my whole body was in great pain. I felt as though all my limbs had been taken apart, and re-assembled. Oh, I felt awful. I had diarrhea and a pounding headache for an entire week.
My mind was made up that I would not talk to anybody about my experiences because who would believe me? What would people think? I kept telling myself that I would never relate my experiences to anybody. One of my mentors phoned me three days later to enquire about my wellbeing because I sent her a text message asking her to pray for me. Before I knew it I was telling her about my experiences. When I realized what I was doing I had already told her most of the story. I wanted to kick myself. I was crying because I was convinced that I had made the biggest mistake of my life. Now the story was told, there was no possibility I could hide it anymore. Now I knew that if God wants something to be told, it will be told. He is God, after all.
On August 19, I woke up, feeling the signs of the anointing in my physical body. I was weak and trembling, while waves of electricity were going through my body. In the evening I saw a brilliant light coming into the room and in the midst of it was the same man. This time He sat down on a chair next to my bed. I have no idea where this chair came from but it was there as soon as He was ready to sit down. It was a beautiful chair made of solid gold; the shape was that of a conventional chair, with back support. On each leg was a silver star embedded in the gold; the same star was also in the centre of the back support. There are round wheels on each leg.
After greeting me, He told me that He knew that I had many questions about His identity and that He came to reveal Himself to me and to explain certain things that I have experienced. He said: "I am Jesus Christ, your Saviour. If you have any doubts, look at my hands. That place where we went is Hell." When I looked at His hands, I saw scars where the nails pierced Him.
Dear friend, I want to tell you that hell is not a figment of anybody's imagination but it is a real place and it is unpleasant. It was not made for people but for Satan and his demons. Our rightful place is in Heaven with Jesus but we have to choose Jesus before it is too late. Today, when you hear His voice, do not harden your heart; accept Jesus as your personal Saviour today and live for Him. Hell is a terrible place: it is a place of fear and sadness; it is a place of torment and eternal cries and gnashing of teeth. Satan wants to take as many people with him as possible. Do not co-operate with him; co-operate with Jesus and you will live and not die.
I could not understand why the Lord would tell me to make a choice between the two groups He showed me in Hell when I was already a born-again Christian. I have accepted Him into my life and He was still telling me to make a choice whether I want to go to Hell or not. I could not understand. I started to pray and asked God to give me a revelation of what He meant and what He wanted me to do. The Lord revealed to me that I was harboring a lack of forgiveness and resentment in my heart towards one of my sisters, as well as to my cousin. I asked the Lord to forgive me for my unforgiving spirit; I also asked my sister to forgive me for harboring anger and bitterness in my heart toward her. The Lord instructed me to go and ask forgiveness from my cousin.
The Lord also reminded me that there was a time when I acquired a teaching job with a fraudulent diploma and He considered that to be debt and theft. I was determined to do what was right and I asked the Lord to help me through this problem and to show me an easy way out because this was a serious crime which could send me behind bars. He directed me to go to the Department of Education and confess what I had done. I was ready to go to jail if this was unavoidable. I experienced the Lord's favor in a big way. The officials in the Department of Education told me that I should decide what I wanted to do: whether to pay back the salary I had received from the government or not. They promised not press charges against me because they were stunned by my confession. Our God is a faithful God who honors His Word.
If you are in a situation similar to the one I was in, I want to encourage you to do what is right, no matter the consequences. You might be incarcerated in the earthly jail but that is temporal. No pain or shame will compare to Eternity separated from God. Hell is not a nice place: it is better to allow God to judge you now before it is too late. We must not fear God's judgment while we are in the time of Grace: we must allow Him to expose whatever is wrong in our lives while we still have time to make right with Him because there is no forgiveness on the other side of the grave.
2nd Trip to hell
