THE WORM THAT

eats vegetable lives within the vegetable. Some people can worm their way into you to divulge your secrets and bring you down and still claim to be your best friends.  So, pray not to fall into their hands lest you become like one who wore his clothes with soldier-ants within: when they bite you in the public, you either bear the pains and die gradually or pull your clothes off and be regarded as a mad person.

 In Benin City, Edo State, the Heart Beat of the Nation, two young brothers, Dickson and Salaye, were alleged to have conspired to kill their grandmother (67) for money ritual. The incident occurred on December 12, 2017 when they smashed her head on the wall and she died instantly. They carried out this dastardly act because a native doctor advised them to strap live tortoises around their backs and kill a close relative, and get rich afterwards.

 When a woman is pregnant, she rejoices and bears the pains because God has empowered her to procreate. When she delivers and nourishes the baby to maturity, her joy increases; and when she gets grand children, her joy knows no bounds. Unfortunately, the 67-year-old grandmother who was killed by her two grandchildren did not foresee how her joy would diminish in the hands of her grandchildren. May her soul rest in peace!    

 Be in the plan of God and all will be well with you. If you allow the temptation of overnight riches drag you out of God’s plan for you, such wealth will desert you and you will end up being a fool “Like a partridge hatches eggs it did not lay, is the man who piles up unjust riches. When his life is half over, they will desert him, and in the end he is nothing but a fool,” Jer 17:11.       

 “And brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death” Mk 13:12. A young 16-year-old girl defied her father and uncle’s warning and related her ordeal with them to outsiders when she realised that her enemies were within her family. At 13, her father started having sexual intercourse with her after her mother’s sad demise. Later, her supposed gentle uncle joined the league. Within four years, her father impregnated her twice while her uncle impregnated her once. Some women are praying for the fruit of the womb and a 16-year-old girl committed three abortions. Is the world coming to an end? Lord, forgive us our sins!

The WICKED should know that God sees all they do and has power to judge their evil plots against innocent souls. “Shall I say, ‘Let darkness hide me, and light become night around me?’ But darkness is not dark for you, and night for you is as bright as the day.” Ps 139:11-12.

 “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ while he hates his brother, he is a liar. How can he love God whom he does not see, if he does not love his brother whom he can see? We have received from him this commandment: whoever loves God must also love his brother” 1 Jn 4:20-21. Andrew loved his brother, Simon, hence he did not hesitate to introduce him to Jesus after his first encounter with him. In our time, most people hide good things from friends and relations. But it is not good for one tree to bear fruits in a forest.

 “A brother helped is like a strong city, but quarrelling is like the bars of a castle” Prov18:19. Andrew first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah.” He brought Peter to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, “So, you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas”. Jn. 1:41-42.

 “All a poor man’s brothers hate him; how much more do his friends go far from him!” Prov 19:7. When next you have a feeling of hatred for your relation, find out if you have genuine reasons for hating him. If possible, reconcile with him to avoid incurring debt payable in purgatory or hell. Cain hated Abel for no just cause. The Chief Priest and his cohorts hated Jesus for no good reason. John Mason said, “Hate, bitterness and revenge are luxuries none of us can afford. Forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the high cost of hatred and the waste of energy.”

 “If I had not done among them what no one else has ever done, they would have no sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. They hated me without reason” Jn 15:24-25. All things were created through him and for him, yet he became one of us so as to save us. He committed no offence but because of our sins, he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross. Almighty God, kindly give us the grace to love you and love one another as you loves us!