THE JOURNEY SO FAR; COMING ATTRACTIONS; DAY 17: LIE NO 6 PART 10 Repeated: THE JOURNEY SO FAR; COMING ATTRACTIONS: BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION; FIVE THINGS EACH OF US SHOULD DO The situation of Nigeria is a disgrace to the gospel. A nation with such a mushrooming of churches and Christians should not be experiencing the kind of corruption, moral decadence, poverty and suffering prevalent in Nigeria. By God’s Help, we have identified several lies accepted by the church in Nigeria. If the church forsakes these lies and accepts the truth, not only will the church be restored, Nigeria will experience transformation and speedily achieve its destiny as the point of reference for the African race, demonstrating that the Negro is not inferior to any other. Prov 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. NIV. (“TheseLiesMustStop Translation”: Nigeria is in a disgraceful situation of distressing unemployment and pervasive poverty because the people have accepted bribery and corruption, immorality and other evils as a way of life. More sadly, rather than be God’s change agents as salt and light, the church is completely conformed to the Nigerian way of life”). We have treated the first set of lies, 6 lies under the theme “Responsibility for the State of Nigeria.”, and have posted 20 write-ups addressing these 6 lies. The next set of 5 lies relate to “Faith, Money and Prosperity.” For 20 consecutive days starting 6th November, we are repeating each of the last 20 posts, one per day to provide the platform for the next set of lies. Today, we repeat Lie No 6. Part 10 The set of ten posts which commenced 15 November on Lie No 6 relate to bribery and corruption. Restoring truth by precept and practice on this subject is pivotal to the restoration of the Nigerian church and the achievement of our destiny as a nation. The church must take its place as the leader in the war against corruption and money laundering, which most sadly is not the case presently. This war must be fought and won if God is to be pleased with Nigeria, if the risk of missing heaven is to be minimized for many Nigerian Christians, and if Nigeria is to fulfill its destiny as the point of reference for the African race, demonstrating that the Negro is not inferior to any other. LIE NO 6: In Nigeria, Christians cannot avoid paying and taking bribes, God understands. THE TRUTH: God’s standards are clear and unambiguous. He hates bribes and expects us to shun it. God does not expect us to conform; He wants us to stand out. He does not want us to be overcome by the prevalent evil culture of bribery and corruption, but wants us to overcome it. Following are 5 steps each of us should take: 1. Make a firm commitment never to pay or take a bribe again, regardless of the consequence. Paul endured two years in jail rather than pay a bribe. Acts 24:24-27. Put plainly, a commitment to totally shun paying and taking bribes will come at a great cost, and God expects us to bear the cost. . 2. Encourage others to make the same commitment, network with them and collaborate. To be effective, this “Integrity Network” at the place of work, at sectoral/industrial level and in communities, must transcend denominations. We must work together regardless of our denominations. In fact, we should expand the network to include colleagues of other faiths willing to practice integrity. When the bible talks about righteousness exalting a nation, the emphasis is on practice and lifestyle, not denomination or faith. 3. Encourage your organization to adopt the “don’t give don’t take principle” Contend for integrity in your sphere of influence. Stand up against corruption. Speak up against it. Do it prayerfully but firmly. Ps 15:1 & 4 Lord, who may go and find refuge and shelter in your tabernacle up on your holy hill? 2 Anyone who 4 speaks out against sin, criticizes those committing it, commends the faithful followers of the Lord, keeps a promise even if it ruins him, Living Bible 4. Be willing to make the hard choices if that is the only way: accept a “non-juicy” posting as a policeman or Customs Officer; forgo promotions if need be; and ultimately, be ready to resign if after spending sufficient time in prayer, you are convinced that integrity and your job don’t go together. 5. Most pastors hardly ever rebuke bribery and corruption; much less take concrete steps to ensure that corrupt money is not given as tithes and offerings. If this is the order in your church, prayerfully and respectfully but firmly demand that your Pastor make changes. Many erroneously interpret this as judging God’s servants; it is not. You are in fact helping him. Jesus would not keep quiet in the face of evil. You can do this by referring the Deacons, Elders, Assistant Pastors and the Senior Pastor to the relevant posts on this Page. You can seek audience with your Head of Department or whoever you relate with in church leadership, politely communicate your concerns, and request that it be relayed to the Senior Pastor. Don’t condone evil. Confront it, albeit respectfully and prayerfully. 1 Tim 5:19 & 20 Never admit any charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. RSV We thank God, there are some worthy ambassadors of integrity. Sadly they are so few they are yet to form God’s required critical mass. But there are a number of them in Nigeria; and we know of some. Our collective challenge is to raise the number and form that critical mass. And the time will come when we will take testimonies of some from varying walks of life, in academia, government, business, industry and commerce. This is to encourage and challenge others that all things are possible with God, that impact and integrity is possible with God, even in Nigeria. Luke 1:37 for with God nothing shall be impossible. By the grace of God, next year 2014, every 3rd Sunday of the month, These Lies Must Stop will host an Ambassador of Integrity at an INTEGRITY NETWORK program to demonstrate that it is possible to live ethically, responsibly and prosperously in Nigeria. We will strive to also stream the programs live. Watch out for details. Feel free to send any suggestions for this program to chuxdotcom@yahoo Will you enlist in God’s army to push for the realization of Nigeria’s destiny? POSER: If habitual giving and taking of bribes will disqualify from making heaven, will you make it? SCRIPTURES Mark 9:43-48 If your hand does wrong, cut it off. Better live forever with one hand than be thrown into the unquenchable fires of hell with two! 45-46 If your foot carries you toward evil, cut it off! Better be lame and live forever than have two feet that carry you to hell. 47 And if your eye is sinful, gouge it out. Better enter the Kingdom of God half blind than have two eyes and see the fires of hell, 48 where the worm never dies, and the fire never goes out- Living Bible Mark 9:43-50 (“These Lies Must Stop Translation) If getting that contract requires a bribe, forgo it. If getting that deal needs paying off the Contract Manager, forfeit the contract. Stop receiving bribes even it means you have to cut down on a lot of things and suffer some hardship. You may in fact have to quit a job if the only way to continue is to keep paying or receiving bribes. Don’t put your eternal life at risk by joining in this prevalent way of life. Rom 12:2 Dont copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person Living Bible Rom 12:2 (“These Lies Must Stop Translation”) Dear Nigerian Christian, don’t copy the behavior and customs of Nigeria, particularly the pervasive culture of bribery and corruption. You cannot really please God until you are different from the average Nigerian by taking a firm stand against bribery and corruption in every form. PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I desire to please you. Help me to overcome this plague of bribery and corruption in Jesus name. God make me a part of your army of integrity to fulfill Nigeria’s destiny in Jesus name. Amen. Please continue to follow us on Facebook TheseLiesMustStop and Twitter LiesMustStop; share our Posts and invite your friends to Like the Facebook page.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 04:31:54 +0000
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