On October 18 2005 I woke up at 05H30 but I could not go to work. I was feeling very weak and drunk; I could not move or turn around in my bed, and the presence of the Lord was very heavy in the room. I was trembling and felt electricity going through my body. The Lord came to take me just before 08H00 because the last time I had looked at my watch, it was 07H48, and he arrived very shortly after that. He greeted me and said that we should go again because time was fast running out. I stood up and we began to walk. The way we were walking on this day was very different from all other times; although our legs were doing the walking movements, we were sort of floating more than walking. While we were on our way, Jesus told me that all sins are bad and there is nothing such as small sin and big sin. All sin will lead to death, no matter how big or small. The Lord told me that we were going to visit Hell again and then He asked me if I was afraid. I answered that I was afraid.
He said, "The spirit of fear is not from My Father or from Me, it is from the Devil. Fear will cause you to do things that will land you in hell."
Without faith it is impossible to please God and fear is the direct opposite of faith. It is obvious that fear does not please God because it destroys one's faith. For the whole time we were on our way, we were walking side by side but as soon as we arrived at the gate of Hell, He took my hand into His and held it for every second we were in Hell. I was very happy that the Lord was holding my hand because the firm grip of His hand removed all the fear from me. The place was still the same: nothing was different from the first time. There were flies, worms, extreme heat, the smell, skeletons, the noise: everything was just as it was the first time I was there. We entered the same ugly gate again and the Lord took me to one group of people. There were many people I knew when they were still alive on Earth. The poor people were in a terrible state; they looked miserable and in great agony but the worst of all was the look of hopelessness on their faces.
The Lord pointed out one middle-aged woman whom I knew before her death. She had died in a car accident at the beginning of 2005. I was shocked to see that woman in Hell because we all knew her as a God-fearing and God-loving person. The Lord told me that that woman loved Him and He also loved her; she had served Him when she was on Earth; she had led many people to the Lord and she knew the Word very well. She was kind to the poor and needy; she gave to them, and helped them in many ways. She was a good servant of the Lord in most ways.
Those words of the Lord shocked me even more and I asked Him why He would let someone who had served Him so well end up in Hell. The Lord looked at me and said that this lady had believed the deception of the Devil. Although she knew the Scriptures well, she believed the lie of the Devil that there are big sins and small sins. She thought that a ‘small' sin would not lead her to Hell because, after all, she was a Christian.
The Lord continued, "I went to her many times and told her to stop what she was doing but many times she would reason that what she was doing was too small and she attributed my warning to her own feelings of guilt. There was a time when she stopped for a while but then she convinced herself again that the warning was not from Me but her own voice because that sin was too insignificant to grieve the Holy Spirit."
I asked the Lord again to tell me what the sin was that this woman has committed and He answered me thus, "This woman had a friend who is a nurse at Oshakati Hospital. Whenever this woman was sick, she would not go to hospital and pay for her hospital card as normal practice; she would just pick up the telephone and tell her friend to organize medicine for her from the Hospital Dispensary. Her friend would always oblige and tell her to pick up the medicine at a particular time. Firstly, she decided to accept the lie of the Devil about small and big sin and rejected my truth; she caused somebody else to sin and steal on her behalf but, worst of all, she grieved the Holy Spirit. This is what caused her to be in Hell. It does not matter whether you bring millions of souls to the Lord; it is still possible to go to Hell for grieving the Holy Spirit. You must not only care about the salvation of others but you must be careful not to forget about your own soul. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit at all times." After the Lord said those words He said that we should go back.
Many Christians who have heard this story do find it problematic. They would always ask me, "What about justification, mercy and grace?" and "Is it possible to lose your Salvation after you have received it?" "Is that not a bit too harsh?" "Can God be so cruel?"
Well, as I have said elsewhere in this book, I am not presenting any theology here. I am just telling you what the Lord has shown and taught me - and what He has allowed me to experience. Please refer to your Bible for answers. Look at the following verses and make your own judgment.
"But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." (1Corinthians 9:27)
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue to sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? (Romans 6:1-2)
"Do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lust." (Romans 6:12)
"For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries." (Hebrews 10:26-27)
Can I go to Hell after having served the Lord and led many to Christ? You be the judge!
Disobedience
On Monday 6 March 2006, I was woken by my alarm clock at 05H30. I started to pray and realized that there was a heavy anointing on me. My body was very weak and I was trembling; waves of electricity were going through my body.
