Hearty Christian Stories

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My Daddy-Longlegs | Church Chronicles 4

My Daddy-Longlegs

When I was a little girl, my whole world went at a pleasantly slow pace. It was endless days of wanting to be an adult. And the calmness and stability of that little world seemed to last forever. The hopeful days of waiting and the protection from my parents from what the world had to offer slowly faded away. They couldn’t shield me from them forever. And I couldn’t stop growing up at a rapid rate. 

This is what I always wanted. But I’m not even yet an adult. I’m just one leg in and another out, and it’s already looking like, “Why is this world so fast?”

Blood Sucking Demons | Church Chronicles 3

Blood sucking demons

Mosquitoes, lice, and bed bugs, you hate them all.

Yesterday, you swatted an overly excited anopheles with your bare hands, but it danced out of your grasp, singing the same annoying song you didn’t want to hear. You clapped for it, hoping that the performance would end, but she went ahead to bring her friends to join in. So, you decided to spray the chemical that would kill them.

Aunty Feminist goes to Church | Church Chronicles 2

The period when women were told to be silent in the church was over. This was what Aunty thought before returning home to Naija.

Unpacking her luggage, she thought about the foremost thing she wanted to do. She would show up in church, the home church she’d been nostalgic about in the UK. 

Life as a working student had not allowed for too much church. She had only attended virtual church gatherings as much as she had the time. Homecoming, she dressed in the only native attire she had, a green agbada and trousers her UK tailor had sewn, ready for the non-virtual experience.

The Worship Experience | Church Chronicles 1

The worship leader collected the wired microphone from the prayer coordinator, who had set the atmosphere burning with some capital tongue speaking in the rented hall.

“Lerogete aikolema ribainda, Endoskelesh endoski barabai!”

He had declared with ferocity and some vibration of hands. One could see that the few members who came to church early had caught the fire. 

Sayo watched through thick concave glasses as the pretty assistant choir coordinator took her place behind the wooden pulpit. A glance at the choir stand made her wonder why the role of praying, using the ‘Prayer cord’ as a reference, usually went to the guys while the Eve gender huddled together for the singing role. Maybe God answered their prayers faster, she thought. 

If Queen Esther was Nigerian

IF QUEEN ESTHER WAS NIGERIAN

If Queen Esther was Nigerian

King Xerxes (Ahasuerus) ruled over 127 provinces when Isreal was in slavery. He was the most powerful monarch who ruled the Persian Empire around 486 BC.

Hadassah had deep Jewish roots as detailed in the Book of Esther in the Holy Bible.

Esther couldn’t have been Nigerian, and I’m much surprised at myself for allowing such a ‘what if’ thought.

 The name ‘Esther’ sounds foreign and pagan. Some people still dispute why such a Book that can pass as historical romance is in the Bible.

Journal Entry (LET IT SHINE MAG)

When I was younger, I loved attending parties, wedding parties, birthday parties, end-of-the-year parties, and Christmas parties, just name it, they all gave me joy. You know, there was always this joy and fulfilment that came with attending parties for me. It was always interesting.

Light like this (LET IT SHINE MAG)

The day gave birth to the night

The moon swagged in the air

In a world full of darkness

Light wraps me up in its flame.

My sanity drove them crazy

My purity brought them harm

They are irritated by my power

Disgusted at my move to empower.

Insult were sent, rumours was brewed

Traps were hidden in places

‘Angel on Earth’, they mocked

Jealousy has eaten deep into them.

Time flipped like pages

My eyes blindfolded with veils

Warm embrace became their culture

All I felt was their heart inflaming with rage.

Since they’ve vowed not to rest

Until they pull me down

My spirit wishes them to see

The light I carry for Christ’s sake.

I pray for grace through the storm

To shine till the very end

My message wrapped in gold is

Light like this, can’t be quenched.

Read more from LET IT SHINE

FANIYI OLUWATOMIWA ELIJAH: A globally minded person who is passionate about helping others unleash and use their potentials to reveal God to the world.

Editor’s Note (LET IT SHINE MAG)

One score and two, United and standing…these tush themes were dancing around in my head till “let it shine” stuck as chewing gum does to cloth.

I don’t know how you hear from God, but I knew this was it when it was it—the final word.

Shining your light might mean doing what others can’t do. You know, we’ve had enough of all those equality talk and blah blah.

The Man of God, Nigerian Netflix movie Review—How do you present a Christian Story to the secular world?

As I sit before my laptop, for a writer, I’m short of words to relate the emotions I felt during the movie “The Man of God”, which was directed by Bolanle Austen-Peters. But I can tell you that I watched the trailer and went “Yass!” The retelling of the story of a prodigal son coming back home is something any Christian would want to see. And, so far, Netflix productions in Nigeria have been more of trials and errors, i.e. some flops, some hits. See the trailer below:

C.S Lewis and The Chronicles of Narnia

I’ve not known about the late C.S Lewis for long but like one of the people impacted by the life he lived, I can say a few things about the self-taught apologetic/theologian. He put his literary talent into use to explain things that you would rather need to sit down and argue out with a seemingly non-budging old apologetic with a pair of circle-shaped glasses settled on his nose. In the picture I painted, he looks quite the kind that unnerves right? Yeah, but this kind (C.S Lewis) tells Bible truths as children’s stories (The Chronicles of Narnia). I guess you really need to wear the shoes of a child to understand Bible truths. His explanations of the Bible were quite subtle especially for the non-Christian since they are shrouded under the theme ‘fantasy’. 

Here is a C.S Lewis quote for people who are afraid of being seen as kids.

When I became a man, I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.

C.S Lewis

The man, C.S Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis was a British who held positions in English literature at both Oxford University and Cambridge University. Well, this man was a ticking time bomb who became an atheist at the age of 15. C.S Lewis was angry with God for not existing and had one of the strongest arguments for atheism. That apart, he was drawn to the occult, more like the Celtic pagan mysticism but had to change to the Celtic Christian mysticism after he converted back to Christianity.

The turnaround moment for this returnee prodigal was a result of the arguments he had with his friend, J. R. R Tolkien, (author of the lord of the rings) alongside a book that influenced his conversion back to theism. He resisted conversion and an explicit description of how much he resisted can be read in his book, surprised by joy. You can learn how to download the book here.

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