All posts by : Simbo Odunaiya

There is this parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12. This parable conveys a sobering passage every time I read it.  What comes to my mind is the wisdom of Solomon – “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2).  There is no doubt that when our attention here on earth is ill-directed, the end of the story is vanity.  But what I want to talk about today is how we do not know much about tomorrow – “Many things about tomorrow I don’t seem to understand” (Ara Stanphil).  None of us is promised tomorrow and this parable makes that crystal clear. “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring” (Proverbs 27:1).  We must live our lives today, and every day of our lives, fulfilling His purpose.  There will come a day when tomorrow will not come for us.   These times have even made this clearer than before.  We have heard cases of folks who just slump and die.  We have heard how people contract this COVID-19 disease and their soul is taken from them in a matter of days.  We are better off living our life focusing on all the good we can do today.

One thing about today is that it is never coming back.  If we miss the assignment God gave us to do today, then we have missed that assignment for eternity.  Of course, a similar assignment might be given if we are privileged to be around, but it is not the same.  Today’s assignment is gone when tomorrow comes.  It reminds me of that popular saying attributed to Etienne de Grellet – “I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”  Today will not come around again, when it is gone, it is gone.  So, as we live our lives, we must make this a mantra to do whatever good we can do by the day because tomorrow is not promised to us.

Many of us are like the rich fool of Luke 12 who was making plans to be merry and to enjoy after amassing stupendous wealth.  A lot of us are like that.  We get our priorities wrong.  We are focused on the things that are not important.  Sometimes we do it consciously but a lot of times we do it subconsciously.  We are making all kind of plans to amass as much wealth as we can for ourselves.  In fact, many folks have now taken it to a different level, whereby they try to amass wealth that they cannot finish spending in 30 lifetimes.  For what purpose?  We must all remember that no one is assured of a tomorrow because only God holds the times and the seasons in His hand. We must wake up daily committing the day in the Lord’s hands.  We may make plans as much as we like but only the Lord determines the steps He will take to implement that plan (Proverbs 16:9).  We should learn to make God the beginning and end of our plans, unlike the rich fool in whose plans for merriment God had no role.

On December 2, 1988, I left the USA for Nigeria.  I was excited to soon see my mother and to announce to her that I was back home finally.  I could have called her before I left here with all my 23 suitcases of stuff, but I wanted to surprise her.  I had great gifts for her.  I got home on December 3, 1988 at 8:30am to learn my mother had passed around 12:01am that same day.  I never knew she was sick.  Many things about tomorrow we cannot understand but the one who holds today, and tomorrow, can guide us along.  He alone knows the tasks He has chosen for us and we do not know when the task will be done.  We must submit to Him completely and ask Him to lead, we must not be like the rich fool who thinks he controls his life and his agenda.  In submitting to God, we must let our hearts be where God wants it to be. 

I read that Benjamin Franklin understood the benefit of doing good daily.  In order to make sure he did not depart from this chosen path; his daily schedule began with the question “What good shall I do this day?” and closes with a similar question “What good have I done today?”. It is a good place to start.  Rather than be like the rich fool whose main preoccupation was about how to “Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry” (Luke 12:19b), why don’t we start our day with the question: “What good does God want me to do today?” and close the day in the same manner, “Did I fulfill God’s call on my life today?”.  It is all about focusing on the day and doing all the good we can do according to God’s divine will in our lives.

– Pastor Simbo Odunaiya

While most Churches tend to listen to the government directives on social distancing and are staying at home for now due to the Covid-19 pandemic and have suspended their person to person and fellowship services, the reactions from some segments of the church have been quite interesting.  Although it is a very small segment of the church, their reaction is nonetheless, absurd.  I am not sure that it is the social distancing by itself that they are against, but that the idea is extended to the Church.  It ranges from those who think Pastors who go along with extending social distancing to the Church are faithless or do not have enough faith, to those who believe that the whole idea is a conspiracy against the Church.  Interestingly, social distancing as a means of stopping the spread of a disease is explicitly mentioned in the Bible. 

In Leviticus 13:45-46, the word of God addresses the disease of Leprosy, a skin disease that is highly infectious. Anyone who was diagnosed with Leprosy in the Old Testament days was required to be isolated from all others by living outside the camp, and should in case anyone comes near them, they must shout “unclean, unclean” (vs 45).  Verse 46 added that “As long as they have the disease, they remain unclean. They must live alone”.  Talk of the literary meaning of isolation.  Pandemics cause a lot of distress, they result in death, and they cause pain for the people of God.  God’s prescription for outliving attacks of the devil like these is revealed in Isaiah 26:20 – “Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by.”  This is not different from the government directives that we should stay in our homes.  I say a stay-at-home order in times like these is also biblical.