In the afternoon, as I was lying on my bed, I saw a brilliant light filling the room. I saw tiny, white, round beads, the size of a pin-head. The beads were falling like rain and would sink into my skin on contact. In addition, I saw a cloud of something like white mist coming from above; it also filled the room and sank into my skin on contact. Thereafter, I saw Jesus walking towards me in the midst of a cloud of mist. He sat down on His chair next to my bed. I have no idea where this chair comes from; it usually appears as soon as He is ready to sit. It is a beautiful chair made of solid gold; the shape looks similar to most chairs but with back support. On each leg is a silver star; a similar but larger star is also on the back support. There are round wheels on each leg.
Jesus greeted me and stretched out His hand to me and told me to get up because time was fast running out. He pulled me up by my hand and I sat down on my bed.
Then he said to me, "Victoria, let us pray." He prayed in a language that I did not understand; I understood only the word ‘Amen'. Then He continued by asking me what I was seeing and I told Him that I was seeing groups of people going to their work and others arriving at their work places. I was also seeing those similar tiny white beads falling on those who arrived first at their work places. After the first group, another group also arrived later. By that time the rain of tiny beads had stopped falling.
I also saw different groups of people, arriving at different churches on a Sunday morning. The rain of white beads would begin to fall as soon as the early comers enter the churchyard. It continued to fall for some time and then it stopped. The latecomers would not find anything.
Jesus asked me whether I understood what those visions meant and I told Him that I did not understand. Then He explained to me: "These visions mean that every place where you are supposed to be at a specified time and you know what time you should be there, there are always angels distributing blessings for that specified time. If you arrive on time, you will receive your blessings but if you are late, you will miss your blessings for that day because the angels distribute the blessings only for that specific time. Victoria, I want to warn you because you go late for work and you go especially late to church services. You must know that at those times you have been late without any valid reason; you have forever missed out on your blessings for those days; they will never return to you again. Victoria you must stop this thing and do not ever do it again, unless you have a valid reason for being late."
When the Lord said those words I really wished I could disappear or give Him some acceptable excuses for my indiscipline. I told Him that sometimes I oversleep but He looked me straight in the eye and said that I was lying and that I had a bad tendency of going back to bed after I have woken up, to succumb to a desire to sleep for a ‘few more minutes'.
After Jesus had warned me, He said, "Stand up. Let us go. Time is fast running out and there are things we must do."
This time the Lord took me to a place where I have never been before; it was also the first time we took the road we walked on that day. We arrived in a garden filled with beautiful flowers and beautiful green trees: nothing on Earth can compare to this beauty. The flowers were in all kinds of beautiful, bright colors. We sat down on a beautiful garden bench, which was made from solid gold with small brightly-shining silver stars.
When we sat down, He pointed in front of us and said, "Victoria, look, can you see that city?" When I looked, I saw a very large, brightly lit city. It was beautiful beyond description. The city has a brightly shining golden gate and at this gate was a man, seated, who was of great age. He had a long, white beard and white hair. I had seen this man earlier and, when I asked Jesus who this man was, he told me that it was Abraham, the father of faith.
I saw many roads in that city, which are also paved with gold. There are high-rise buildings and they were also shining like gold. The shine and the glitter in the city is indescribable
Jesus turned to me and asked, "What do you think about that city?"
I answered that it was beautiful and I wanted to go there. Jesus said: "I will take you there if you continue to be obedient because that is also where your house will be. Stay obedient - because if you are disobedient, Victoria, crows will fly in your house. Your house will be a dwelling place of owls and a playground of ghosts. However, do not fear, because I am with you. Just obey. For everyone who is disobedient, his house will have crows flying there; it will be a dwelling place of owls and a playground of ghosts."
Jesus Christ is real and He loves us with a love that cannot be described, His greatest desire is for us to choose life and spend eternity with Him. His heart is aching for all those people who are dying and going to Hell because they chose to reject the Salvation He offered them and they chose death instead.
Whether you are a born-again Christian or not, please always remember this one thing:
Time is fast running out.

PASSION: THE STORY OF SLEEK FASHION MAGAZINE PUBLISHER; SYMON OKHALE ADEJI

“Emma, if anyone had told me that at the age of twenty four I will have a million plus to my name I will not believe him. But today, the story is different.”
With this statement my relationship with Simon O. Adeji took a definite turn for the better. It was really our first serious meeting, but it was the first time I felt properly introduced to one that will be instrumental to my later success. I’d first met him a year earlier while on a visit to Kaduna at the home of the coordinator of Youth With A Purpose (YWAP), Dr. Charles Ononiwu, one of my mentors. We fondly call him ‘Uncle C.’ This is an interdenominational viz NGO that creates an enabling atmosphere where youth discover their talent and develop them for use under God, and for good. We got talking subsequently as he tried to help me secure a job with one of the telecom industries in the countries.
While at an eatery in Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, I knew that something had happened to me. From that time on we talked, shared and almost lived together. I saw the calmness with which he pursued his dream of floating a magazine, the type that has never been done in this part of the world. He was passionate about it. He exudes such confidence that my initial doubt on the likely success of his intentions dissipated with time and was replaced with believe and enthusiasms.
I’d closed from work and gone to see him in Ikeja one day.
“Four banks are jostling over whom to sponsor my project, Emma.” He announced in his usual characteristical calmness. I said nothing but within me I mused: “Go on, dreamer.” Then the phone rang. I was closed by and naturally picked it up.
“Yes, who is it?”
“Can we speak with Simon? Tell him it’s from the Zenith Bank.”
Probably more for my benefit he picked the call with me standing by. Zenith wanted to solely have it all. I was dumbstruck. Everything he’d said was true.
Today, more than seven or eight editions (as at the time I wrote this piece) editions of Sleek Magazines has been published. A coffee-table book collating almost all the speeches of Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo was published. At the last count his company, Sleek Communications Ltd celebrated the opening of its London office in April 2008 with assets running into millions. But that is not my surprise. It is that he, Simon, remains humble, accessible and straightforward. During all my times with him and from later conversations with those who knew him before I did, one impression stands out: he has a yearning for excellence. Like he once told me while we were eating at Munchies on Awolowo Road, tapping his head, that the drives for success lies in ones desire to excel.
With him, the need to fill in a gap which is commonly used as in a quest to see a need and changed it is changed to, according to Simon, “create a need, fill the need”, and not “find a need to fill”.
One time we were driving through an almost empty Third Mainland Bridge on a Sunday afternoon, he pointed to his nomination slip by CNN as the “No.1 Fashion Magazine in Nigeria, Africa”. He, it is that built in me the desire to establish something. He was able to see into me what I couldn’t decipher. It was one of those evenings we were together. He was going through my book of collections which I refer to as ‘Savant’s Clippings’, when a small piece of paper slipped out and he picked it, read the content and asked: “Emma, what is this?” I shrugged, characteristically, in given situations like this: “Nothing. Just one of those insights I write. Nothing really.” You think so?” His question made no impact on me, but I showed mild interest, still. “Do you know you can make millions out of this?” “How?” I was bemused. “Stickers.” He doesn’t normally say much. He is précised with his words. That simple expression eventually led me to achieving another thing I never believed possible, that on business one can gain access to what is normally seemingly inaccessible if one acquires the right and correct attitudinal dispositions. With him, you don’t have to have a ‘leg’ to gain access to people, especially where businesses are concerned.
Today, a once timid me business-wise, one who never believed he has any iota of business acumen in him, now own his own business outfit – in publishing. I really wanted to walk under him but he simply encouraged me thus: “Emma, you have it in you. Do not be discouraged. Nobody got to the top on a platter of gold as such. You don’t need money to start, either. Have a marketable concept you can develop and with proper accentuation you will break even and penetrate market and become reckoned with.”
His advice, at a time when he has not even achieved anything to be physically seen became the testimony I can now share with the world. He broke into the market by ‘creating a need and filling it’ and I am right on the same track as well – at my own growing will and determination. I may not have matched his drive and speed but I am grateful we’d ever met. I may not be where I ought to be but it wasn’t what it used to be.
-Emmanuel Enesi Ajanah, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, DeepRoots Magazine, and CEO, The Breathing Mind Ltd.


Confidence gives birth to confidence. There are reasons to have faith...especially where faith inspires faith. Thanks, Symon.

RAPTURE! ...and what about the children?