Many church leaders have exhibited what I call blind faith in dealing with the several directives that require us to stay away from our places of gathering for a while.  They are eager to go against government directives forgetting that the word of God made it clear that “everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established” (Romans 13:1).  When we disobey lawful orders of the authority it is akin to disobeying God Himself.

As Christians we should be found in the vanguard of those leading the idea of asking our people to stay at home for now, even without a governmental stay-at-home order for the Church, as in the state of Ohio.  Our Lord Jesus Christ declared in Matthew 22:39, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Anyone who loves their neighbor should want to do all within their power to help prevent contracting this dreaded Covid-19 disease, even if it includes staying at home. In Leviticus 19:16 the word of God says, “You shall not jeopardize the life of your neighbor.”  In the light of the havoc this disease is causing, ministers who ask people to continue gathering at Church in large numbers are jeopardizing the lives of their neighbors.  The other time I listened to Governor Cuomo of New York talking about wearing masks and he based his whole argument on respect of the other person.  Let me add that for us Christians it should also make the statement that “I wear my mask because I love you the same way I love myself; and do not want either me or you to catch the virus.” 

Pandemics or the spread of diseases like Covid-19 cannot be overcome by over-spiritualizing, and that is what many Christians tend to do at this time.  Rather, this is the time we should draw from the wealth of inspiration and knowledge that God Himself has deposited in humankind.  Some of the strategies and techniques that are used to fight against pandemics of this nature also have their roots in the word of God.  People of God who go against some of these tried and tested strategies, but insist on faith only, are not only trivializing biblical faith but are propping up ideas in the brethren’s mind that the principles of public health are incompatible with the word of God.  That is a fallacy and they are therefore standing on shifting sand. 

Our best reactions at this time is to listen to the experts amongst us, while we go to our rooms and intercede on behalf of brethren in prayers, trusting His word in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” – Pastor Simbo Odunaiya

There was this song by a famous Nigerian musician while I was growing up – “Iya mi, Iya L’alabaro”, loosely translated it means “my mother, my confidante”.  I will not lie, knowing that I am a guy, I love the tune, but I used to get jealous when I hear the song.  Why is the mother the confidante and the father is not?  It did not take long for me to understand that this is a universal truth.  It was no doubt much easier in the years of our youth to approach our mothers for comfort and receive it.  There was that part of the song that talked about holding the child and dancing in the middle of the night.  Yes, when everyone else is sound asleep, the mother is holding on to her baby and dancing.  If she is lucky her husband is there on the bed close by switching back and forth between snoring and waking to ask how they are doing.  For the not-so-lucky, the man has abandoned the room for them to find comfort in a much quieter place.  This is not to bash fathers; it is just a simple testimony of how indeed the mother is a confidante and a comforter of her children.

Growing up, I needed someone to always cry to, since I cried quite easily.  My mother was a friend I could talk to, in fact, our mothers are our best friends forever.  There was nothing I could not tell my mother.  When others laughed at me, she will rub her hands over my head, hug me, and say to me don’t mind them; while at the same time calling me so many endearing names that immediately restores my confidence.  She was a shoulder to lean on and a great friend. My mother was a strict disciplinarian, but as strict as she was, she was still the kindest mom anyone could ask for. I thank God for my mother. Whether you are happy about your promotion at work or you are feeling let down, one intimate conversation with mother would bring you back on your feet. Mothers always seem to know the right words to say and at the right time to make us feel all will be well.

I felt my mother’s love so deeply that I made great efforts when I was younger to avoid doing anything that would disappoint her.  During my High School days, there was a time I did something that was against the school code (juicy stuff for another day) and I was suspended from the dormitory.  Of course, when you are suspended from the dormitory or from the school, the next thing is for you to go home and bring your parents.  My Dad had passed while I was in Elementary School, so I had to get my mother.  I was so scared to go home and tell her that I had been suspended from the dormitory.  I felt ashamed that I had disappointed her so much.  After I got home and summoned the courage to tell her why I came home in the middle of the school term, I was pleasantly surprised that her main concern was about my well-being.  “How have you been eating”, she asked.  Her reaction made me feel so good and bad all at once that all I could do was to apologize profusely promising her that I would never, ever do that again.  Isn’t it so comforting to see the awesome potential of a mother to bring peace amid a brewing storm?

Interestingly, the comfort we get from our mothers reminds us of the comfort we get from our God who the Bible refers to as the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3).  A true mother offers compassion and comfort to her children.  “As one whom his mother comforteth, so, will I comfort you” (Isaiah 66:13).  A mother’s soothing touch and presence are meant to bring comfort, encouragement, relief, joy, rest, help and love to her family and our mothers do it so effortlessly.

In the process of becoming adults we garner a lot of experience along the way.  However, no matter how much experience we have had, one thing that remains unchanged is the love of our mothers. Always pure, always deep, always genuine.  She remains the comforter and confidante that she has always been.  When we get married, new confidantes and comforters show up and we begin to take our mothers for granted, forgetting the immeasurable value of their love.  That kind of love should not go unnoticed and unappreciated. Let us respond always to our mothers with great love and appreciation and respond to the God who created motherhood the same way.  Mothers remind us in the most practical way of God’s sacrificial giving to us.  So, when we honor our mothers, we are surely honoring the God who created them.  Happy Mothers’ Day to our mothers. – Pastor Simbo Odunaiya

It is amazing how our thoughts sometimes tend to hold us back. The mind will always wander and when it does it tends to think mostly of things that are long gone, especially things we have no business thinking about. The Bible is very clear that our thoughts or what we think about are important to God. The prayer of the Psalmist in Psalm 19:14 says, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” (KJV). This means that all the things we think or meditate about is visible to God and it is important that they also be pleasing to God. And, before a word is on our tongue God already knows it completely (Psalms 139:4), meaning He knows our thoughts.

One thing about fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives in the present time is that we cannot afford to be held captive by our past deeds. If we must live according to our divine calling, we must let the past go. We cannot afford to get so bound up thinking of our pasts that it immobilizes us completely. When we are immobilized by our thoughts, we become captive to our thoughts. The very bad things we have done in the past is the main reason we are held captive by our thoughts. Jesus Christ said He has come to set the captives free (Luke 4:18), so we all need Jesus if we must free ourselves Pastor Simbo Odunaiyafrom this bad idea of thought captivity. Jesus said, no one who puts his hand on the plough and still looks back is fit for the Kingdom (Luke 9:62). Thinking continually about the past is looking back and it will deprive us of the Kingdom that we so long for. As Apostle Paul said we must forget those things which are behind us and move consistently forward into those things that lie ahead of us (Philippians 3:13).

Rather than become captive to our thoughts, Apostle Paul says we must take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5b). As a matter of fact, a picture emerges from Paul’s memo to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5. He said, the weapons of our warfare are for pulling down strongholds, casting down imaginations, and bringing into captivity every thought. Naturally, wrong thoughts lead to wild imaginations which can become strongholds in our lives because they render us immobile. We must make sure that our thoughts are brought under control. It begins with how we think about the past. In John Maxwell’s “Thinking for a Change”, he says “if you want to live on a new level, you have to think on a new level”. If we must take advantage of the opportunities of the present time and be ready for where God is taking us in the future, we must think on a new level. We cannot afford to be held captive by our past. “The old has gone, the new is here” (2 Corinthians 5:17b – NIV). If we are to encounter things that are different from the past, we must think in a new way. “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.” (Mark: 2:21-22 – NIV). New times require new thinking.

Whenever the past comes into our thoughts, it must be either because there are lessons to be learnt from whatever occurred in the past or in acknowledgement of how God Himself was able to bring us through. In any case, these two are related because one of the best lessons to learn from our past issues is that it was the Lord who brought us through. If He did that in the past, He can surely do it again. So, regardless of our past hurts, we must always remember that God’s promises over our life are guaranteed. He is faithful and we must learn to always trust Him. The word of God says He is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Ephesians 3:20 – KJV). We cannot enjoy the present or change the future without changing our thinking. We must seek the help of God to discipline our minds. We must allow God to transform us completely from the captivity of our past by renewing our minds, so we can take advantage of the vast opportunity that is ahead of us. “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” That is the word of God for us. Old things have passed away.

—Pastor Simbo Odunaiya

Times like these affect how we generally think about the future.  There is palpable fear about contracting the dreaded novel corona virus.  Added to this fear is the uncertainty that the virus has induced everywhere.  Uncertainty about your studies, uncertainty about your jobs, uncertainty about your finances, and uncertainty about your health.  Sometimes this past week I heard the leading infectious disease expert in the United States say ordinary things like shaking hands or hugging friends may be a thing of the past for a while.  Vacations canceled, conferences canceled, weddings canceled, and other celebrations canceled everywhere.  In the last one month 22 million Americans have either lost their jobs or been furloughed.  It was revealed this week that Anti-anxiety prescription drug is up 34%.  How does one think about the future in this situation? 