“When a kid goes wrong, which factor is responsible, his heredity or his environment?” The answer is: “It’s a toss-up”. The Bible says exactly that! We are sinners both by heredity and environment; both by nature and by nurture; both by instinct and by practice”.

The picture that’s being painted from a lot of Christian movies in recent times concerning the rapture can be as confusing from a careful study of the Scripture. This is in relation to the fate of children on the subject of rapture. Would infants be raptured automatically? At what age is a child qualified to make heaven, or go to hell? In some of these films children were portrayed to have been raptured. Only few were exceptional, yet the question that bugged a careful observer of some of the verses found in relation to Christ’s second coming and the events likely to herald that time or day leaves a lot of unanswered raised brows.

How about the comparison to the days of Noah? Only eight people eventually entered the ark. Eight! The question is: were there not children among the people in Noah’s time? It is also possible that many of the women were in different stages or trimesters of pregnancies, and some were in the process of giving birth (that is, in labour) and so on…. Let your mind be as detailed as can be and you’ll get the picture clearly. Yet, they didn’t make it into the ark. Therefore, they PERISHED in the flood in as well. Is God this wicked or should this be seen as wickedness at all? J. Boyd Nicholson, in his book, ‘The Watered Garden’, made some interesting statements concerning the one hundred and twenty (120) years it took an ‘amateur’ Noah, who, in obedience to God’s instructions, built the ark. Now the question is whether God would have sent the flood in the first place if the whole world of that time had hearkened unto Noah. I believe, as Nicholson puts it, that ‘the ark wasn’t built to save the people IN the flood. It was build to save the world from the flood, if they would repent in time. It is not the sailing of the ark that is emphasized in scripture, but the “preparing” of it. Every plank was a sermon, every hammer blow a warning, and as the structure grew, so did the responsibility of the viewers’.

I sincerely chose to believe that every one of us owe a great deal to our offspring. I’d pondered on Noah’s sons’ wives being with pregnancies or even children at the time. I won’t be wrong to say that such children will have been saved as well, unless they chose not to follow ‘dadda’ or ‘mama’.

Sometimes ago I walked into my study group at our Church’s breaking of bread and the question was being asked on when a child is intelligent enough to give her or his life to Christ? My thoughts went wild. I simply asked the question on when a child is qualified to go to hell. The answer is the same. As long as we dwell in this nature called flesh, then we are bound to receive its wages. David says, ‘…in sin doth my mother conceive me…’, and Scripture is very clear on the wages of sin: DEATH! It doesn’t matter how old we are. After all, what wrong or sin has a new baby, or the yet unborn, committed?

So, invariably, am I saying that children too will go to hell? Look at this Scripture with me. “Just like in the days of Noah….” The comparison is obvious, isn’t it? That’s why the Bible is emphatic on the role parents play as leaders in their respective homes. If any of the women in Noah’s time had ventured near the ark to ask Noah if she can join him with her children, assuming she was with some, I believe the answer will have been a resounding YES. But none heeded the warnings given over the years – 120! Can you imagine the length of time that was? The point is: where are you leading your children to? Many of us provide them with the benefits of our privileged world – the little luxury we can afford – but never helped them to face the hard but realistic issues of life; either because these are realities we have well chosen to ignore (to our own peril) or we are not as bothered. Unfortunately, they then get to the age that we cannot reach them anymore except to dance to their tunes. By then, they are adults in their own right.

Nicholson further posited that “the ark was not built by Noah to save the population, but “to the saving of his house,” after the world rejected his preaching (Heb.11:7)”. Yes, God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy, but which would you think is preferable: isn’t it obedience, which is better than sacrifice? It is better to know for certainty than to live in the island of unproven assumption. The result is always fatal.

So, eventually, the question is not as much on whether children will go to hell but that we need to ask ourselves where we are leading them to? According to C. Everett Koop, M.D., “Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation”. And Scripture definitely agreed with that, as recorded in Proverbs 22:6. Invariably, your arguments may be termed pointless if YOU ARE NOT RAISING SOLDIERS AND USEFUL HANDS IN THE VINEYARD OF THE MASTER!

“Train up a child in the way he should go…”, “Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.”