Under normal circumstances people are uncertain about the future.  We find that we cannot control the future, so we often find that a lot of people are anxious about the future.  Even in the so-called normal times, some folks have found their own ways of trying to stay ahead of the future.  Therefore, many folks take to Psychics who claim to have the ability to predict the future.  We have witnessed Christians who are fascinated by men of God who claim to know the inside workings of God and can prophesy about people’s future.  There are yet other people who go to different kinds of diviners whose source of power, they know not.  These times are, however, not normal.  These are stressful times and it is not surprising that more people are getting anti-anxiety drugs in order to keep going.  Thinking about the future in a time like this may become even more stressful.

It is important for those of us who are people of faith to remember God’s promises for us at a time like this.  “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” – Jeremiah 29:11.  God has a plan for each of us.  While it may be difficult at a time like this to see it, we must always remember that He indeed does.  While we may be disabled, essentially, at this time, God is active.  While we may be lost about tomorrow, God sees exactly how our future will be.  Just think about what He has done in the past and that will give you strength to move into the future well assured of His presence with you.  While we are at it, we should also remember that what we think about the future is not what God thinks about our future.  ““For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”” – Isaiah 55:8-9.  So, as we are going through our circumstances, we must realize that our fears and anxieties do not change what God plans for our future. Let us learn to believe God’s Word for us.  His plans for us are good.  His plans for our future are good, and there is no amount of bad thoughts we have that is capable of changing God’s plan for us.  Let us comfort ourselves with the words of the song “I don’t know about tomorrow” by Ira Stanphill.  If you have fears about the future now, just know the one who holds tomorrow knows your future.

We all have plans for our lives, but none of us understands what tomorrow holds, and situations like this tend to make it worse.  We must remember that the word of God says that God has “set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end” – Ecclesiastes 3:11b.  This Scripture is telling us that God has placed a longing for an endless life after death in our hearts.  Whatever is in our hearts we always think about.  So, in times of trouble why don’t we think about eternity.  Why don’t we think about things we can do to make eternity?  Why don’t we think about how we can correct our mistakes of the past?  We can avoid thinking about our fears and our worries about the future, if we make it a point to think about eternity.  We long for school, we long for our jobs, we long to finally retire after many years of toiling, and so on, but God has placed a longing in our hearts that surpasses all these other longings.  It is times like these that God uses to call our attention back to the things that matter most.  He gets our attention when extraordinarily good things happen to us, but He also gets our attention when things like Covid-19 happens.  So, you do not know what to think about the future?  Why don’t you think about eternity?  When the future comes the one who holds the future will take care of it. – Pastor Simbo Odunaiya

This is definitely an Easter with a difference.  In my over 60 years of life, I cannot remember an Easter Sunday that I was not in a Sanctuary to celebrate the Easter Sunday.  I have written in the past about how the Easter period should be the most joyous of all Christian celebrations.  The joy of Easter is not the kind of joy we see in everyday life.  This is so because it brings into memory one of the most impactful events of Christendom.  It is an event upon which the whole of our faith is situated.  The joy of Easter is that kind of joy where you feel the Lord’s embrace.  Easter is that time of the year that you must find someone you can touch positively as Christ has impacted our lives so positively, so we can pass on the embrace.  But alas, this is not a possibility this year because we must stay away from each other. No Easter egg hunt for the children.  No sharing of food as we usually do in our community.  I was personally looking forward to a great time of praise and dancing this year at Church as my birthday falls on Easter Sunday.  But this is not to be, as the coronavirus has changed how we live, how we work, how we socialize, and most of all, how we worship. It is like everyone suddenly changed their places of abode.  We live on Zoom now.  We work on Zoom now.  We meet on Zoom now, and we worship, too, on Zoom now.  The other day, the women were meeting, and I noticed they were watching a video on Zoom.  So, I told the men that we need to organize a movie day on Zoom soon. 

Despite all of the things we are not able to do now, when all is said and done, this Easter season will be noted for how impactful it will be on our faith.  This is because it offers us time to spend retuning our relationship with God.  Many of us have always taken our relationships for granted.  Now that it looks like we are losing control to a mere virus, I am sure it will cause us to think twice about those relationships.  There are many children who cannot go to visit their parents and there are parents who have to make do with having video calls with their children in this era of social distancing.  We must, however, still count our blessings.  It could be worse.  Yes, we are stuck at home, but it could be worse.  Yes, we are not able to go to Church to worship, but it could be worse.  Some folks are in the hospital with coronavirus, I am sure they will rather be at home.  So, in all things we must give thanks to God, the one who knows our end from our beginning.  Many of us may beef over little things but this time of solitude should be the time of reflections and putting things in the proper perspective.  It is a time we must use to reprioritize things in our busy lives to make time for God.  After all, many of us are learning that we are non-essential where we once thought we were indispensable.

As the days pass by, let us re-evaluate our commitments.  Let us think about those things that keep us from serving the Lord.  Are they as important as we once thought they were?  I am slowly coming to the realization that there are certain things that I am doing that are not material or profitable.  So, let us use this time as a time to reflect and identify the things that will bring the most joy to the greatest number of people.  It is a humbling experience to feel restricted to one’s home and not be able to do anything about it.  But it is a time to try your hands on new things.  It is a time to pick up new hobbies.  It is a time to spend in meditating on the word of God.  It is a time to seek new ways of fulfilling our purpose in Christ Jesus.  There are so many ways we can channel our energy.  Being stuck at home does not mean we must be stuck on ideas.  It is time to open our minds and let the Holy Spirit have His way with us.  There will be life after social distancing; we can make it worth our while if we plan for that life now.  We have all the time we need on our hands.

This time at home will never come back.  So, we must do all we can to make the best use of it.  During this time seek what the Lord’s will is for you.  For us Christians nothing happens by chance. God, surely, has a plan for us.  Let us pay heed to the word of God – “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity (redeeming the time – KJV), because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is” – Ephesians 5:15-17.  These times are different, but I can assure you there are opportunities in them for us.  We must continuously seek the face of God for guidance and make sure we redeem the time. – Pastor Simbo Odunaiya

There are two dimensions of faith.  One speaks to the trust and the belief we have in God.  Hebrews 11:1 says “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”  So, our faithfulness in God demands that we trust Him no matter what the situation is.  Our song says God is bigger than our circumstances, and this must naturally lead to trusting Him above all circumstances.  The other dimension of faith speaks to our faithfulness to God.  In a sense this dimension of faith also speaks to our loyalty to God.  Our faithfulness or loyalty to God was addressed in the first two commandments – “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:2-6). God demands complete loyalty and obedience from all of His children.  Our faithfulness to God or loyalty to God is helped by our faith in Him.  One perfects the other and in so doing completes us.

We are saved by faith, but when our deeds act on our faith, our faith is made perfect.   Our faith moves us to be faithful, while our faithfulness acts to confirm our faith in Him.  In James 2:21-24, we read that our faith and our actions work together.  Abraham was made complete by what He did.  The passage went on to add that ““Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.”.  So, a person is considered righteous by both their faith and what they do.  We are saved by faith but for our faith to be a saving faith, it must also be a living faith.  Quite a lot of people have faith in God, but their faith is a “dead faith”.  This kind of faith is a private kind of faith.  It essentially does not grow and does not bear fruit.  In essence their faith ends with them. They talk to God they read the word, but there is no effort on their part to bring others to the faith.  Their faith is a dead faith.  On the other hand, there is the living faith.  This kind of faith has no choice but to be public.  This kind of faith has no choice but to draw others to the faith. The faithfulness or loyalty of this kind of faith is noticed by others.  People see the fervency of this faith and they want to have what you have.  This kind of faith teaches others how to live a life of faith.  It is a kind of faithfulness to God that is so strong and so apparent that God notices and people notice too.  This is the main reason God wants us to live a faithful life.  It is so that others can see God’s grace and love in our lives such that they will also want to live a faithful life.

Living a faithful life has its benefits.  In fact, being followers of Christ, our utmost desire should be to live a life that is faithful to God. When we live a life that is wholly faithful to God, we live our life assured of His forgiveness for our missteps here and we have strong hope for life everlasting.  God also does cover strongly those who a faithful to Him. We read in 2 Chronicles 16:9 that “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” When we are faithful to God, we essentially have Him in our corner.

For our salvation, we need to have faith in God, but only our diligent effort to keep His commandments coupled with our faith in Him can make our faith perfect.  That is Living Faith and only the living faith can save.  Remember, as Paul said in Romans 2:13 – “For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.”  “Our faith is not a testimony of our life, rather our life is a testimony of our faith.” Our actions and deeds are definite pointers of our faith in God.  People are watching us. We should live such a life of faithful devotion that is a light on the path of those who are watching. Only then is our faith perfected and we are completed. – Pastor Simbo Odunaiya